Q: What kinds of groups take part in these grant opportunities?
A: The groups we work with on these grants vary. Projects are run by churches, community groups, federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), free and charitable clinics, statewide nonprofits, and other local organizations.
To see some of our partners and their projects, check out the previous recipients by year on the Massey community engagement page.
Q: What’s the purpose of these community grants?
A: This varies depending on the grant level.
- Seed grant level: This is designed for ideas community partners have related to cancer prevention, early detection, screening, survivorship, policy, or anything in between. It’s the beginning of planting a seed for what’s to come from a new or unique idea.
- Cultivate grant level: This level is to assist in the expansion of a program or project that already exists by helping to build capacity and cultivating deeper partnerships with the communities you serve and to partner with VCU Massey researchers/investigators that can help find long-term, evidence-based solutions.
- Harvest grant level: This level is for established programs or projects that are ready to move forward in combining the goals of Seed and Cultivate while collecting preliminary data that will be used to apply for larger research focused grants in the future.
Q: What if my organization doesn’t have an existing relationship with VCU Massey, can we still apply?
A: Absolutely! In fact, the Seed level is designed for project ideas and relationships that are just getting started. As long as it has a cancer-focus aligned with Massey’s priorities and service area, we are happy to consider it. If you want to reach out before you submit, you can contact our team at engagemassey@vcu.edu. We love building relationships with partners doing great work, regardless of whether you apply.
For the Cultivate and Harvest levels, the answer is still yes, but the project will need to have a more clearly defined connection to a Massey researcher/investigator’s field of study or expertise, in order to explore it for future research.
Q: Is my organization eligible to apply for one of the grants?
A: Applicant organizations submitting a Letter of Intent or proposal to the Seed, Cultivate or Harvest tiers of funding opportunity must meet the following criteria:
- address emerging ideas in performance improvement, capacity building, and collaborative partnerships that address cancer health promotion, prevention, early detection, and/or health equity
- fully or partially serve Virginia residents who live within Massey’s catchment area
- are in the state of Virginia and are recognized by the IRS as a non-profit, being either a government agency, a recognized house of worship, or an organization exempt from income tax with a 501(c)(3) public charity designation; including community and faith-based organizations, advocacy groups, coalitions, neighborhood associations, or service providers
- are not a political or lobbying organization
- do not discriminate based on age, sex, race, color, sexual orientation, national/ethnic origin, or disability
- organization is not a previous VCU Massey grant recipient at the level in which they are currently applying, neither has anyone named in the proposal managed a previous VCU Massey community grant funded project at that respective level (i.e., Seed grant recipients cannot apply for an additional Seed grant, Cultivate cannot apply for additional Cultivate level grant, etc)
For the Cultivate and Harvest Levels, these additional requirements apply:
- Cultivate and Harvest level applicants must be willing to co-develop their proposal with a VCU Massey investigator/researcher(s) in order to collaborate and identify topics for future community engaged research informed by their Cultivate or Harvest grant projects
- Cultivate and Harvest recipients will be expected to agree to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to outline expectations of the organizations project management team and the VCU Massey investigator/researcher during the course of the project
Please note: Applications are not accepted from non-501c private foundations, individuals, political, or lobbying organizations. Applicants requesting funds for event sponsorships, scholarships, publication of books, conferences, one-time events, dinners, fundraisers, capital campaigns, or endowment funds will not be considered.
Q: If we have a current Community Grant from VCU Massey that has not finished yet, can I apply for the next level of funding or do I need to wait?
A: Organizations with a current grant are eligible (and encouraged) to apply for the next level of funding once announced, so long as the current grant will be finished within 60 days of the date the new grant projects are scheduled to start. To see the expected start date of the new grant projects, please see the timeline information for the specific grant level you are considering applying for.
Q: Can we use this in lieu of a sponsorship for a one-time event our organization is hosting?
A: No. Successful proposals will be for projects that are ongoing for the entire duration of the grant cycle. Events can be part of those projects, but the most likely projects to be funded are those that have sustainable, ongoing efforts to lessen the cancer burden outside of a one-time event. Consider a series of impactful cancer-focused activities versus a single event.
Q: If we submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) for the Cultivate or Harvest level, what are the next steps?
A: Once your LOI is received, it is considered by reviewers for potential feasibility, connection to a cancer center priority, and whether the project idea matches with the focus of an internal VCU Massey researcher/investigator.
If selected to move forward to the full proposal development phase, organizations are notified and receive the full request for applications, along with an invitation to a required proposal development workshop. They are then required to work with a designated Massey researcher/investigator on their proposal, according to the parameters outlined in the request for applications.
Q: What if my organization does not have a cancer focus?
A: That’s ok! In fact, many of Massey’s partners are focused on a large range of community-centered missions that are not cancer specific. However, the community grant project must have an explicit cancer-focus in line with Massey’s mission to reduce the cancer burden on Virginians to be considered for funding.
Q: Who reviews these submissions?
A: Massey staff and faculty review all submissions for technical requirements to be sure they follow the submission guidelines and can be considered for funding by VCU Massey.
Review panels of Massey’s affiliated community partners assess the final proposal applications for eligibility, completeness, and merit of the proposed plan according to a standardized scoring rubric. The review committee, under guidance from Massey staff, will operate as an independent volunteer body to provide their recommendations as to which proposals will move forward for funding consideration.
The review panel will use a standardized rubric to score:
- Merit of the proposed activities and project design to address the stated objectives
- Relevance of the project in relation to the assessment of need within the proposal
- Appropriateness of the budget and budget justification
- Rationale of the project in how it will reach the proposed target audience
- Clearly defined project evaluation plan
- Potential for sustainability of the project
- Clear, direct, and explicitly stated connection to cancer prevention and control throughout the proposal
- Innovation
Barring a proposal’s disqualification for failure to meet standards set forth in the request for proposals document, or misalignment with Massey’s objectives, the review panel’s collective decision will be the determining factor.
For Cultivate and Harvest levels, Massey also determines whether projects are a match with internal researchers/investigators (along with their feasibility), since those projects require potential research questions to be explored.
Q: Who can I speak with for questions that aren’t answered here?
A: Please reach out to Massey’s Office of Community Outreach and Engagement at engagemassey@vcu.edu with “Community Grant Question” in the subject line.
