Blue & You Foundation outlines new process for grant applications

LITTLE ROCK — The Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas is implementing a new application process for 2024 grant recipients aimed at simplifying the process and expanding funding opportunities for nonprofit and community organizations around the state, according to a news release.

The: 2024 grant applicants must submit a letter of intent by April 1 at https://blueandyoufoundationarkansas.org/funding-opportunities/ apply-for-funding. The website has information about the funding available and how to apply. Applicants will be notified by June 1 whether their projects have received initial approval, and they will proceed in the process.

Grant recipients can now receive $5,000 to $200,000 for their projects.

Grant projects should fall into one of three categories: behavioral health, social determinants of health, or maternal and pediatric health. Applicants will not compete for funding with organizations that have projects in other categories, the release said.

“We have streamlined the Foundation’s funding process to better meet the most pressing needs across the state,” Blue & You Foundation Executive Director Rebecca Pittillo said in the release. “By having three focused cycles on behavioral health, maternal and pediatric health and social determinants of health, we expect to receive letters from many organizations proposing innovative programs, giving the

Foundation the opportunity to fund the best solutions and make the greatest impact across the state.”

To qualify, applicants should be a 501(c)(3) charitable organization; a public school, college or university; or a city, county or state governmental agency.

“Since 2001, the Blue & You Foundation has granted more than $52 million and funded nearly 3,000 projects designed to improve the health of Arkansans,” the release said.

“In the 22 years since the Foundation has been established, we have been able to fund health initiatives in all of Arkansas’ 75 counties,” Pittillo said. “We want to help Arkansans who serve Arkansans — working to make a difference in the well-being of our communities.”

To learn more about the application process, the three categories for grant submissions and to watch helpful webinars, visit http://www.blueandyoufoundationarkansas.org.