Who can apply? |
The Healthy Communities Partnership (HCP) program is open to cities and counties in the Initiative Foundation's service area. |
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What is the role of our local unit of Government? |
Your city will normally be the formal applicant for the Healthy Communities Partnership program and will usually handle the funds subject to the grant agreement. We require that the local government votes to approve an application to the HCP program. It is also a good idea if at least one elected official can serve on the HCP team. |
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How many communities are accepted into the HCP program each year? |
Between six and eight communities are accepted into the program each year, three to four per round. |
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How often is the HCP program offered? |
The HCP program is held twice each year. Applications for a fall program start date are due by July 1st. Applications for a spring program start date are due by January 1st. |
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| How long is the program? |
The initial HCP program is for a two-year period. Most communities continue to work on projects for several years after that and are eligible for ongoing technical and funding support to address the goals identified by their community through the HCP program for a total of five years. |
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What types of projects do communities do through the HCP program? |
Communities identify their priority goals and projects through citizens participating in the community visioning process. Click here to see examples of projects completed by communities who have gone through the HCP program. |
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How many people usually attend a community visioning meeting? |
Visioning meetings usually have between 100 and 200 participants. This will depend, to some degree, on the size of your community but more importantly on how effective your local HCP team is at ensuring participation using the training and tools we provide. |
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How many people have to be on the local HCP team? |
Depending on the size of your community you will need between 10 and 20 people on your local HCP team. This number then expands as goals and projects are identified and task forces are formed. At least seven members must attend each training session. |
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| Who needs to be on the HCP team? |
| You need a diverse group of citizens who can represent the different segments of your community. We use a wheel that represents 20 different segments that make up a complete community. Age, income level, gender and ethnic diversity are also important. We suggest that teams be made up of both those who live within the city limits as well as those from surrounding townships that consider the city their home as well (most of us can fulfill several of these requirements so you don’t need a different person for each segment or each type of diversity you need to represent). Without a diverse team you cannot expect to create a truly common vision that everyone can identify and support. |
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How much time is required of community members who are on the HCP team? |
Over the two years of the initial HCP program, team members attend five one-day long training sessions in Little Falls and one evening training session (Session 5) in their local community. Local community involvement can be intense in the weeks leading up to the community visioning session, perhaps meeting every week or two for several weeks. After visioning is complete and work on implementing goals begins it is usually one to two meetings a month in the community depending on what task force and projects the team member chooses to be involved in. |
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| How long are the training sessions and where are they held? |
| Five of the six formal training sessions are held at the Initiative Foundation’s office and training facility in Little Falls. Sessions start at 9:00 a.m. and are preceded by a continental breakfast at 8:30 a.m. Training ends by 4:00 p.m. each day. Lunch is provided on site. Session 5, Planning and Project Implementation, is held in each community and is scheduled by the local HCP team and Initiative Foundation staff. It usually takes place within 30 days of Session 4 and takes about 2 ˝ hours to complete. |
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How much is the HCP grant and how can the funds be used? |
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You may apply for up to $15,000. Very small communities (fewer than 250 in population) may be offered a smaller grant. If you want to apply for the full $15,000 there is a dollar to dollar local match requirement for $5,000 of those funds that must be dedicated to coordinating the HCP program in the local community ($2,500 for each of the two years). If you apply at the $10,000 level there is no local match required unless you choose to use some of those funds for a comprehensive plan or pay for project coordination. $5,000 of the grant can be used to help pay for a comprehensive plan subject to a dollar to dollar local match. Funds may be used to help carry out and promote the visioning process (food, advertising etc), expenses directly associated with the HCP process such as travel to trainings and to begin implementation of community identified projects. Funds may not be used for capital expenses, equipment, local fund drives or religious purposes.
Follow up grants after the end of the initial grant period will be subject to a dollar to dollar match. If the community has $20,000 worth of HCP related projects they want to work on, the Initiative Foundation would consider granting up to $10,000 subject to a local dollar to dollar match, some of which can be donated supplies or labor. |
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| How much does this cost the community? |
There are no direct costs to the community other than time and the matching funds as laid out in the answer to question six. All HCP training sessions, meals during trainings, and technical assistance are provided at no charge. We do request assistance with contacts in the local community so the Initiative Foundation can offer partnership opportunities to local organizations to support the Healthy Communities Partnership (HCP) program. |
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What do we need to make a local Healthy Communities Partnership (HCP) effort successful? |
During interviews asking past participants this question they came up with this primary key to success,
A community needs a dedicated and motivated group of volunteers and at least one “champion” person. Volunteers should be recruited from various sectors of the community and should include youth and retired individuals.
Essay: Lessons Learned by Leslie Chmielewski |
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Does the Initiative Foundation offer ongoing support to HCP teams? |
Yes, if there is an active HCP team working on their community identified goals we will continue to offer technical assistance, refer them to other resources, and give a preference for grants that address those goals. These grants will require a dollar to dollar local match. This may continue for up to three years after the initial two year grant period. After that time the community will need to send a team to refresher training or they can apply to repeat the HCP program. |
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| Can a community go through the program more than once? |
Yes, if it has been at least five years since the community previously entered the program. |
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