The St. Mary’s County Health Department (SMCHD) is issuing this Request for Proposal (RFP) # 25-04 to award funding to organizations focused on reducing impacts on the social determinants of health through implementing targeted, culturally competent, and evidence-based initiatives and health education programs for disparately impacted populations. Through the RFP process, SMCHD will offer to provide funding utilizing mini-grants to multiple local businesses, educational institutions, nonprofits, faith-based organizations, and other community-based organizations. Funding will be allocated to organizations depending on the amounts requested in response to the RFP. Awardees must implement new initiatives or innovate upon existing initiatives targeting vulnerable community members that increase health education or support access to healthcare services and other health-related social needs.

To apply for this RFP, an organization must:

• Apply (Instructions - attachment 1) with a cover page (attachment 2)
• Commit to meeting with SMCHD staff monthly throughout the grant period. During these monthly meetings, mini-grantees will provide a status update on the planned activities or interventions that address the needs of disparately impacted populations and identify any support required from SMCHD staff.
• Commit to offering a monthly schedule of specific interventions/health education programs for disparately impacted St. Mary’s County community members.
• Commit to gathering information from program/intervention participants, including the number of people participating in the intervention/health education program, participant demographics, and baseline data on each participant’s healthcare needs and health-related social needs.
• After the mini-grant period ends on June 30th, 2025, participating organizations must commit to reporting the number of community members who responded that they had increased knowledge or uptake of healthcare/social services due to their participation in the intervention in the final interview.
• Demonstrate program sustainability beyond the life of this grant.

The deadline for submission of proposals is December 16, 2024.  For more information or to submit a proposal for this request, please visit smchd.org/rfp.