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Creating Regional Impact With Grant-Writing Stipends

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Background

In 2023, BHT conducted interviews with community-based organizations to determine what needs were most important to them moving forward. A theme that emerged was the need for reliable funding, and we know from experience securing those resources often requires a strong grant-writing strategy.

Recognizing this critical need, we launched an initiative designed to directly support organizations in their pursuit of additional funding. As part of our ongoing commitment to building capacity within the community, we allocated up to $220,000 for Grant-Writing Stipends in 2024. These stipends were available to organizations seeking technical assistance in grant writing, empowering them to work with a grant-writing consultant of their choice.

To date (as of November 2024) the program has helped community-based organizations secure over $2.7M in grant dollars, creating increased regional capacity and helping organizations thrive.

The Grant Writing Stipend Initiative

Through this initiative, eligible organizations could receive up to $5,000 to fund grant-writing technical assistance. The goal is simple but impactful: to help as many community-based organizations as possible increase their capacity, secure more funding, and ultimately strengthen their ability to serve their communities.

Over the course of this initiative, we were able to award stipends to 48 organizations, supporting a range of impactful community efforts. These stipends have not only helped secure vital funding but have also provided a boost to the capacity of these organizations, enabling them to expand their work and make a greater impact in their communities. This work has also supported over a dozen grant writers.

Highlights of Organizations Supported

We are proud to have partnered with diverse organizations in our community that are doing incredible work in areas such as health equity, social justice, education, and community empowerment.

Some of the recipients include:

To learn more about the grant writing support initiative click here. We hope to have more grant-writing stipend opportunities to offer the community in 2025. If you have any questions, please contact Ethan Senn, ethan.senn@betterhealthtogether.org.

Meet Quinna – A Community Health Worker

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Community Health Worker Awareness Week was held from August 26th to 30th. We’re excited to keep highlighting eastern Washington community health workers all year long! Discover more about these incredible individuals who are making a real difference through their dedication, compassion, and relentless commitment to enhancing community health.

My name is Quinna and I am a Community Health Worker.

How do you define a community health worker?

A community health worker is somebody who is in the community, who has the lived experience, and who knows how to advocate for their community.

Why did you want to become a community health worker?

I worked in health care for a very long time, and I felt like there was a disconnect with treating the whole person. A community health worker is the other step. Helping with scheduling appointments, helping to get resources in the community, and things like that.

What advice would you give to someone interested in becoming a community health worker?

Anyone can be a community health worker. And you don’t have to have all these degrees or all this schooling. Your lived experience is important, and your voice is needed.

What would you want the community to know about community health workers?

You probably know a community health worker. They can be anywhere. They can be in your churches. They can be in your schools. You probably know a community health worker. The person who advocates and is there for you is a community health worker.

Learn more about community health worker programming at Better Health Together and how you can get involved!



Learn more

Meet Molly – A Community Health Worker

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Community Health Worker Awareness Week was held from August 26th to 30th. We’re excited to keep highlighting community health workers from eastern Washington! Discover more about these incredible individuals who are making a real difference through their dedication, compassion, and relentless commitment to enhancing community health.

My name is Molly and I am a Community Health Worker.

How do you define a community health worker?

I define a community health worker as someone local in your community that is a trusted advisor, that is someone that you go to, that is the person who would have the answer or be able to assist in your needs.

How did you know you were a community health worker?

I knew that I was a community health worker because of the CEO of the hospital I worked at. People would start coming to my office and asking me to do this and do that. She came up to me and said, “You’re a community health worker.”

What is it like being a community health worker in your community?

I am, to my knowledge, the only community health worker in the Grand Coulee area. We’re very rural and isolated, with only a few options for any services. Part of being a community health worker is that we build that trust, and they are comfortable telling me things that they don’t tell other people. I know my client’s life. I know their background. I know their abilities, and I help them fill in the gaps.

In a perfect world, what do you see as the future of community health workers in Washington state?

In a perfect world, I would see community health workers in Washington state be a true part of the care team. We still have to explain what we do to some providers. It’s always eye-opening for them. They say, “That is the missing piece.”

How does it make you feel to be able to help someone who didn’t really have hope like that?

To help someone is one of my greatest joys. You feel it from the bottom of your feet to the top of your head, and it just tingles. I’m so glad that I know how to do that. If I didn’t do it, who would?

Learn more about community health worker programming at Better Health Together and how you can get involved!



Learn more

Over 990 Individuals in Eastern Washington Enrolled in Recent Apple Health Expansion

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What is Apple Health Expansion?

Apple Health Expansion is Washington’s new free healthcare coverage for adults age 19 and older with certain immigration statuses, including undocumented community members. With the recent launch of the Apple Health Expansion, over 12,000 Washingtonians have gained access to healthcare coverage. 

Learn more about Apple Health Expansion in Washington

Apple Health Expansion in Eastern Washington

In June, BHT and a number of our community partners got together to pre-enroll folks in need into the program before enrollment opened on June 20,2024. Due to limited funding, the available spaces filled up in less than 48 hours, however BHT and Community Partners had the honor of enrolling over 990 individuals in Eastern Washington!  

We want to thank our partners who worked diligently to help community members apply to the program, create and distribute resource guides, and host workshops. This community effort couldn’t have been successful without the organizations listed below.  

Open enrollment for Qualified Health and Dental Plans will begin on November 1, 2024 and ends January 15, 2025. We are waiting to hear if the expansion of Apple Health will continue. Stay tuned as we provide updates on the program in the near future! 

Facing Fentanyl in Eastern Washington

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Like so much of the country, Washington state is amid a growing fentanyl/opioid crisis. Overdose deaths have doubled in just three years. Closer to home, Mayor Lisa Brown declared an emergency to implement an integrated response to address the opioid crisis in the City of Spokane. In tandem with other education/prevention campaigns, community engagement provides vital information to, and connection with, our neighbors who need it most.

The Department of Social and Health Services serves more than two million customers and clients yearly and is an expert in community and customer engagement. DSHS’ Local Planning Areas together with the Department of Health, Health Care Authority, and community partners will host Facing Fentanyl Together, simultaneous Opioid/Fentanyl Resource Fairs held across the state. These events will bring together professional experts, people with lived experience, and community programs to provide members in the community with invaluable information and resources so that they are prepared to strategically respond to the crisis for themselves or their loved ones.

A collaboration between state agencies, tribes, counties, cities, communities, and business partners signals to people in Washington that we are facing fentanyl together. The events will take place on Friday, September 20, 2024, which is during Recovery Month.

(content by Facing Fentanyl Together)

How to get involved in our region:

Participate in Awareness

Wednesday, August 21, the Drug Enforcement Administration will recognize National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day

Attend the Statewide Effort

Facing Fentanyl Together event on Friday, September 20 

Our local event will be held at the Spokane Maple Community Services Office, 1313 N Maple St, St 104, Spokane, WA 99201 from 1-5pm. They plan to provide information and education about drug abuse and invite multiple providers to be on-site during the event for immediate services. This will be an open community event, and we’re welcome to share the flyers which will be coming out soon. 

For more information about this event, please contact Lori.Hunley@dshs.wa.gov

Use your voice to VOTE

HB 1956 – Will require schools to educate teens about fentanyl, as well as other substances, by the 25-26 school year.