2025 Spring Grants Awarded
The Better Health Foundation (BHF) is enabling area nonprofit organizations to pursue creative, collaborative approaches to maximize their impact and address some of the region’s most challenging health issues.
This month, BHF is awarding more than $1 million in Innovation grants to six area nonprofit organizations.
Since organizing in 2023, the Better Health Foundation has awarded over $3.9 million to improve community health throughout the bi-state region.
“Funds to innovate are not always available to nonprofit organizations through their normal operations,” said Dr. William Langley, president of the Better Health Foundation Board of Directors. “Yet, the ability to innovate is key to serving more people in need and to delivering measurable, sustained results. Our Board views the opportunity to support promising ideas with some element of risk as a pathway to gaining better health outcomes for all who live in our region.”
The 2025 Innovation grants range from $115,000 to $200,000 for programs and services aligned with the foundation’s current funding priorities: mental and behavioral health, maternal and child health, and risk reduction of obesity and diabetes.
Innovation Grants were awarded to the following organizations:
· $200,000 to Community Health Care, Inc. to fund the expansion of maternal nutrition services, ensuring healthier pregnancies and postpartum recoveries for local mothers. By integrating remote monitoring, telehealth, and digital engagement tools, CHC will provide real-time nutritional support to high-risk expectant and new mothers, reducing complications from gestational diabetes, obesity, and postpartum depression. This program is intended to strengthen maternal health equity and improve outcomes by removing health access barriers.
· $200,000 to the MercyOne Genesis Foundation to transform Board Certification in Advanced Diabetes Management (BC-ADM) training into a digital platform. Through interactive online modules, expert consultations, and clinical resources, primary care physicians and residents will receive evidence-based diabetes management education. This expansion is expected to increase BC-ADM-certified providers, improve diabetes care outcomes and reduce healthcare costs across Eastern Iowa and Illinois.
· $200,000 to Martin Luther King Jr Community Center to engage community members in the West End of Rock Island to help design and collect quantitative and qualitative data on factors affecting mental & behavioral health, among other health topics. This approach is designed to create a stronger data ecosystem, leading to authentic insights and meaningful, community-driven solutions. This project is in collaboration with Augustana College’s Center for the Advancement of Community Health and Wellness.
· $195,000 to Palomares Social Justice Center’s Healthy Juntos project to bring accessible, culturally relevant behavioral health services to the Floreciente and Keystone neighborhoods. Palomares will partner with Community Health Care to provide mental health education, peer support groups, and direct behavioral health services. Palomares seeks to improve access to behavioral healthcare, reduce stigma, and empower others to enhance their overall well-being.
· $139,880 to Rediscover Recovery Community Center (RRCC) to implement a peer-based Recovery Coaching Program within Clinton County Jail to support incarcerated individuals struggling with substance use disorders (SUD). The program will leverage the lived experience of peer recovery coaches from RRCC to provide mentorship, re-entry resources, and recovery planning, fostering a pathway to recovery from SUD while reducing recidivism rates. This program will address a critical gap in services reducing the cycle of addiction and incarceration.
· $115,000 to STEAM on Wheels to launch a research project empowering youth with hands-on learning about nutrition and health. Participants will explore the vital role of nutrients, how food impacts both physical performance and mental well-being, and gain firsthand experience in the scientific research process. This project will deepen their understanding and equip them with skills to make informed, lifelong health choices