The Asian American Health Initiative (AAHI), a part of the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, has awarded 10 local organizations a total of $71,000 as a part of their Asian American Center of Excellence (AACE) Micro-Grants funding opportunity. The AACE was launched in January, 2023 with the goal of supporting Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI)-serving community-organizations in developing and increasing their capacity to successfully provide health, wellness, and social support programs and services. As a part of AACE, AAHI offered micro-grants to improve the capacity, sustainability, and infrastructure of smaller AAPI community-based organizations, faith-based institutions, and nonprofits.
A total of 17 organizations submitted proposals request over $190,000. The following 10 organizations received funding:
All grantees were notified on March 7 of their award and have until June 30, 2023 to make the capacity building changes to their organizations.
Please check back for announcements around the next AACE Micro-Grant cycle. The below information pertains to the Fiscal Year 2023 grant cycle, which has now closed.
AACE micro-grants will be provided for activities that build organizational capacity under the following categories.
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Purchase of equipment that will support the organization’s growth, enable better data collection, and/or allow for improved operations.
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Enrollment in professional development courses or activities for staff or volunteer personnel to improve or expand the delivery of health and wellness services.
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Hire consultant(s) or contractor(s) for specialized services to improve organization’s ability to provide services, elevate business practices, and/or increase collaborations.
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The following types of services/projects will NOT BE FUNDED through AACE micro-grants:
To be eligible for a grant award under this program the applicant organization must:
AACE micro-grants are one-time competitive awards and will be awarded up to $5,000 per category. No organization will receive more than $15,000 collectively across all three funding categories. Awards will be determined after a competitive review of all completed proposals. Community organizations of all sizes are encouraged to apply as there is no minimum award amount to apply. This opportunity is meant to boost the capacity of smaller, underfunded organizations.
The total funding available is $70,000. The funding is allocated as following:
Applications will undergo a primary technical review to ensure all required information has been provided and that the application meets all eligibility criteria including annual budget size. Following that, applications will be reviewed by a panel of representatives from PCC, AAHI, Montgomery County Government, and/or community leaders. Panelists will review, evaluate, and rank applications according to the scoring criteria. Final awardees and award amounts will be decided by AAHI and PCC.
All awards will be subject to PCC Terms and Conditions as PCC is the contractor to distribute funds.
All applicants should visit AAHI’s Community Grants Online Portal to access the application. New applicants to AAHI’s Community Grants Online Portal should click the link to create their profile and access the applications. Applicants that have created a profile for the Healthy Communities Fund should login with their existing credentials and click on the “Apply” tab to access the application.
All applicants must complete the online application by 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 12, 2023.
Organizations may reach out to AAHI@montgomerycountymd.gov for assistance in the application process.
The grant period for the AACE micro-grants will start on March 6, 2023 and end on June 30, 2023.
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