Robeson County Social Impact Mini Grants

Through funding from Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, North Carolina Healthcare Foundation is developing a framework to foster partnerships between anchor institutions and communities to collaborate on investment models that enhance health outcomes. NCHF has elected Robeson County to launch this project, focusing on addressing the root causes of transportation challenges, a major obstacle to better health.  NCHF recognizes that healthcare and community leaders hold influence and capacity to support creative infrastructures to advance practice and policy change. Also, community members and those most impacted need to be involved in decision-making to effect lasting change. One goal of this Social Impact project is to create a model that can be replicated in other NC communities and change perspectives on the value of human-centered, collaborative healthcare. 

NCHF will drive this shift in thinking and change by providing mini-grants to pilot innovative, community-led interventions that explore upstream solutions to transportation as a social driver, ultimately aiming to improve community health outcomes. 

NCHF’s Social Impact Program is seeking proposals for projects within Robeson County, North Carolina that support the advancement of healthcare without barriers and social impact. Funds will be used to promote systems and community-level changes that offer proactive solutions for addressing social drivers of health.  

NCHF understands and aims to confront the extensive linkage between transportation and health outcomes driven by accessibility of healthcare, childcare, employment, healthy food, safety, social services, and resources that promote improved wellbeing. Applications will propose activities in one or both of the following areas:   

1. Addressing transportation as a social driver of health. Projects and initiatives that leverage existing resources for cross-sector collaboration including, but not limited to transportation to deploy multi-layered, systems-level approaches to improve health outcomes. 
2. Building community trust and collaboration around transportation models: Projects and initiatives aimed at building collaboration across organizations or otherwise fostering trust within the community at organizational or individual levels, which will result, in part, in decreasing the impact of transportation as a barrier to health. 

*Collaborative applications strongly encouraged

**Awards will be paid out in a lump sum at the start of the project period and may be renewed at end of project period contingent upon outcomes.

1. Submit the grant application via the application portal. 
2. Complete and upload a detailed Project Narrative and budget using the provided templates in the application portal. 
3. Submission Deadline: 11:59 p.m. May 16, 2025 (Incomplete proposals and proposals submitted after the deadline will not be considered). 

For questions or concerns related to this grant opportunity, application portal, or reporting, contact us at social.impact@ncha.org.   

Selected grantees will benefit from:

• Opportunities to update the Community Development Team regularly on the scope and progress of your work at key points throughout the grant period.
• 1:1 data and evaluation implementation support, building capacities to report metrics sharing progress, impact, and ROI resulting from the grant project.
• Engagement with NCHF’s implementation assistance team and peer grantees to share stories, lessons learned and identify opportunities for alignment and collective action.
• Opportunities to provide feedback to NCHF’s implementation assistance team to enhance technical assistance and overall program support.
• Assistance in implementing data-driven strategies to track transportation access and health outcomes, ensuring continuous impact measurement.
• Support developing strategies to engage the community through participatory planning to ensure transportation models reflect local needs and priorities, prioritizing underserved populations.
• Opportunities to build and sustain cross-sector partnerships with transportation agencies, health organizations, and community groups to enhance transportation initiatives and improve community health.

Click here to view frequently asked questions about the Social Impact Mini Grants.

Addressing workforce challenges impacting access to health and behavioral health resources by reducing student transportation barriers. Learn more here.

Providing reliable, stigma-free transportation and a standardized, systematic approach for individuals seeking recovery from mental health or substance use disorders. Learn more here.

Addressing transportation-related food insecurity by bringing fresh affordable food to marginalized and food desert communities and residents using a mobile market. Learn more here.

Addressing transportation barriers for patients by leveraging community health workers, community paramedics, and private third-party transportation to ensure equitable access to healthcare services that can improve patient outcomes. Learn more here.

Improving access to integrated health services and promoting healthier lifestyles across rural service areas through mobile health center unit. Learn more here.