Deadline:

Feb 3, 2009 - Closed

Program Area:

Childhood Obesity

Purpose:

Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities is a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) whose primary goal is to implement healthy eating and active living initiatives that can support healthier communities for children and families across the United States. The program places special emphasis on reaching children who are at highest risk for obesity on the basis of race/ethnicity, income and/or geographic location. This initiative will advance RWJF’s efforts to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic by 2015.

Through this call for proposals (CFP), RWJF will award approximately 60 grants to help local community partnerships across the United States increase opportunities for physical activity and improve access to affordable healthy foods for children and families. Special consideration will be given to communities in 15 states where the incidence of or risk for childhood obesity is the greatest (Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia). Approximately half of the grants under this CFP will be awarded to communities in these states.

Program Information:

• Call for Proposals


• Overview (PDF)

Eligibility & Selection Criteria:

Complete eligibility criteria include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities will accept only one proposal per community.
• For purposes of this award, an eligible community is defined as a municipality, county, district or region with partners that are able to plan, advocate for and implement changes to policies, environments and systems.
• Applicants must be based in the United States or its territories. Special consideration will be given to applicants in communities where measurements of predicted risk for obesity are particularly high.
• The lead agency for the proposed project must be tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, a government entity, or a tribal group recognized by the U.S. federal government.
• Grantees will be expected to secure a cash and/or in-kind match equal to at least 50 percent of the RWJF award over the entire grant period.

Proposals will be reviewed and scored based on the degree to which they:

• are likely to prevent or reduce childhood obesity;
• focus on and address the needs of vulnerable populations and communities at greatest risk for childhood obesity on the basis of race/ethnicity, income and/or geographic location;
• demonstrate the ability to engage populations at greatest risk for childhood obesity in their work;
• engage leaders and influential community members with experience in and a commitment to advancing active living and healthy eating among children;
• identify a diverse array of partner organizations or entities, such as influential stakeholders and key decision-makers, who have clearly defined roles and experience working with and on behalf of communities at highest risk for childhood obesity;
• show evidence of capacity, readiness and available opportunities to implement policies and environmental changes that have strong potential to increase active living and healthy eating among children;
• engage elected officials and/or generate broad-based political will to support this work;
• could be replicated in a variety of other communities and settings; and
• secure cash and/or in-kind support equal to at least 50 percent of the RWJF award to help support the initiative during and sustain it beyond the grant period.

Key Dates:

• December 17, 2008 and January 8, 14 and 22, 2009—Applicant conference calls. Details can be found on the program's Web site.
• February 3, 2009 (3 p.m. ET)—Deadline for receipt of brief proposals.
• May 14, 2009 (3 p.m. ET)—Deadline for receipt of full proposals.
• Late September 2009—Finalists notified.
• December 15, 2009—Funding initiated.

Total Award:

Approximately 60 grants of up to $360,000 each will be awarded for four years.

Contact:

Sarah Strunk, program director
info@healthykidshealthycommunities.org
Office: (919) 843-8430
http://www.healthykidshealthycommunities.org

Related Materials:

• View National Program Office


• View Program FAQs