2025 Community Investment Mini-Grant Application

Housed within the Philadelphia Department of Public Health’s Division of Maternal, Child, and Family Health Division, Birth Justice Philly is a team focusing on maternal morbidity and mortality. Comprised of professionals from diverse disciplines including healthcare providers, epidemiology, education and public health, the team works to gather crucial data and translate it into actionable strategies to improve maternal health outcomes in Philadelphia. 

Birth Justice Philly operates through two core branches:  

1. Conducting citywide data collection and comprehensive surveillance to track local trends in severe maternal morbidity and maternal mortality, including facilitation of the nation's inaugural county-level Maternal Mortality Review Committee.  

2. Leveraging this data to pinpoint and pursue tangible next steps through our action team, the Organized Voices for Action (OVA).   The goal of the OVA is to implement and support innovative citywide interventions that specifically address the leading contributors to maternal mortality in Philadelphia, as identified by Philadelphia’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee (MMRC). 

The first recommendation of the MMRC 2020 report is to “address root causes of health inequity in the health care system.” CBOs have been key in advancing maternal health equity and reducing health disparities. Thus, the Community Investment implementation team was formed to address this recommendation, which has a goal of investing in community-based organizations dedicated to enhancing maternal health outcomes in communities that face systemic barriers to care and/or experience higher rates of adverse perinatal health outcomes. This funding is critical to amplifying CBOs autonomy to operate based on their expertise as lived experience practitioners. This mini grant project seeks to fill a gap by providing funds that CBOs currently lack to grow their capacity to address maternal health needs while ensuring their organizations are sustainable. 

Applicant must: 

• have a current 501(c)(3) or LLC designation; 

• serve Philadelphia residents and have a maternal health/birth justice focus; 

• be at least 51% owned by individuals who have been subjected to prejudice or cultural bias within American society; 

• have an annual operating budget of less than $500,000. 

Please note mini grants cannot fund: 

• Individuals 

• Schools/Universities 

• Formation of a new organization 

• Expenses incurred before September 1, 2024 

Allowable Expenses to include but not limited to: 

• Conferences (registration fees and access to CEUs) 

• Training and certification (examples: Certified Lactation Counselor, Perinatal Mental Health Certificate, training opportunities for staff/boards etc.) 

• Professional services (legal, tax services, web development, consulting, mentoring, marketing, financial management, data systems, grant writing, etc.) 

• Organizational development/ strategic planning 

• Requests for expenses incurred prior to the application announcement (no earlier than September 1, 2024) will be accepted but applicant must submit proof of payment 

Meet the 2023-2024 Community Investment Mini-Grant Recipients 

• Tax Filing service 

• Marketing and Promotional Materials 

• E.g. Content creation for website, business cards  

• Consultant services 

• Lactation consultant certification course  

• Doula liability insurance fee 

• Pediatric Scale 

• Laptop 

• Conference Fees 

• Financial management services 

• CPR Training 

Applications will be assessed on completion and quality of application, the organizations commitment to maternal health and the first recommendation from the MMRC described above, and sustainability. Please see the evaluation rubric below: 

Criteria

• Application includes name, contact info, website and/or social media. 

• Has a current 501(c)(3) or LLC designation and provided appropriate documentation.  

• Organization is at least 51% owned by individuals who have been subjected to prejudice or cultural bias within American society;   

• Organization demonstrates a commitment to the advancement of maternal health or birth justice through their mission and initiatives. 

• Amount of funds requested is within allowable grant range. 

• Requested expenses are an allowable expense. 

• Provided a clear, detailed rationale for use of funds. 

• Included an indication of funding priorities for expenses included in the budget 

• Long-term sustainability: Clearly explain how the funding will help the organization grow and stay strong over time with specific plans or goals.  

• If submitting for reimbursement of a previous expense: submitted proof of payment. 

Office hours to answer any applicant questions will be held April 8th, 15th, and 22nd. Please complete the following form to set up an appointment during office hours.  

Questions about this opportunity may be submitted to Lakeshia Montgomery at Lakeshia.Montgomery@phila.gov with a cc to Mara Pliskin at Mara.Pliskin@phila.gov or Haley Widom Haley.Widom@phila.gov. 

Please be aware of the following timeline for fund distribution: grantees will be announced in May and funds will be distributed anytime between June and July. 

The application will open on Tuesday April 1, 2025, and be accepted until Monday May 12th, 2025. Applicants are required to complete the application and upload any requested materials using the application form. 

Final decision notifications will go out by May 19th via email.