OBHPP - Grant Program NOI ~1.docx

Department of Mental Health Office of Behavioral Health Promotion & Prevention

PREVENTION AND PROMOTION

Notice of Intent to Issue A New Grant Opportunity

COMMBUYS # BD-26-1022-DMH08-8210C-118664

BACKGROUND: The Massachusetts Department of Mental Health (DMH) Office of Behavioral Health Promotion and Prevention (OBHPP) is dedicated to creating and supporting positive population-level impacts via upstream behavioral health promotion and prevention initiatives (see OBHPP website for more information). OBHPP is guided by three overarching mission-driven outcomes that serve as the north star for all its initiatives: building a resilient Commonwealth, supporting healthy and safe communities, and improving individual well-being. In alignment with these goals, OBHPP has identified key social impact objectives, including promoting mental health and wellness, fostering positive childhood and youth experiences, preventing violence, preventing substance use disorders (SUDs), preventing suicide, and reducing stigma. These objectives reflect the Office’s commitment to creating lasting, equitable change across the Commonwealth.

GRANT OPPORTUNITY: OBHPP intends to launch a new grant opportunity this fall for community-based organizations across the Commonwealth to develop, implement, and evaluate programs that focus on one or two of OBHPP’s identified key social impact objectives. OBHPP intends to issue a Request For Application at that time to solicit grant proposals. Approximately $3 million dollars will be available for grant awards each State fiscal year, subject to appropriations. OBHPP intends to make multiple awards to fund different initiatives across the Commonwealth. The number of awards made, grant duration and funding provided will vary depending on the proposals received, funding available and the best interest of the Commonwealth. It is anticipated that the grant program will be open for approximately 10 years, and new awards will be made on an ongoing basis as funding continues to be available.

ELIGIBLE PROJECTS: OBHPP is seeking to fund community-based organizations to develop, implement and evaluate new pilot programs or expansions of existing programs aimed at addressing one or two of the following priority focus areas. Each focus area is to be considered from a population-wide lens at various points throughout the life course.

1. Reducing loneliness and social isolation.

2. Reducing family stress and supporting caregiver wellbeing.

3. Promoting infant, early childhood, and maternal mental health.

4. Reducing psychological distress in immigrant populations.

5. Promoting early intervention with youth and young adults.

6. Reducing family and intimate partner violence.

7. Promoting population wellbeing through education, training, and skills development.

Grant recipients will be required to work closely with OBHPP to:

· Collaborate on a program logic model, evaluation plan, and intended outcomes.

· Implement new, or expand existing, evidence based, or evidence informed initiatives aligned with two or more of the focus areas.

· Report on progress, program metrics, and evaluation findings.

· Participate in regular check-ins with OBHPP staff and share high-level status reports and budget updates.

· Work with OBHPP staff to create and share highlights, vignettes, case studies, and/or learnings for showcasing on OBHPP website and on other channels.

Preference will be given to initiatives based in communities prioritized by the Advancing Health Equity in Massachusetts (AHEM) initiative. Preference will also be given to programs with multi-lingual implementation, collaborations between large intersectoral organizations and smaller community-based organizations and/or partnerships to strengthen organizational capacity, share resources, and drive grassroots impact.

ELIGIBLE RECIPIENTS. To be eligible for a grant award, an organization must:

· Be a community-based organization located in the state of Massachusetts or serving a population explicitly within the state of Massachusetts. For the purposes of this NOI, a community-based organization is defined as any public or private nonprofit organization that is representative of a community and engaged in meeting that community's social, health, or psychological needs.

· Have experience implementing behavioral health promotion and/or prevention programming.

· Have experience collecting evaluation and/or reporting data and creating reports.

· Have experience incorporating health equity and implementing initiatives to reduce social and structural barriers to mental wellbeing.

PLANNED WEBINAR

OBHPP will be hosting a webinar to answer questions regarding the grant opportunity in September 2025.

Please monitor COMMBUYS in the coming weeks for more details.