Vanderbilt University may nominate one candidate for the 2014 Aetna Regional Grants Program, GoLocal: Cultivating Healthy Communities. This grant opportunity provides $25,000-$50,000 over one year to high-impact and innovative initiatives that encourage healthy eating and active living, particularly within low-income, underserved and minority communities.
GoLocal: Cultivating Healthy Communities will focus on proposals that offer creative ways to:
- Provide nutrition education and build skills for preparing healthy foods;
- Increase the availability and affordability of fresh fruits and vegetables;
- Help families select and prepare healthy foods on a limited budget;
- Support community gardening and urban farming; and
- Make physical activity accessible, affordable and fun.
The Aetna Foundation’s submission criteria includes:
- Alignment with the program’s focus and guidelines;
- Quality and completeness of application;
- Defined impact on community need and population served;
- Reasonable and justifiable budget;
- Strength of proposal, including project plan, outcomes and impact measure; and
- Potential for project success and impact.
Anyone interested in being considered Vanderbilt’s nominee must submit the following (in PDF format) to LSO@vanderbilt.edu by 5 p.m. May 30, 2014:
- A brief (two-page maximum) research plan including summary budget;
- A brief statement of support from department chair/center director; and
- A brief CV or NIH biosketch.
Submissions should reference the program name in the subject line of the email.
Once received, all proposals will be forwarded to an internal review committee that will choose the final nominee. The chosen nominee will submit a full proposal to the Aetna Foundation by the July 30, 2014 (cycle 2), deadline.
If you have any questions about the foundation or its interests and priorities, please contact Ed Thayer, associate director, Corporate Relations, at (615) 322-5030.