Community Connectors applications are closed. Thank you for your interest.

Learn more about the Community Connectors Grant program

On Tuesday, June 6th the Community Connectors team hosted a webinar outlining the program’s guidelines and requirements, and answering questions from prospective applicants that will help you and your partners put together a strong application. Watch the recorded webinar:

Guidelines and requirements

• Community size: Teams representing cities between ~50,000 and ~500,000 in population.
• Eligible entities: Government agencies (including US territories), tribes, non-profit community-based organizations, and academic institutions. Each team will identify a lead organization for the application. *For-profit entities are permitted to be part of a wider project team but are not eligible to receive any of the funds directly or indirectly disbursed through the grant.
• Convening: Teams are required to be able to participate in a convening and learning exchange in Atlanta sometime during the week of November 13, 2023 where projects and technical assistance will be co-designed and scoped. Travel and hotel costs will be covered for ~six members from each team.
• Eligible funding uses: The capacity building grants are intended to build a community’s capacity—including the capacity for community members and community-based organizations to participate in this work—to advance these kinds of projects. Grant funds may be used for staff salaries, consultant fees, data collection and analysis, meetings, supplies, funding support for community-based organization participation, initiative-related travel, other direct expenses, and other expenses not named here but approved during the scoping process
• Ineligible funding uses: In keeping with Robert Wood Johnson Foundation policy, funds may not be used to support clinical trials of unapproved drugs or devices, to construct or renovate facilities, for capital costs of any kind, for lobbying-related activities and expenses, for political activities, or as a substitute for funds currently being used to support similar activities.
• Assent to participate in evaluation: An independent research group selected and funded by RWJF will conduct an evaluation of this program. As a condition of accepting this assistance, grantees agree to participate in the evaluation.
• Reporting requirements: Grantees will be expected to provide narrative and financial reports periodically as well as information needed for overall project performance monitoring and management. Teams will be required to participate in periodic meetings and give progress reports on their capacity-building grants. Each team will be expected to provide a written report(s) on their project.
• Budgeting guidelines: After selection, while developing the scope for the capacity-building grant, the team will collaborate on a schedule and a budget that specifies how and when the funding will be spent. This guidance will be provided in the fall.

Full application information

Begin by reading the full application that has all details about eligibility, requirements, criteria for selection, and the selection process:

Read the full application (PDF)

 

Questions? Please submit through the online form at https://smartgrowthamerica.org/program/community-connectors-grants/contact-form/