Program Details

• We anticipate grants will range from $500,000 and $750,000 and span one to three years.

• Each grant amount will depend on the stage of development (new versus more mature collaborative), the size and scope of efforts, and local needs and assets.

• The total amount will be negotiated with CARESTAR at the point when an organization is invited to proceed to Phase 3.

• The annual allocation of funds within the total budget is flexible and can be determined by the organization/collaborative depending on the stage and plans.

• Grant recipient must be a non-profit organization or public entity based in the area where the project will occur and serve as the primary contact for the grant.

Project ideas will be reviewed by a team of CARESTAR staff and outside experts representing philanthropy, emergency and prehospital care, healthcare, and racial equity. All ideas will be assessed on their own merit, against the pool of ideas submitted, and against the following preferences to gauge each applicant’s potential:

• Partnerships that include/will include the following types of organizations:

  • • Emergency response agencies (e.g., 911/211 call centers, fire departments, ambulance agencies, other first responders)

    • Local hospital(s) and/or trauma centers

    • Local law enforcement

    • Community-based organizations that advocate on behalf of underrepresented populations

    • Local public health agencies including behavioral health departments

    • Local/regional government representatives, particularly the Local EMS Agency (LEMSA);

• Projects that have the potential for broad-reaching, systemic improvements to health equity among the local populations;

• Partnerships that reflect the diversity of the communities they serve;

• Organizations that have experience soliciting and incorporating broad community input into plans and ongoing implementation efforts;

• Projects that have a significant geographic reach with demographics that include a significant percentage of Black, Indigenous, and people of color;

• Organizations that have a strong understanding of how racial disparities manifest in local emergency and prehospital care, and what it means to strive for health equity; and

• Organizations that have experience collecting, analyzing, and using data to inform planning, decisions, and actions.

CARESTAR recognizes that the level of innovation and transformation necessary to address racial equity in prehospital care, will require time and resources, as many communities are unlikely to have the necessary commitment of key public and private stakeholders, or perhaps readily available data.

We also understand that California communities, cities, counties, and regions are very diverse, with unique assets, challenges, histories, and politics. CARESTAR honors this diversity and will listen and learn alongside our grantees. As such, we are open to funding competitive proposals consisting of partners in the formative stages of collaboration and development, as well as more mature collaboratives ready to implement a plan or disseminate previously piloted programs.

Depending on the stage at which grantees enter this initiative, the following sequence of steps is expected during the multi-year grant. At a minimum, all grantees must complete the first four components by the end of the grant period, including:

1. Form a robust collaborative of more than one agency responsible for local emergency response such as a fire department, public health, ambulance company, social service agency, hospital/trauma center, LEMSA, as well as community members and/or representative community-based organizations. This collaborative will commit to learn, plan, and act together as demonstrated by the assignment of representative(s) to the collaborative and letters of support or memoranda of understanding.

2. Gather and analyze local quantitative and qualitative data to identify any racial disparities regarding the ways Black, Indigenous, and/or people of color, engage, receive, experience, and/or recover from any aspect(s) of local emergency and prehospital care. Data may be obtained from primary or secondary sources and must include information pertinent to the communities of interest (e.g., GIS data, zip code, census tract, etc.) as well as include input from community members regarding their experiences and feedback.

3. Identify priority area(s) and explore ideas for innovative solutions/transformations (i.e., place to start and where to go next…) by engaging a range of stakeholders including community members and/or community-based organizations to reflect on the data, and consider related local assets, barriers, challenges, opportunities, and potential for scale/spread to broader geographies. The collaborative should be able to describe the process used, and the criteria by which the priority area(s) was selected.

4. Develop an implementation plan that considers the data, incorporates community feedback, and provides a road map for working toward transformation in local emergency and prehospital care. This plan can identify the problem(s) the group is trying to solve and a high-level vision for what a “transformed system” would look like. It should also key milestones, outcome measures, stakeholders, a budget, partnership agreements, and a process for discussing progress toward increasing racial equity within the local emergency and prehospital care with stakeholders including community members.

5. Enact the implementation plan making demonstrated progress toward short-term milestones and longer-term goals and outcomes. The collaborative should work together to plan activities, review progress, address challenges, and identify new opportunities along the way. Local stakeholders and community members should be informed and engaged along the way, and data should be collected and reviewed. The plan can include hiring or assigning key staff required for success.

6. Advance systems change by supporting the integration, spread, and sustainability of innovations achieved, reinforcing with policy or regulatory changes as possible. Grantees will be expected to share their outcomes with key regional and state agencies including the CA Commission on EMS.

