COVID-19 Vaccination Community Outreach Grant Due 1/14

This opportunity just came to my attention, the application is due Friday.  Take a look and see if this is something your non-profit could use.  Please feel free to share.

Application Form: https://publicnotices.wi.gov/NoticeView.asp?lnid=1535966

Grant Page: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/contracts/covid-19-vaccination-community-outreach-2.0.htm

Request for Application (RFA): COVID-19 Vaccination Community Outreach

Instructions

Timetable

Send questions and your completed request to: DHSCOVIDVaccineOutreachGrant@dhs.wisconsin.gov

Overview

The State of Wisconsin seeks to continue to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine safely, efficiently, and equitably across the state. The State of Wisconsin recognizes that this must include strategies to ensure that vaccines reach communities that face barriers to accessing medical care and people who have a mistrust of government agencies, the medical community, and vaccines. Community-based organizations and trusted messengers remain a key piece of these strategies to promote acceptance of and access to COVID-19 vaccination among marginalized and underserved communities.

Opportunity

Supported by the Department of Health Services (DHS), this funding award seeks to engage community-based organizations, local health departments, and federally qualified health centers to help remove barriers to and promote acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination for communities that face barriers to accessing medical care and people who have a mistrust of government agencies, the medical community, and/or vaccines. The awarded organizations will build upon existing relationships they have with communities, and will use or adapt strategies to meet the unique identified needs of each community.

By increasing knowledge of and access to COVID-19 vaccines, community outreach activities will facilitate downstream improvements in COVID-19 vaccination rates and reduce the disparities that exist in these rates.

Awards of up to $100,000 are available through this opportunity. Project expenses will be eligible for reimbursement with this funding from the notice of award through 10/31/2022. Applicants will be awarded based on available funding, and application scores as determined by the review panel. Awards will be geographically dispersed and take social vulnerability factors and healthcare utilization into consideration.

Should additional funding become available at any point during the course of the grant period, DHS reserves the right to use the results of this competitive application process to increase funding to selected agencies or to fund additional agencies that applied but were not funded originally. Wisconsin DHS also reserves the right to award grants for less than an applicant's proposed amount.

Eligibility

Eligible organizations must meet the following criteria.

Applicants must be based in Wisconsin, conduct their proposed community outreach work in Wisconsin, and be one of the following:

• Local or tribal government entities
• Nonprofit entities certified as a 501(c)(3) by the federal Internal Revenue Service
• Projects sponsored by another 501(c)(3) organization
• K-12 schools or school districts
• Federally Qualified Health Centers

Eligible organizations may not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, age, or national origin in their staffing policies, use of volunteers, or provision of services.

Mutual Commitments

Grantee Commitments

• Submit a final report on activities, a success stories, and lessons learned no later than 12/2/22.
• Submit three quarterly reports by 4/8/22, 7/8/2022, 10/7/2022
• Prepare and submit expense reports monthly.
• Use resources in the manner described.
• Use (or adapt, as needed) science-based information provided by DHS.
• Uphold public health practices and trauma-informed approaches in carrying forth this work.
• Use culturally competent messaging and services.
• Respond to requests for information/activity from DHS.
• Inform DHS about progress, impacts, and outcomes of the effort.
• Solicit technical assistance and support from DHS to ensure accurate information.
• Prepare and submit expense reports monthly.
• Optional: Provide a document of ideas for potential action to further advance health equity in the community(ies) served.

DHS Commitments

• Provide funding for efforts to enhance awareness, accessibility, and access for COVID-19 vaccination.
• Provide technical assistance on credible public health practices and the COVID-19 vaccination program.
• Respond to requests for information/activity from grantees.

Use of Funds

As inequitable vaccination rates persist across the state, it is critical to continue to support community level efforts to disseminate accurate information about the COVID-19 vaccines, address individual concerns, and eliminate the barriers to vaccine access. As more people become eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine through 2022, it is also critical to prepare communities to be ready to disseminate and accept the vaccination in these groups.

This program will fund activities in Wisconsin focused on increasing knowledge and awareness of the COVID-19 virus and vaccines, addressing misinformation, decreasing vaccine hesitancy, and decreasing barriers to accessing COVID-19 vaccine.

