Massey Community Grants: Seed to Harvest

The Seed Grant (Level 1) is designed as the first step to germinate and foster community integration between a community organization and Massey's 2021-2025 strategic priorities. 

Organizations interested in submitting a proposal 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, neither has anyone named in the proposal managed a previous VCU Massey community grant funded project
• upon successful selection as a funded project, applicants agree to nominate one person from the organization to serve on the Massey Cancer Community Advisory Board 

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. 

• Completed application packages are due electronically by 11:59 p.m. on Monday, January 13, 2025.
• Proposed activities must be sustainable and include ways to disseminate measurable outcomes. Dissemination means the targeted distribution of information and ideas related to the application’s focus to a specified target audience, and Massey especially welcomes the creative dissemination of ideas. This may include:
  • Public engagement workshops
  • Artistic exhibits or performances
  • Adaptions of materials for different audiences, based on discussion and input from the target audience
  • Using technology to engage communities
  • Curriculum development and/or adaptation
  • Policy or policy briefs
• Successful applicants are required to submit a mid-term progress report at 6 months and a final evaluative report at the end of the program period.
• The budget and budget justification sections must be reasonable and reflective of the proposed project.
• Priority is given to proposals that include one or more of the following:
• sensitivity to an emerging need of a diverse underserved population
• addresses the grant objectives in priority communities in new and imaginative ways
• directly impact social determinants of health (SDOH) factors
• proposed plans for sustainability and dissemination are clearly stated

Up to five projects will be awarded $5,000 for the one-year project period. Only one application per organization will be accepted. Once awarded, funding extensions or no-cost extensions are not allowable.

Funding priorities are those that include one or more of the following:

• Implementation of evidence-based interventions to eliminate cancer disparities and influence patients’ health outcomes
• Development of sustainable cancer health promotion, prevention and survivorship education
• Promotion of efforts targeting human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, tobacco cessation, screenings for colorectal, breast and lung cancer, prostate cancer awareness and cancer prevention related to obesity and/or physical exercise
• Increasing awareness of racial and ethnic disparities in clinical trial participation, moving beyond the description/definition of the problem and towards deploying evidence-based methods to engage diverse populations in research
• Assisting cancer survivors in increasing their self-efficacy and knowledge
• Developing and launching policy-changing initiatives at the local and/or state level that will improve cancer outcomes for Virginians

Massey will host a virtual webinar on December 16, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. for organizations that are interested in applying for Massey's Seed Grant (Level 1). Interested applicants are strongly encouraged to attend. For those in rural communities with unstable broadband access, you may schedule a technical assistance telephone appointment prior to submission.

To attend the virtual webinar or inquire about a technical assistance appointment, please reach out to Massey’s Community Outreach & Engagement team at engagemassey@vcu.edu or (804) 628-0896 no later than noon on Monday, December 16, 2024.  

• December 6, 2024: Application released
• December 16, 2024 (2:00 p.m.): Technical assistance webinar (Contact engagemassey@vcu.edu to register)
• January 13, 2025 (11:59 p.m.): Applications due
• February 3, 2025: Awardees announced
• March 3, 2025: Project start date/Grant initiation date
• September 1, 2025: Six-month progress report due
• March 2, 2026: Project completion date
• March 16, 2026: Final written report due

Applications must be submitted electronically via email by 11:59 p.m. on January 13, 2025.  For questions related to the application, please contact Michael Gesme at engagemassey@vcu.edu or (804) 628-0896.

A review panel of Massey’s affiliated community partners, recruited from 501c3 organizations, will review the applications for eligibility, completeness and merit of the proposed plan. 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.

A standardized scoring rubric will be used that reflects the following:

• Merit of the proposed activities
• Relevance of the proposed project
• Reasonableness of the budget and budget justification sections
• Rational of the proposed intent of the project

Barring a proposal’s disqualification for failure to meet standards set forth in this request for proposals document, the review panel’s decision will be final.

Submission guidelines

Applications should be formatted in Arial font (11 point) with half inch margins. All submission documents must be saved in PDF format and should not exceed 3-5 pages.

