RIZE Massachusetts issues grants designed to target the epidemic of opioid overdose and addiction spanning prevention to treatment to long-term recovery. One of our top priorities is to measure the outcomes and effectiveness of our funding and consider the impact of the most promising initiatives as part of our decision making. Sustainability of the programs we fund is essential and a key factor in our selection criteria.

We use the following processes to develop our grants. The process depends on the complexity of the project, available funding, and sequencing with our other program investments.

• Direct solicitation: When we know that an organization is well-suited to perform the work, we directly solicit a concept memo or proposal.

• Discussion: In some cases, we invite organizations to discuss an idea with us and explore their interest and capacity to undertake the work. If the organization has the expertise, capacity, and interest, we invite them to submit a concept memo or proposal.

• Request for proposal/information (RFP/I): When we want to broaden our network or fund multiple organizations for a project, we issue an RFP. Competitive RFPs are posted on our website and distributed to our email list; solicited RFPs are directed to specific organizations. Decisions for competitive grants are made based on a variety of factors, including how closely the proposal matches the application criteria.

• Policy and Research: Depending on the subject matter, we use one of the models above to seek policy-relevant research ranging from landscape analyses to more formal studies. This research will often be presented via a forum or convening.

RIZE is unable to consider unsolicited proposals for donations. We do not accept applications from religious institutions, for-profit institutions, or individuals and families. We will not consider grant requests for fundraising events, non-profit sponsored athletic-related events, political advocacy and related activities, or endowment funds.

If you have any questions, please contact our program team at grants@rizema.org

Massachusetts Special Initiatives Grants provide funding for innovative pilot or demonstration projects that respond to health and health-related needs of the community that, if successful, could be replicated and scaled. Projects should positively impact health or healthcare access for Massachusetts residents who have been economically, socially, culturally, or racially marginalized.

Proposals must address one or more of the Foundation's focus areas:

• Access to health coverage and care
• Access to behavioral health services
• Elimination of structural racism and racial inequities in health

Contact

For programmatic or technical questions:
Jacquie Anderson
617.246.5434
Jacquie.Anderson@bcbsma.com

For questions about the online grants portal:
Evelyn Monteiro
617.246.4850
Evelyn.Monteiro@bcbsma.com

Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH), Bureau of Substance Addiction Services (BSAS) announces the availability of funding as part of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrations (SAMHSA) Prescription Drug Overdose (PDO) grant and Bureau of Justice Assistances (BJA) Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant and Substance Use Program (COSSUP). Advancing health and racial equity is a core goal of this opportunity. This funding aims to invest in local communities to strengthen overdose response and prevention strategies where residents of Massachusetts are facing the greatest impact from the opioid crisis and the war on drugs. This funding is intended to specifically address overdose along the intercept points of the criminal legal system. MDPH seeks applicants who will develop community action plans that will lead to community vetted implementation activities with a focus on intercepts with the criminal legal system. Eligible applicants include municipalities, Public Health Districts or Shared Service Arrangements, or other community-serving entities including tribal jurisdictions, coalitions, and taskforces.

Overview of DivCare: The goal of Diversion to Care is for awardees to build and/or enhance local overdose response strategies and service coordination infrastructure by leveraging existing resources and engaging additional individuals who are not currently accessing services. Applicants must focus on leveraging existing resources in their communities and identifying gaps along the sequential intercept model (SIM) which details how individuals with mental and substance use disorders might be touching the criminal legal system across the different intercepts.

Funding Purpose: This funding aims to invest in local communities to strengthen overdose response and prevention strategies individuals are facing the greatest impact from the overdose crisis and the war on drugs. This funding is intended to specifically address overdose along the intercept points of the criminal legal system. MDPH-BSAS seeks applicants who will develop community action plans that will lead to community vetted implementation activities with a focus on intercepts with the criminal legal system.

Eligibility: Applicants could include municipalities, Public Health Districts or Shared Service Arrangements, or other community-serving entities including tribal jurisdictions, coalitions, and taskforces.

Application Deadline: May 17th, 2024 4PM

Description: With this solicitation, OJJDP seeks to support the efforts of communities to develop prevention and intervention responses that identify, respond to, treat, and support children, youth, and families impacted by opioid use and other substance use disorders. OJJDP asks applicants to integrate youth and family partnership strategies into projects and partner with law enforcement, education, mental health service providers, child welfare agencies, community health agencies, and community-based organizations that address the needs of individuals and families experiencing substance use. OJP strongly encourages the use of data and evidence in program development for criminal justice, juvenile justice, and crime victim services.

Eligibility

• State governments 
• City or township governments
• Public- and state-controlled institutions of higher education
• County governments
• Other units of local government, such as towns, boroughs, parishes, villages, or other general purpose political subdivisions of a state
• Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
• Native American Tribal organizations (other than federally recognized Tribal governments)
• Native American Tribal governments (federally recognized)
• Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
• Private institutions of higher education
• Independent school districts

View details about and register for a solicitation-specific webinar that will be held April 16, 2024.

Description: The purpose of this program is to prevent and reduce alcohol use among youth and young adults ages 12 to 20 in communities throughout the United States. Award recipients will be expected to implement activities that support capacity building such as implementing evidence-based community approaches, enhancing collaboration, cooperation and coordination among communities, federal, state, and local and tribal governments, and convening Town Halls.

Eligibility: Eligible applicants are domestic public and private non-profit entities that are current or former Drug Free Communities (DFC) Support Program recipients.

Contact Information:
Jeffrey Campbell
Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, Division of Primary Prevention
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
240-276-0117
csap.dpp@samhsa.hhs.gov

The DFC Program is the Nation’s leading effort to mobilize communities to prevent youth substance use. Joining this program provides community-based coalitions with up to 10 years of funding to promote positive youth engagement and address the local conditions that drive youth substance use.

Directed by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), the DFC Support Program partners with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and CADCA to provide support and guidance to DFC coalitions related to coalition-building, programmatic expertise, and evaluation support.