What does this program do?
The Aetna Foundation recently announced the availability of grant funding via its GoLocal: Cultivating Healthy Community program. Grant awards will go towards funding community wellness initiatives that promote eating fresh fruits and vegetables and being physically active.
More specifically, funding will target under-served, low-income and minority communities where healthy food can be difficult to buy, and where social and environmental factors may limit people’s ability to be physically active. Priority consideration will be given to applications that focus on healthy eating and active living through a racial and ethnic health equity lens.
Grant funding can be used for the following activities:
- Community-based nutrition education and exercise programs for children and families
- Efforts to increase the availability or affordability of fresh fruits and vegetables
- Programs that help families to select and prepare healthy foods on a limited budget
- Community gardening and urban farming activities
- Innovative approaches to making physical activity accessible, affordable and fun (e.g., digital solutions)
Awards & Deadlines
The Aetna Foundation will award regional grants at two levels: $25,000 or $50,000. It also expects to award approximately half the available grant dollars during each cycle. Indirect costs may not exceed 15% of the total amount requested. Similarly, grant requests cannot exceed 20% of an applicant’s total operating budget.
Grant Application Dates:
Cycle 1: April 10 to June 5, 2014
Cycle 2: June 16 to July 30, 2014