Fenway Health Now Accepting Proposals For The Judy Bradford Community Grant

The Women’s Health Team at Fenway Health is happy to announce a call for proposals for the Judy Bradford Community Grant.

On Saturday, October 16th, 2021 the Women’s Health Team will host the 23^rd Annual Audre Lorde Cancer Awareness Brunch, a celebration of BIPOC, QTPoC, non-binary and gender fluid, and LGBTQIA+ communities and their supporters whose lives have been affected by cancer. Started in 1999, the brunch is named in memory of Audre Lorde, a self-described “Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet” who battled cancer for 14 years.

At the event, we honor Dr. Judy Bradford, a lifelong advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community whose generous gift supports the brunch. As Co-Chair of The Fenway Institute from its inception in 2001, Judy was a pioneer and national leader in building a framework for BIPOC and LGBTQIA+-focused research and teaching. Judy was an activist, mother, scientist, wife, adventurer, and mentor whose contributions to the community will live on. We celebrate her legacy through the Judy Bradford Community Grant to support cancer advocacy and address health disparities for marginalized communities. Fenway’s Women’s Health Team seeks to meet the healthcare needs of all individuals using its services, across the spectrum of identity, including BIPOC and lesbian, bisexual, queer, and heterosexual women, transgender women, people who identify as gender neutral or non-binary, and people on the transmasculine spectrum.

Grant Proposal

Purpose of Grant:

When accessing healthcare, women, BIPOC, QTPoC, non-binary and gender fluid folks, and the LGBTQIA+ community face social and economic barriers as a result of racism, sexism, misogyny, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, and other oppressive systems. These factors, or social determinants of health, include limited access to resources, such as education, employment, housing, health care services, and food. Historical barriers to these resources negatively affect the health outcomes of underserved communities.

For the Judy Bradford Community Grant, Fenway Health anticipates awarding one grant in the amount of $2,500. The grant will fund a community-focused project that promotes cancer prevention, awareness, advocacy, and/or services and addresses health disparities among BIPOC, QTPoC, non-binary and gender fluid folks, and/or the LGBTQIA+ community in Massachusetts. The projects can also extend to other marginalized communities, such as cancer survivors, immigrants, individuals with disabilities, youth, youth, older individuals, etc. The project must address demonstrated disparities (either in access or health outcomes) that these marginalized communities encounter in the face of cancer.

Project Criteria: 

Applicants: Community organizations as well as individuals can apply for the grant. For individuals and organizations that do not have 501(c)(3) status, we suggest having a fiscal sponsor to manage the funds. If you have any questions or would like help with this, please contact Nandini Choudhury at [email protected].

Target Population: The target population must include a local community of BIPOC, QTPoC, non-binary and gender fluid folks, and/or the LGBTQIA+ community in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This project can also extend to other marginalized communities, such as cancer survivors, immigrants, individuals with disabilities, youth, older individuals, etc.

Project: Develop and implement a local community-focused project that promotes cancer prevention, awareness, advocacy, and/or services; addresses health disparities related to cancer. In this vein, the project does not have to provide direct cancer services, but can engage the community on health disparities related to cancer. You can check out the resources listed under the above section Community Need for more information about health disparities that. For example, low health insurance rates and lack of access to competent care increase transgender individuals’ risk of cancer. A project that connects the community to health insurance and increases access to transgender competent care can also be considered for the grant.

Community Need: Applicants must provide a rationale and data that demonstrate the need for a community-focused project as it relates to health disparities linked to cancer. This can include secondary data from local sources or from peer-reviewed literature, or primary data collected by the applicant. See these links for resources:

• Boston Public Health Commission’s Health of Boston 2016- 2017 and read Chapter 9: Cancer 
• Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Community Health Needs Assessment
• Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Community Health Needs Assessment
• Boston University Slone Epidemiology Center’s Black Women’s Health Study 

Preference will be given to projects that utilize a collaborative framework or model that:

• Identifies and collaborates with community organizations and members
• Enables active participation and engagement of all partners throughout the planning process
• Empowers and collaborates with their target population as community leaders and local experts

Intended Outcomes: 

Applicants should be able to clearly articulate the intended cancer-related health outcome in their applications, and why this intended outcome is relevant to the target population they have selected to work with. For example:

• Increase Health Insurance Enrollment: A project that connects the transgender community in Boston to health insurance so they can access cancer screenings and receive follow-up if needed, in order to decrease cancer-related health disparities.
• Connect Survivors in the Community: A project that connects Black, Indigenous, Women of Color cancer survivors in a support group to provide resources, and empower and educate others in the community. 

Project Deliverables

Successful grantees will be required to:

• Complete project as outlined Sunday, June 26^th, 2022 demonstrating project process, goals, outcomes, and an accounting of the budget.
• Submit a final report by Monday, July 18^th, 2022 demonstrating project process, goals, outcomes, and an accounting of the budget.

Submit Application:

Eligible community organizations and individuals interested in applying for the Judy Bradford Community Grant will submit their proposals to Nandini Choudhury ([email protected]) by 12am Midnight EST Sunday, September 7^th, 2021. You can access the application here.

Proposal Process and Timeline: 

Submitted proposals will be reviewed September 8^th-September 15^th, 2021 by the Audre Lorde Brunch Planning Committee. This committee consists of community members, specifically BIPOC, women, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and health professionals. The committee will make the final selection and award announcement by Monday, September 15^th, 2021 and invite the grant recipient to the award presentation at the 23^rd  Annual Audre Lorde Cancer Awareness Brunch on Saturday, October 16^th, 11:30am-1:30pm at Fenway Health, virtually through Zoom. Awards will be distributed to grantees by Friday, October 15^th, 2021.

Projects will be expected to be completed across the eight month period from November 1^st, 2021 – June 31^st, 2021, with a final report due by Monday, July 18^th, 2022.

Key Dates 

• Monday, August 4^th, 2021: Call for Proposals
• Sunday, September 7^th, 2021 at 12am Midnight EST: Application Deadline
• September 7^th-15^th, 2021: Application Review
• Monday, September 15^th, 2021: Award Announcement
• Friday, October 15^th, 2021: Funds Distributed
• Saturday, October 16^th, 2021: Award Presentation at Audre Lorde Cancer Awareness Brunch
• November 1^st, 2021 – June 31^st, 2022: Execution of Grant Project
• Monday, July 18^th, 2022: Final Reports Due

For more information or to ask clarifying questions, please contact:

Nandini S. Choudhury (she/hers) 
Women’s Health Program Coordinator
Fenway Health
1340 Boylston Street Boston, MA 02215
Office: 857-313-6537
Email: [email protected]