General & Eligibility

Can we reach out directly to Healthy People Healthy Places focus area staff with questions or to set up a time to talk about a potential request?
Yes. We encourage applicants to reach out to focus area leads, so they can learn more about your organization and work and help assess fit and provide guidance, prior to your spending time on an application. Contact information for our staff can be found here. 

My organization was awarded a multi-year grant from the Sewall Foundation. Are we eligible to apply for another grant for a different purpose while that grant remains active? 
Organizations with multi-year grants are asked to wait to reapply until the year in which their current grant will be completed. For example, an organization that received a 3-year grant in March 2020, with a term ending in March 2023, may apply for a new grant in 2023. Likewise, an organization that received a 2-year grant in March 2020, with a term ending in March 2022, may apply in 2022. Please refer to the grant end date on your grant agreement. This restriction does not apply to Rapid Response Fund grants.

My organization received a grant in the summer of 2022, are we eligible for this round of Healthy People, Healthy Places funding?  
Yes, organizations that received funding last summer are eligible even though it has not been a year since you received your funding.

Do you provide operating support?
Yes. Whenever possible we try to provide operating support so that organizations can direct those funds to their most critical work. If an organization has a fiscal sponsor, however, funds (even if for general operations) will be restricted, since they flow through a sponsoring organization and we need to be clear about who the intended recipient organization is.

Can I apply for multi-year funding? 
We currently make 12-month, 24-month, and 36-month grants. That said, each focus area is at a different stage in its evolution so you should read the focus area summaries on the Healthy People Healthy Places grants page and speak with the focus area staff about multi-year funding strategies.

Can an organization apply for a grant and be also included in a collaborative grant request in the same grant cycle? 
Yes.  An organization can apply for funding for an organizational grant and also be part of (or lead applicant for) a collaborative grant. Collaborative grants are intended to support work of three or more organizations working together, not support for a single organization. Collaborative applications should be clear about how the funding will be shared among the collaborating partners.

Can an organization apply for a grant in more than one focus area? 
No. An organization may apply for one grant for their organization per year. (Note exception related to Rapid Response funding above.) We suggest you apply to the focus area you feel most closely aligns with your work and if our staff has questions, they will reach out to you to help clarify. You are welcome to reach out to Sewall Foundation staff for guidance if you wish.

Organizations serving as fiscal sponsors for others, may seek funding for themselves and the entity for which they are a sponsor.

Please note that it is possible for an organization to apply for a grant in one focus area (ex. Food Systems) and be included in a collaborative grant in another (ex. Washington County).

Healthy People Healthy Places Program

How do focus areas relate to the Healthy People Healthy Places program? 
Healthy People Healthy Places is the overarching umbrella. The focus areas bring those Healthy People Healthy Places program goals and strategies and ground them in specific topical, place-based, or population-focused work.

What should I do if our mission or specific request spans multiple focus areas or I’m not sure which focus area I should apply to? 
An organization should only apply for one grant for their organization. We suggest you apply to the focus area that you feel most closely aligns with your work and if our staff has questions, they will reach out to you to help clarify. You are welcome to reach out to Sewall Foundation staff for guidance if you wish.

Are the topical focus areas statewide or place-based? 
The topical focus areas (Keystone, Food Systems, and Nature-Based Education) support statewide initiatives and not tied to specific place-based or population-focused focus areas.

What should I do if I’ve read these FAQ’s and the grant program page and still have questions? 
If you’re thinking about applying for a Healthy People Healthy Places grant, please reach out via email to the Sewall staff supporting the work in the focus area that you think is most aligned with your work.  If you have a technical question about the application process itself, please contact Laura Dover for assistance.

Completing the Application

What platform is Sewall using now? 
We are using GivingData, a platform that is designed to be more user-friendly for grant-seekers.  Sewall staff are happy to assist you in preparing your application for this new platform.

Can several people be logged into and working on their application simultaneously? 
No, not directly into the application portal.  However, you can work collectively on the application in a separate Word document and then cut and paste portions of that text into the online application.

Will demographic questions apply to the board, the staff, or both?
We ask for demographic data on the board and executive leader, and not about your full staff. You can learn more about the Sewall Foundation’s demographic data collection, along with board and staff demographic data here.

Should we include breakout funding for collaboration partners in the budget?
Collaborative grant applications should address how funding will be shared among collaborating partners in the “Use of Funds” narrative question of the application.  For applicants applying with a fiscal sponsor, we are requesting a budget be submitted with the application. 

Does Sewall require letters of support? 
We do not require letters of support. 

How do we submit reports due now on last year’s grants?
We will send an email to organizations with reports due, requesting your reflections on the work supported by the grant in a Word document, which we can then upload into the new system. Please note that if you were awarded a 12 month grant last year, a final report was not assigned as a requirement, unless your grant requires expenditure responsibility.