In addition to pursuing the above grant components, CARESTAR grantees will also be expected to:

• Participate in progress report meetings with CARESTAR staff every six months;

• Submit annual (cumulative) expenditure reports;

• Participate in program evaluation and designate a key contact for evaluation activities; and

• Send at least two delegates from the collaborative to any broader initiative convenings.

August 6, 2021 - Begin accepting project ideas (Phase 1)

August 18, 2021 - Information Session for interested parties (optional)

September 10, 2021, 5pm PDT - Project submission deadline

By September 29, 2021 - Notify organizations selected for interviews (Phase 2)

Between September 30- October 8, 2021 - Interviews with selected organizations

By October 15, 2021 - Notify organizations invited to submit supplemental information (Phase 3)

By November 19, 2021 - All supplemental information due

December 8, 2021 - Notify grantees

January 1, 2022 - Grant funding period begins (We anticipate projects to run between January 1, 2022 – December 31, 2024. Individual grant periods may vary depending on the project.)

January 20, 2022 - Program kick-off meeting (in-person or by Zoom)

The following are just a few examples of the types of transformations and innovations in emergency and prehospital care that we could see supporting through this initiative. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but provided here for reference and inspiration:

• CA Bridge Program - "Transforming Treatment for Substance Use Disorder in California"

• California Health Care Foundation, "San Francisco Puts Community Paramedics on Front Lines of the Pandemic"

• Center for American Progress, "The Community Responder Model"

• Los Angeles Times, "LAPD program diverting suicide calls to counselors expands to 24 hours"

• New Times, " SLO approves pilot program to send an EMT and social worker to homeless calls"

• WBUR, "Eugene, Oregon, Police Chief: Sending Unarmed Crisis Specialists On Mental Health Calls Saves Lives"

The below includes a growing list of questions we have received from prospective applicants, categorized by topic, and our best attempt to answer. If you have any other questions not addressed here, feel free to send us an email at grants@carestarfoundation.org.

BIPOC-Related

Q: The funding announcement states, "particularly residents who identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or people of color" does this include Hispanic/Mexican Americans? As the initiative is in CA and Hispanic/Mexican Americans are the largest (39%) and most heavily marginalized population in the state, would proposed work that addresses their needs in local emergency and pre-hospital systems be considered? Or is the call intended for smaller-in-population-numbers groups in CA--i.e., Black (6%) and Indigenous (1%)? I understand "race/ethnicity/people-of-color" are all social constructs and just want to make sure we understand the scope of the initiative. It would also be helpful to know if Asian American populations are considered "people of color"?

A: As a short answer, yes, the scope of the program certainly could include Latinx and Asian populations in California. As a longer answer, we are looking to support collaboratives that identify racial disparities in local response/care/experience in the emergency and prehospital landscape, and then plan and address those disparities with innovative system solutions that can hopefully be scaled or disseminated over time. We expect that the planning and work to reform the systemic issue(s) will also be informed by related community input as well.

Application-Related

Q: Is there a printout copy of the questions that we can use to prepare the proposal uploads?

A: Yes. There is a list of all the application questions on this website. Please visit the Submit Project Ideas page. You can also access a list of questions once you are logging into our online application. There is a button on the top right of the application screen.

Q: Do we first submit a LOI?

A: The Transformations & Innovations Initiative application (called an “LOI” in the system), is the first step in applying for a grant. You can find the link to this application on our website portal at: https://sites.google.com/view/carestar-innovations. There is not a separate LOI that needs to be submitted.

Q: I am trying to watch the video recording of the call in question and answer session. It will not let me in saying that I don’t have correct password. I would like to see it. Is there a way to do so?

A: See below Information Session section for a link to the recording and the passcode.

Grant Parameters

Q: Can this funding help with staff compensation who will be working on the project?

A: Yes

Q: We are thinking of applying jointly with a community partner. We are a public entity and they are a non-profit. Would we need to have a lead fiscal sponsor or can funds be distributed separately?

A: A lead agency will be needed as the primary applicant in our system (lead contact person, with email, phone number, etc.). It can be a representative either from a public entity or a non-profit. If it is easier and important to your organizations that payment is made directly to each organization, rather than one organization coordinating the finances, that can be arranged.

Types of Program Support-Related

Q: Would an organization with Promotores - home visitors/educators be able to apply for this project?

A: Yes, that would be fine, assuming they were part of, or planning to be part of, a larger collaborative. We encourage applicants to think broadly about potential partners representing different aspects of local emergency and prehospital care.

The CARESTAR Foundation hosted an online Information Session about this new initiative on August 18, 2021. A recording of that Zoom session is available here.

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