HIF Awards Grants to 11 Montgomery County-serving Nonprofits
The Healthcare Initiative Foundation (HIF) is pleased to announce an investment of more than $400,000 in grant awards to 11 nonprofit partners serving Montgomery County. These investments in our community continue the Foundation’s commitment to health and wellness for Montgomery County residents by increasing access to quality and comprehensive healthcare and health programming.
These FY25 Capacity Building awards are focused on two of HIF’s strategic priorities 1) To support affordable, integrated, culturally responsive health and wellness across the lifespan and 2) To support comprehensive behavioral health services across the lifespan.
Strategic Priority 1: Health & Wellness
The Board of Trustees awarded more than $296,000 to nonprofits advancing health and wellness in the County. These partners will seek to increase the blood supply for sickle cell anemia patients, provide nutritional counseling along with provision of food to clients managing health issues such as diabetes, place-based dental and primary care, eye exams and glasses to children, care coordination and safety services through home care visits, and healthcare workforce trainings and internships. In addition to these recent grant recipients, HIF’s support for the healthcare education pipeline continues through the 5-year $1 million scholarship investment through The Universities at Shady Grove and Montgomery County.
FY25 grant recipient, American Red Cross, details how this investment from HIF is making a difference in Montgomery County, “We are deeply grateful to Healthcare Initiative Foundation. For the past five years, they have invested in the work of the Red Cross to diversify our blood donor base, address health disparities, and expand public health efforts in Montgomery County. With their support, we are seeing significant year-over-year growth that helps us better meet the needs of our neighbors. In addition to funding, HIF has been a valuable partner in making connections across Montgomery County and in leveraging their deep knowledge to increase our impact in communities,” says Curt Luthye, Executive Director, Red Cross of Montgomery, Howard, and Frederick Counties.
Strategic Priority 2: Behavioral Health
Grant recipients under this strategic priority received more than $90,000 to support the increase in opportunities for mental health services to military veterans and families, provide middle and high school students in MCPS protective resources through peer-led groups, and care navigation services for children to receive timely behavioral and mental health services.
Our Minds Matter Chief of Programs, Laura Beth Levitt, highlights the importance of investing in the mental wellness of our adolescent community members. Levitt shares “Thanks to the support of the Healthcare Initiative Foundation, Our Minds Matter has grown to reach 22% more teens in Montgomery County Public Schools in the past year alone. Teens in OMM clubs are sharing life-saving mental health resources and leading the way to new cultures of kindness and well-being.”
The Healthcare Initiative Foundation continues to support a diverse range of organizations and programs in the county. As we continue to watch policy and program changes at the federal, state and local levels, we are continually working to assess how HIF can evolve to meet the ever-changing needs in Montgomery County. HIF’s Board Chair, Robert “Skip” Myers underscores that, “the Board and staff will be working this spring to review our priorities to ensure continued alignment with the needs of our community. As always, we value our partnerships and collaboration with community nonprofits and thank them for their work.”
Congratulations to the FY25 Capacity Building grant awardees!