Flint, MI– Community organizations have about three weeks to apply for the 2022 Flint Resilience in Communities After Stress and Trauma (ReCAST) Community Mini-Grant Program.
There are twelve mini-grants available, ranging from $5,000 to $25,000, to organizations implementing trauma-informed youth programming in Flint.
“We are incredibly grateful to offer these mini-grants during a time when community organizations can really use the funds to support building resilience in Flint residents,” said the city’s Chief Resilience Officer, Lottie Ferguson.
Flint ReCAST is seeking proposals from agencies implementing programs that use trauma-informed approaches to help Flint’s youth, and families impacted by the water crisis.
To qualify for the grant, the agency must be a legally incorporated entity in the State of Michigan with 501(c)(3) status, a project sponsored by a government agency, an academic institution with a clear charitable purpose, or a community-based organization with a fiscal sponsor.
The proposals must also clearly relate to two of the program’s goals.
The first goal is to “increase capacity and implementation of evidence- and community-based youth engagement programs through community partnerships to promote positive youth development.”
According to the Request For Proposals document, a successful application would be an agency that will “provide community-based programming for Flint youth and families in the areas of health, career development, mental health promotion, peer support, and increased capacity and cross-agency collaboration of youth-serving programs.”
With this goal, the document states that applicants should seek to “integrate or establish evidence-based trauma-informed and violence prevention approaches into new and existing youth programs.”
The second goal is to “increase the capacity of trauma-informed practices and strengthen the integration of behavioral health services to improve equitable access.”
For this goal, the document states that “successful grantees” will provide “family strengthening and evidence-based resiliency building training that leads to positive social, emotional, and behavioral health improvements,” such as training for trauma-informed care, mental health literacy, and self-care activities.
The selection process for the agencies who get the grants will be done differently this year, compared to last.
In addition to a standard scoring review, Flint ReCAST will be engaging with the community throughout the grant period “to ensure projects are informed by community participatory budgeting and input.” So, once the applications have been assessed for adhering to the program goals, they will be uploaded to their website where the community can vote on their favorites.
“It will be up to you as an applicant to “sell” your program to the community and seek support through votes on project merit and potential for community impact,” the RFP document states.
The agencies that are selected will be mandated participants in three trainings: trauma informed skills training, resilience training, and mindfulness training.
Interested applicants can access the RFP and submission template at www.flintrecast.org. Proposals must be submitted via email to recast@flint.org no later than Monday, Feb. 14, 2022. Questions about the RFP process should be directed to Kristin Stevenson, Program Manager at kstevenson@flint.org or (810) 232-2228 x257.