Community Grant Program

What is the Community Grant Program?

Community organizations frequently initiate or participate in outreach education/research activities; however, neither the implementation, nor evaluation of such activities are habitually rigorous. Rarely, for example, do community groups test hypotheses or assess the effectiveness of evidence-based research. We believe this can be addressed by providing training and education.

In order to expand community outreach capacity, we aim to build sustainable outreach and research capacity with diverse communities in Washington State. By pooling resources between the National Cancer Institute’s National Outreach Network and the Health Disparities Research Center at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, we are working to build greater cohesion between local communities and the research enterprise.

Since January of 2014, we have been working on this endeavor by:

developing and disseminating a community grant request for application (RFA) to fund community organizations to implement a program in their communities (grants from $2,500-$10,000)
providing technical assistance to community organizations as they implement their programs.
encouraging work towards health disparities ranging from cancer disparities to most recent COVID-19 heath disparities

Health care is not experienced equally or equitably across the nation and several communities shoulder an unequal and unjust burden of cancer.

Cancer health inequities are differences in cancer outcomes, such as screening rates, incidence (new cases), stage at diagnosis, mortality (deaths), quality of life after cancer treatment and survivorship that often place underrepresented populations at a disadvantage.

Therefore, the goals of the community grant funding are:

address significant health inequities within affected communities
implement projects to address a community identified need
maintain collaborative activities with key partners

The community grant program works to build strong relationships between organizations who support diverse racial, ethnic and underrepresented communities in Washington state can enhance ability develop, implement, and evaluate tailored programs.

Because the program is funded through the Cancer Consortium’s Office of Community Outreach and Engagement or the OCOE, the grant is eligible for community-based organizations, non-profit, 501(c)3 organizations, and Tribes located in Washington state are eligible to apply. Services must be provided in Washington state or serve residents in Washington. Applicants must have experience working with/in diverse racial, ethnic and underserved communities.

Every year, the OCOE publishes a request for application (RFA) where community-based organizations and tribes can apply for the community grant. In the RFA, it will need to include:

information about the organization
budget request and justification
what identified problem would like to be addressed
specific aims and objectives of the overall project goal

Every grant applicant will have the option of working with an academic mentor. Academic Mentors consist of Cancer Consortium faculty who have experience and expertise in Community-based Participatory Research.

Completed applications should be emailed to enddisparities@fredhutch.org by 12;00 PM on February 28, 2022.

Project Examples

There have been more than 40 community grants awarded to Washington state community-based organizations and Tribes. Past examples include:

Breast cancer education among African American women
Evaluation of online tool used to share genetic risk information in families with hereditary cancer syndromes
Colorectal cancer education material development for Hispanics/Latinos
Adaptation of evidence-based curriculum on blood pressure for Asian populations
Exploration of barriers to HPV vaccination in urban Native populations in WA State
Promoting vaccine education & immunization within refugee and immigrant communities in King, Pierce & Snohomish Counties

OCOE Community Grant Program Video Series

The following video series consists of information to aid our communities and partners with tips and guidance for the application process. Information includes: