HOW WE GIVE

Grant Review Process

The Better Health Foundation (BHF) values are transparency, collaboration with the nonprofit community, open learning with those receiving our grants, and equity. Our commitment to our values is demonstrated in the way grant recipients are selected.

Grant Review Committee

  • The Grant Review Committee is comprised of members of the BHF Board of Directors. Additional reviewers may be added for the competitive grant cycles on an as-needed basis due to the quantity and complexity of the proposals. These members might include:

    • Additional BHF current and former Board members, and volunteers serving the Board in an advisory capacity.

    • Resource experts, direct practitioners and thought leaders representing the Foundation’s focus areas (currently):

      • Mental and Behavioral Health

      • Maternal and Child Health

      • Risk Reduction of Obesity and Diabetes

  • The Grant Review Committee extends invitations to external reviewers when there are needed areas of technical expertise.

  • Individuals cannot review grants if their organization has a pending Letter of Inquiry (LOI) or application for that cycle.

  • BHF staff orients grant reviewers to the Foundation’s focus areas of priority, the grants budget for that cycle, and the online grants management system.

  • Grant Review Committee members evaluate grants individually, without access to their peer reviews, before convening as a committee to discuss the merits of the proposals.

  • The Grant Review Committee recommends proposals for funding to the BHF Board of Directors.

Grant Review Process

  • BHF staff invites applicants to meet throughout the application process to receive assistance, as needed.

  • BHF staff monitors LOI and application submissions, alerting organizations to upcoming deadlines and missing information.

  • BHF staff reviews completed LOIs and applications, and may contact applicants for additional information.

  • BHF staff summarizes and ranks LOIs for Grant Review Committee consideration.

  • From the LOI summary and discussion with staff, the Grant Review Committee determines which proposers are invited to submit full applications.

  • BHF staff contacts those organizations not invited to submit full applications to share why their project is not being considered.

  • Grant reviewers are assigned proposals to evaluate and score. When possible, grant reviewers evaluate all proposals for that cycle. However, depending on the quantity of applications, reviewers may evaluate a group of proposals organized by geography, project size, project type or other classification.

  • The Grant Review Committee meets to discuss proposals and make its funding recommendation to the Board of Directors.

  • The BHF Board of Directors votes on the Grant Review Committee funding recommendations.

  • BHF staff notifies applicants of the Board’s decision, provides feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of the proposals, and how these impacted the grants decision.

  • BHF staff seeks input from applicants and grant reviewers regarding the process and ways to improve and refine it to better meet the needs of the community.