Active Living Program News
Finding Funding For Your ALP Programs
Securing a source of funding for your programs—be it grant funds, employer subsidies, or insurance reimbursement—can certainly ease one of the barriers people have in joining an Active Living Every Day or Healthy Eating Every Day class: money. On March 20, 2007, we invited three experienced ALP program directors to help us learn where to find funding opportunities, the various types of funding options, and what to look for in a program partner. We’ll provide a sneak peek here and tell you how you can gain access to the recorded call and our Funding Resource Guide.
How do I find out about funding opportunities?
Local and national organizations provide funding for a variety of health initiatives. Jocelyn Tobnick, national health director for the OASIS Institute headquartered in Saint Louis, discusses several ways that OASIS stays in touch with what’s available. “We try to identify foundations that may be interested in our programs—so they have a similar mission or interest in the area we are focusing on: in this case, health, and specifically physical activity and healthy eating,” said Jocelyn. “We also work with our board of directors and our partners to find out whom we should contact and who might be interested in being involved. And we really try to build on the existing partnerships that we have. Maybe they don’t have the funds themselves to cover the program, but they might be able to steer us in the right direction.”
Melissa Watford of FirstHealth of the Carolinas concurs. “Partnerships are so key,” Melissa explains. “We taught an Active Living Every Day class for bariatric patients at the hospital. I worked with the dietitian there, and when Healthy Eating Every Day became available I told them about the new program. They were able to find funding through the American Society of Bariatric Surgeons to do a research study using Healthy Eating Every Day. It’s a unique funding situation that we wouldn’t have even known was possible if we didn’t already have the existing relationship with that partner.”
Pros and cons of funding
Our experts weighed benefits and disadvantages of obtaining funding from an outside source. Both parties receive benefits: Your programs may be easier to promote and sustain when participants don’t have to bear the full burden of the program cost. Your funding partners can gain a competitive edge by saving health care dollars and helping their constituents make lasting health changes, and they know they are making a valuable contribution to the health and quality of life of their community.
And remember: Every dollar counts. Tracy Slate, HealthStages coordinator for the San Antonio OASIS, gives an example: “When looking for local funding, don’t forget your city and council districts. They generally won’t pay for salaries, but they might pay for step counters, for example. Even though that doesn’t sound like a lot, every little bit helps. You could have three different organizations funding an entire class. One might want to pay for handouts, another will pay for books, another will pay for step counters. Every $100 donation you get is great.”
What makes a good funding partner?
Jocelyn, Melissa, and Tracy agree that you want to seek out organizations that have missions and goals similar to your own. Do your research to learn about an organization before you approach them, and prepare to tell them how you can help them fulfill their mission or reach their strategic goals. If they do fund your programs, communicate on a regular basis and help them understand the impact of their support.
Tracy shares this valuable lesson: “Our organization is fortunate to have very strong partnerships in the community. We use this rule: When someone gives you money to do something, make sure you do it exactly as you said you were going to do it. The quality of your programs and your reputation depend on it. It’s a small world in funding. If you blow it, they’re going to tell everybody! But if you do a great job, you’ll have someone behind you all the way.”
Why ALED and HEED?
When asked why Active Living Every Day and Healthy Eating Every Day programs resonate with funding partners, Melissa said, “The behavioral approach is something we emphasize. Not all programs look at healthy eating and physical activity from that angle, and that’s really unique.”
In addition, Jocelyn explains how the down-to-earth, realistic format of the programs appeals to partners. “The use of nonprofessionals to lead the programs means you don’t have to pay expensive professionals. You can find appropriate people in the community who represent the people they are offering the programs to, and they can be absolutely wonderful facilitators.”
Jocelyn describes how Active Living Every Day and Healthy Eating Every Day become more than just another health promotion program: “It’s become more about building the community capacity. It’s about empowerment and building the capacity within to sustain the program. When you approach a senior center, for example, and explain that Active Living Every Day isn’t intended to replace their existing exercise programs, it’s a way to interest those people who just come in and sit. They can begin to be active and then they will take an exercise class. Active Living Every Day has really filled an unmet need in some of our locations, and that’s what has made the program successful.”
Want to learn more?
We’ve given you a sample here of the great suggestions offered from our program directors. Want to hear the rest? Follow the simple instructions below to hear a recording of the entire teleconference and get a copy of our Funding Resource Guide, complete with Web site addresses and details about specific funding opportunities.
- If you are not an Active Living Partners director or provider
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