Funds will not be distributed in advance of project expenses, but on a reimbursement basis through this grant program. The following is a list of allowable project expenses that would be eligible for reimbursement through this program from awarded organizations.

 Examples of Allowable Expenses

• Personnel (salary/wages, fringe benefits)
• Travel for provision of services (excluding meals and in compliance with state and local restrictions)
• Supplies (office resources, community outreach materials)
• Contractual costs (staffing, grassroots awareness campaigns, stipends)
• Indirect expenses (must be <10% of total proposed project budget)
• Translation, production, and printing services
• Incentives are allowable in compliance with the restrictions below.
  • Incentives may only be purchased within certain categories to encourage vaccination, not participation in educational or outreach events.
  • Incentives must be no more than $50 in total per person.
  • Items used for incentives cannot be branded with an external organization's logo. Branding, outside of Covid-19 messaging is unallowable.
  • Cash is not an allowable incentive.
  • Gift cards and vouchers are allowable as participant incentives provided that the grantee has established a way to ensure that the gift card cannot be used to purchase unallowable items in a written agreement with the gift card vendor.
  • Gift card incentives may not
    • be associated with entertainment (e.g., movies, games, lottery, etc.)
    • be redeemable for cash
    • be used to purchase tobacco, alcohol, or firearms
    • be used to purchase food (e.g., restaurants, etc.)
    • be transferred by recipient to other parties
  • Additional information on incentives can be found in the HHS GPS, Sections II-33 and II34 and in 45 CFR 75.438
  • Please note that gift cards would be considered a cash equivalent and should adhere to APP Manual Section 2 as it relates to the handling of cash and cash equivalents,  found here: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/app/cash.htm.

Examples of Unallowable Expenses – major categories

• Capital purchases or leases
• Reimbursement of pre-award costs
• Funding advocacy or lobbying efforts
• Administration of clinical care, not including COVID-19 vaccine administration
• Research
• Food.
• Incentives not compliant with the above state and federal guidelines

Outreach materials, including existing materials translated into additional languages, created with this award are to be made available publicly for use with other communities and other areas of the state, as applicable.

Application

Application Submission

Applications are due to DHS no later than 4:00 pm CST on January 14, 2021. Late funding requests will not be accepted. Applicants should email their application to DHSCOVIDVaccineOutreachGrant@dhs.wisconsin.gov with the subject line "Application–COVID-19 VCO Grant 2.0." Applicants will receive an email confirming receipt by DHS.

Please complete the application form below. Responses should be typed with Times New Roman, Calibri, or Arial font no smaller than size 10.

Application Questions

Applicants should submit all questions about this RFA in writing to DHSCOVIDVaccineOutreachGrant@dhs.wisconsin.gov.  

Application Review

All applications will be subject to an initial technical review for completeness and adherence to RFA specifications and requirements. Applications that fail the initial review will receive no further consideration. Applications that pass the initial technical review will be evaluated and scored by a panel of reviewers with knowledge of: community outreach, public health, health care, and/or immunizations. Reviewers will independently evaluate and score applications. Then all scored applications will be compared with each other. DHS will make awards to applicants who demonstrate the ability to perform successfully under the terms and conditions of this RFA.

Favorable applications will reflect the following guidelines:

• Are culturally competent
• Serve a marginalized population
• Can be started quickly (i.e., within one month of award)
• Comply with public health guidance about COVID-19
• Are capable of increasing knowledge and awareness of COVID-19 vaccines
• Have the ability to reach a large number of marginalized people or those belonging to marginalized communities
• Demonstrate an understanding of the target population, barriers faced, and ways to advance racial/economic/geographic equity
• Have and demonstrate experience working within the identified population(s)/communities
• Ability to get funds to or are groups on the ground/grassroots organizations
• Use a collaborative approach
• Entities led and/or staffed by BIPOC, people with disabilities, and/or LGBTQ individuals will be prioritized

DHS reserves the right to reject any and all submissions. Also, DHS reserves the option to hold discussions with agencies about their applications for clarification purposes. If discussions are conducted, applicants may be invited to modify their applications as needed.

