The Madison non-profit organization Common Wealth Development has recently received a $300,000 Community Collaboration Grant award from the Wisconsin Partnership Program at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. The grant will support Common Wealth’s efforts to support and preserve the vitality of neighborhoods in the Madison Metropolitan area, as the bedrock of healthy community and economic development, with projects aimed at improving the housing and business climate through an approach centered on racial equity and community-level health improvement.
“We are honored to be part of this new grant program,” said Justice Castañeda, Common Wealth Executive Director, in a statement. “As we look at the drivers of health in our community and the upstream approaches we want to take to improve health, it’s exciting to have a partner that understands our direction and will be there with us.”
The Wisconsin Partnership program created a grant program awarding a total of $1.5 million awarded to five Wisconsin community based organizations whose missions help to promote and support health equity and accessibility. The organizations awards the grants will also be provided with four years of technical assistance, to help to manage and support the grant.
This new grant program was designed in direct response from Wisconsin nonprofits stating they need more support for public health initiatives, said Patrick Remington, MD, MPH, Associate Dean of Public Health at the School of Medicine and Public Health.
“What we heard loud and clear was that in addition to funding, organizations want to build their capacity to be more effective in their communities – and that the resources of the university can support those interests,” Remington said in a statement.
The Wisconsin Partnership Program was established at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health in 2004 through an endowment gift from Blue Cross Blue Shield United of Wisconsin’s conversion to a stock insurance corporation. To date, the Wisconsin Partnership Program has awarded more than 450 research, education and community partnership grants focused on improving the health and well-being of the people of Wisconsin. The grants also supports the “Wisconsin Idea”, which is the idea that education should influence people’s lives beyond the boundaries of the classroom.
“It’s the Wisconsin Idea in action – we are building relationships with communities; working and learning alongside them to strengthen their ability to develop community-driven goals and implement action plans. In doing so, we are working to ensure these organizations are equipped to make lasting change in their communities – enduring beyond the grant period,” Remington said in a statement.
The new Community Collaboration Grant award program was designed specifically to strengthen community organizations’ ability to address health inequities through funding as well as training and technical assistance, and incorporates feedback from non-profits from across the state.