• NIH-2011 Healthy Vision Community Awards Program
• 2010-2011 CT Office of Rural Health Grant Program Announcement
• ORHP Funding Opportunity: Network Planning Program
• Additional Funding Opportunities

Promoting eye health education and making it available at the community level is a key component of the broader effort to achieve healthy vision for everyone. The National Eye Institute (NEI) recognizes the importance of strengthening the capacity of community-based organizations to expand existing eye health education programs and start new ones. To support these all-important efforts, NEI is pleased to announce the 2011 cycle of the Healthy Vision Community Awards (HVCA) program.

The HVCA program provides up to $10,000 in seed money to nonprofit and community-based organizations to support grassroots eye health education efforts. NEI encourages these organizations and their partners to make a difference in eye health efforts for those they serve, and to apply for a 2011 award. Proposed projects must focus on eye health education, be innovative, have the potential for sustainability once funding ends, and address one or more of the following topics:

• Age-Related Macular Degeneration
• Diabetic Eye Disease
• Glaucoma
• Occupational Eye Safety
• Vision Rehabilitation

For the HVCA 2011 cycle, NEI is pleased to offer an online application process for the first time and a tutorial to walk applicants through the new submission process.

For additional program information, including more details about applicant eligibility, the electronic application process, and criteria for final award selection, go to www.nei.nih.gov/hvca. If you have other information needs regarding the HVCA program, you can e-mail your questions or requests to HVCAmail@shs.net.

HVCA 2011 applications are now available. Please take note of these important dates:

• June 28, 2010 - Applications available online
• August 30, 2010 - Online application deadline
• March 2011 - Awardees notified

To get program ideas and learn about other community-based eye health education programs across the country, visit:
Healthy Vision Community Programs Database.

The Connecticut Office of Rural Health (CT-ORH), through the administration of its Rural Health Office Grant program, announces the availability of grant funds for rural Connecticut health care initiatives. All funds for this grant program come to the CT-ORH through the Department of Health and Human Services through the federal Office of Rural Health Policy. Grant awards are contingent upon federal award funding to the CT-ORH.

Please see the following douments for more information:

• CT Rural Health Small Grant Guidance
• Funding Request Application Face Page
• Grant Program Budget Form
• Grant Review Worksheet

The grant guidance for the 2010 Network Planning grants is now available at www.grants.gov.

Announcement Number HRSA-10-020

HRSA's Office of Rural Health Policy has been administering these grants for several years now but there are important changes for this competition. The scope of the $85,000 one-year grants has broadened and we're looking for applications for general community health planning purposes. So, applicants could focus on a wide range of possible projects such as:

• Strategic health planning at the community level
• Assessing the economic impact ofhealth care in a rural community
• Promoting collaboration between providers such as Critical Access Hospitals and Federally Qualified Health Centers
• Conducting a community needs assessment
• Conducting local health workforce planning
• Hire a consultant to conduct HIT readiness

The change in the program is recognition that what many rural communities need is general planning money to identify issues and bring together key partners to develop plans to address those challenges. The Office plans on funding 20-25 new awards in 2010. The deadline for applications is September 14, 2009. Awards will be announced in February 2010 for a March 1, 2010 project start date.

Interested applicants should read the revised guidance to understand the new focus of the grants and see if it meets their needs If you are interested in applying, you will need to register in grants.gov. There will be a TA Conference call for prospective grantees on August 18, 2009. Please contact Mary Collier, mcollier@hrsa.gov to register for the call. We would also recommend that communities consult with their State Office of Rural Health when applying as these entities can be an important partner and resource in this process.

For a list of the State Offices of Rural Health, see
http://www.nosorh.org/regions/directory.php.

If you have any programmatic questions, please contact Eileen Holloran, eholloran@hrsa.gov or 301-443-7529.

• Rural Assistance Center (RAC) Funding Database: Searchable database for Funding Opportunities.
  
  
• EMS Grant Central Station: Contains a number of EMS grant opportunities in a variety of states, as well as some resource material.