Vaccination Community Outreach (VCO) Grant Application Form

Organization Information

Organization Name:

COVID-19 Vaccination Community Outreach Project Title:

Contact Name:

Contact Email:

Contact Phone:

Mailing Address (including city, state, zip code):

Street Address (including city, state, zip code):

Website:

Social media page (if applicable):

Was your organization an awardee in the first Vaccination Community Outreach grant program?

? Yes (If yes, please skip to request information)

? No

Additional Organization Information

Year Organization/Program Established:

Total Annual Organizational/Program Budget: $180,000

Type of Organization

? Local or tribal government entities

? Nonprofit entities certified as a 501(c)(3) by the federal Internal Revenue Service

? Projects sponsored by another 501(c)(3) organization

? K-12 schools or school districts

? Federally Qualified Health Centers

Request Information

Requested award amount: $50,000

Provide a brief description of your proposed project. (60 word limit)

Population Served

Which of the following categories describe the population(s) you will be focusing on for your project? The following list is not designed to be comprehensive, nor are grant recipients limited to populations fitting these categories. If the population(s) you will work with are not listed below, please select "other" and describe. Please select all that apply.

If you selected other, or would like to provide more detail, please briefly describe the target population for your project. (optional)

Which size region will you be serving with your project?

?   One or multiple counties

Please list the counties you will be serving:

?   One or multiple Tribal Nations

Please list the Tribal Nation you will be serving:

?   One or multiple cities

Please list the cities you will be serving:

?   The whole state

If you completed the first Vaccination Community Outreach program, is this the same or similar population to the one you served under your prior Vaccination Community Outreach grant award?

? Yes (if yes, please skip the next question)

? No

? Not applicable, my organization is not a prior awardee (please skip the next question)

If this is a different population than the one you served under the first Vaccination Community Outreach grant, please briefly describe your experience working with this population. (125 words or less).

Project Information

Briefly describe your request for funding and how it will provide timely and accurate information to promote COVID-19 vaccination among high-risk and underserved populations, including racial and ethnic minority populations and rural communities, and/or how it will reduce barriers for individuals facing racial, economic, or geographic inequities related to COVID-19 vaccination efforts. (500 words or less).

Please describe the existing barriers faced by the intended population(s) for your activities (indicated above), and how these barriers will be addressed through the project. (500 words or less).

Briefly describe your organization's unique qualifications to advance this work in the identified community(ies), including your experience implementing culturally competent services and programs, building relationships, and partnering with community members. If your organization is a prior Vaccination Community Outreach grant awardee, please skip to the next question. (500 words or less).

(Optional) Provide letters of support describing your organization's experience removing barriers to healthcare and/or connecting effectively with your identified target population(s).

Please briefly describe your planned project activities, and milestones through October 31, 2022. (500 words or less)

Describe how you would work with existing partners, or develop new partnerships in the community to connect with the population. (250 words or less).

If known, please list any organizations you intend to collaborate with on this project and their intended role for this project

Does your organization intend to offer sub-awards with this funding?

? Yes

? No (If no, please skip the following two questions)

If yes, list any organizations identified for sub-awards with this funding, and/or your plan for identifying sub-awardees.

Detail any criteria that will be used for making and monitoring sub-awards. (125 words or less).

Expenses

List and briefly describe your expected expenses in as much detail as you can in the table below. Categories may include personnel, travel, supplies and equipment, indirect, incentives, and miscellaneous costs. Add rows as needed.

Please briefly describe the need for the above proposed costs for your project. (250 words or less).

Does your organization expect to use any additional funding sources, volunteer staff, or in-kind resources to support this project? If so, please briefly describe. (125 words or less).

Does your organization intend to purchase incentives with this funding?

? Yes (If yes, you will need to complete an Incentive Request Form if awarded)

? No

An Incentive Request form will be provided as needed upon award.

Applications are due to DHS no later than 4:00 pm CST on January 14, 2021. Late applications will not be accepted. Applicants should email their application to DHSCOVIDVaccineOutreachGrant@dhs.wisconsin.gov with the subject line "Application–COVID-19 VCO Grant 2.0."