Required components

General information

• Project title
• Project director or leader, including contact information (mailing address, phone number, email)
• Organization leader/institutional authority for accepting the award

Organization background

• Describe your organization, include your organization’s strengths, experience and expertise. Highlight relevant partnerships, collaborations or achievements.

Project goals

• What are the project goals and how do they align with Massey’s stated priority area(s). These goals should be SMART: specific, measurable, attainable/achievable, realistic and time limited.

Assessment of need/background

• Provide a baseline summary to include data that explains the stated objective/area of focus for the population/community you seek to impact by the problem addressed

Target audience

• Who is the target audience(s) for your project and why?
• Who are the key stakeholders your proposed project will impact or influence?
• Who are the key partners and/or advisors that will contribute to your work? Explain the significant contribution

Project design

• Describe the planned project and how funds will be spent to accomplish your goals. Include proposed activities that will be funded.

Project deliverable schedule

• Include both a table and detailed narrative describing how the project will be implemented over the 12-month project period, including how many people will be reached and at along what timeline.

Evaluation and outcomes

• Provide a detailed plan describing how the data will be collected and analyzed. Explain how the data design will link to the assessment of need/background section.
• Describe other measures or metrics for success you plan to collect and report. Include the value that these additional metrics bring to the project

Sustainability plan

• Describe the plan on how and with whom you plan to broadly disseminate the results or impact

Budget and budget justification

• An essential component of your proposal is the preparation of a budget. Consider your budget items carefully, and please include a detailed justification for each line item within the budget including expense category, a description and amount.

Expenditures allowed:

• Personnel/salary support for staff
• Supplies and printing
• Technical assistance
• Patient support to address barriers to care
• Community leader/stakeholder stipends if relevant to the project with a detailed justification
• Domestic travel necessary to carry out proposed project based on institutional travel policies
• Meetings and training expenses (e.g., audiovisual fees, written collateral)
• Mileage (driving expenses incurred; rates of $0.65/mi based on standard IRS mileage rates)

Expenditures NOT allowed:

• Vaccinations, screenings, diagnostic or treatment services, and equipment
• Patient medical expenses (e.g. co-pays)
• Therapeutic agents (prescription or non-prescription)
• General equipment (e.g. furniture, phones, vehicles)
• Construction or renovation of facilities
• Manuscript publishing cost
• Computer and equipment maintenance fees
• Tuition
• Travel and/or registration/related fees for conferences
• Travel not essential to carrying out the proposed project
• Registration and travel cost for professional development or courses not related to this project
• Purchasing and binding of periodicals and books
• Dues and membership fees
• Recruiting expenses
• Administrative or institutional charges for services normally considered overhead (e.g., space rental, utilities, building maintenance)
• Sub-contracts to any institutions not approved by VCU Massey
• Lobbying

• The 2025 Seed Grant (Level 1) will award up to five $5,000 projects for the stated one year (2025 to 2026) grant period. All awards are dependent upon the merit of the project and strength of the application submitted. 
• The official start date of the award and the release of funds will begin after institutional compliance approvals by documentation of a signed memorandum of understanding (MOU).
• Acceptance of funds implies a firm commitment to provide a brief verbal/email check in progress report 2 times over the one-year grant period. 
• Funds will be divided into two payments at 6-month intervals with the second distribution contingent on submission of a written progress report by the stated deadline. Grantees that do not submit written progress report will jeopardize future Massey-supported awards.
• Massey expects that the grantee will completely utilize the full amount of funding during the term of the award. Time extensions to complete the awarded project are NOT permitted. All unspent funds at the end of the grant period will be returned to Massey.
• Projects must start within 45 days of receipt of the Notice of Award and signed MOU or funding may be rescinded.
• All awards, publications and presentations must acknowledge VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center. 
• Acceptance of funds post notice of award implies a firm commitment to provide the Massey joint project team access to meet the team and jointly give talks to the public.
• Upon successful selection as a funded project, applicants agree to nominate one person from the organization to serve on the Massey Community Advisory Board.