Con Alma Health Foundation plans grants for vaccine rollout
SANTA FE – Con Alma Health Foundation is beginning work on its new $2.5 million grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation that will help ensure COVID-19 vaccines are distributed equitably across the state and support communities to address the disproportionate impact the pandemic has had on vulnerable populations. Nonprofits can apply for a grant starting today at http://conalma.org/.
Grants will promote the equitable allocation, distribution, delivery and access to vaccines. Con Alma will prioritize applications that involve coordinating among various sectors and targeting underserved areas of New Mexico as well as identifying and alleviating gaps in vaccine roll-out efforts, and addressing barriers and/or vaccine hesitancy through coordinated messaging.
“This project builds on our COVID-19 relief efforts to support people who lack resources to live a healthy life,” said Dolores E. Roybal, Con Alma’s executive director. “We will partner with the Health Department and other stakeholders to strengthen statewide public health and health equity efforts as communities recover and rebuild post pandemic.”
In addition to the grant awards to nonprofits, Con Alma will work with the New Mexico Health Equity Partnership, an initiative of the Santa Fe Community Foundation, to expand the capacity of existing networks to address service gaps, leverage resources, and create a COVID-19 recovery plan that focuses on long-term policies and system-change strategies to address health disparities and advance health equity.
Con Alma will accept grants for the vaccine roll-out/promotion from May 26 through June 15. It will open applications for the project’s second phase of grantmaking in November.
In 2020, Con Alma applied for and received two grants totaling $2 million (including matching funds) to provide basic living and health needs for people devastated by the pandemic. Both grants centered around advancing health equity and strengthening the state’s infrastructure and safety net so the state is better prepared for a public health crisis.
