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On December 6, VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center announced that the proposal process has begun for the 2025 Community Grant Initiative.

This is the fourth year of Massey’s Seed to Harvest Community Grant Initiative, which provides funding to strengthen the capacity of local partners and aims to bridge the gap between cancer prevention and control and local communities, using evidence-based interventions. 

The grant initiative is focused on the promotion of health, health equity, person-centered care (from prevention through survivorship) and reducing suffering from cancer for citizens in Virginia. This year the opportunities represent two tiers: Seed and Harvest. 

“These types of community grants are crucial because they shift power to where it belongs: the community,” said Katherine Y. Tossas, Ph.D., M.S., interim co-associate director of community outreach and engagement (COE) and the founding director of the Office of Catchment Area Data Analytics at Massey. “Community members are best positioned to identify the issues most urgent to their health and well-being, ensuring that the interventions reflect their lived realities and priorities. By enabling the community to take the lead, we ensure solutions are more relevant, actionable and sustainable.”

The Seed Grant (level 1) available through the initiative awards eligible organizations $5,000 for a one year project period. This mechanism is designed as the first step to germinate and foster community integration between a community organization and Massey's strategic priorities. 

Download the full Seed Grant submission guidelines (PDF)

Massey is also accepting Letters of Intent (LOI) for a three-year, $50,000 Harvest Grant. The Harvest Grant rounds out the last phase of the Massey Community Grant Initiative, which began in 2022, investing in community-led efforts that promote health, health equity and person-centered care across the cancer continuum while also reducing suffering from cancer.

Download the Harvest Grant LOI (PDF)

Organizations interested in submitting a proposal for either award must meet the following criteria:

• Applicants must be recognized in the state of Virginia and by the IRS as a non-profit organization with documented exemption from income taxes with a 501(c)(3) public charity designation OR must be a government agency OR must be a recognized house of worship.
• Applicants cannot be a political or lobbying organization OR represent an individual OR individual- or family-based foundation.
• Applicants must not have any record of discrimination related to age, sex, race, color, sexual orientation, national/ethnic origin or disability.
• Applicants must provide evidence of being able to successfully manage a budget of $50,000, the amount of the award for the Harvest level, or a budget of $5,000 for the Seed level.

For the Harvest Grant, additional criteria includes: 

• Applicants must agree to jointly develop, implement and evaluate their project under a joint Massey/Community Organization oversight or leadership team.
• Applicants invited for a full application must agree to participate in a joint proposal development workshop, to take place virtually on January 13, 2025.
• Collaborate with a designated VCU Massey faculty/staff partner throughout the proposal creation stage before final submission is due in late winter of 2025. 

The initiative is part of an effort to foster organizational collaboration across Massey’s catchment area, defined as the 66 contiguous localities in central, eastern and southern Virginia served by the cancer center.

“From its inception, the goal of the Community Grant Initiative has been multipurpose,” said Michael Gesme, MPA, senior program manager for COE at Massey. “Starting with the Seed and Cultivate levels, we’ve seen an ability to connect local partners throughout Massey’s catchment area with startup funding for cancer-focused health equity projects, build external relationships in support of aligned goals, and work toward positive outcomes for the community members we serve—ultimately striving to reduce the burden of cancer across the commonwealth.” 

Gesme added, “We’re really thrilled to not only continue that work with another annual launch of the Seed Grant, but to build yet again through the addition of the 3-year $50,000 Harvest opportunity.”

David Turner, Ph.D., interim co-associate director of COE at Massey, stated, "The Seed and Harvest Grants provide individuals and advocacy groups with a significant opportunity to implement the changes they want to see in their own communities to address health and health inequity.”

The proposal submission deadline for the Seed Grant ($5,000) will be no later than January 13, 2025. Up to three projects will be funded for the upcoming year and will be expected to launch on or around March 3, 2025. For those interested in submitting a Seed Grant proposal, there will be a virtual technical assistance webinar on December 16, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. via Zoom. 

The deadline for qualifying organizations to submit their LOI for the Harvest Grant is December 20, 2024. Massey leaders will then invite select applicants to attend a proposal development workshop on January 13, 2025 and submit a full proposal, in collaboration with a Massey faculty/staff member. Massey will fund one Harvest Grant award in the amount of $50,000 to begin on or around May 1, 2025.

The award for both grants will be competitive. Full guidelines concerning the criteria and process can be found within the Seed Grant Request for Proposals and the request for Harvest Grant LOIs. 

Through the Community Grant Initiative’s first phase, Massey awarded seven $5,000 Seed Grants in 2022, six $5,000 Seed Grants in 2023, and three $5,000 Seed Grants in 2024. Additionally, two $20,000 Cultivate (level 2) Grants were launched in 2023.

“These projects perfectly align with Massey’s strategic plan and mission to reduce the burden of cancer and promote health equity across Virginia,” said Tossas, who is also an assistant professor of social and behavioral sciences at the VCU School of Public Health. “By funding grassroots organizations and working alongside them as true partners, Massey leverages community expertise to create targeted, impactful interventions that resonate deeply within the catchment area. These grants are a testament to Massey’s commitment to foster collaboration, equity and person-centered care.”

For any questions, please contact Michael Gesme at engagemassey@vcu.edu or (804) 628-0896.