Seize the Opportunity Fund

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Missouri has its share of health issues – big and small. Some, like infant mortality, require long-term commitments and resources to see impact, while others, such as food insecurity, may see great improvements from short-term efforts. We at Missouri Foundation for Health understand that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to grantmaking. How we go about improving health and making change is not the same everywhere and depends on numerous factors both inside and outside of the communities we serve. We also realize that our communities have unique insights and perspective that we can’t see from our vantage point. Indeed, some of the best ideas for accelerating and generating positive changes in health come directly from you, the community. It is with this in mind that we created the Opportunity Fund, a program that embraces all levels of ideas – big or small, fully formed or still under development.

Launched in February, the new fund builds on our responsive, community-centered approach, and we’re pretty excited about it (and we think you will be too)! We named it the Opportunity Fund because we believe the possibilities for it are open and endless. With this fund, organizations are encouraged to approach the Foundation at any point in the development of their idea. This allows an exchange of knowledge, information, and resources that can greatly increase the potential for success.

Communities throughout Missouri are working together, stretching their thin resources to improve health. We’re here to help! We’re extending our roles as catalyst and partner to help you cultivate your best health ideas. We’re looking to enhance current relationships and foster new ones, with a goal of learning more about each other and realizing – together – how to bring your ideas to life. Another important aspect of the Opportunity Fund is collaboration. We understand that sometimes it can be difficult to get the right people around the table, even though you’re all working toward the same goal. However, taking a collaborative approach can sometimes mean the difference between success and failure. We’re in an excellent position to facilitate connections between groups, which could ultimately increase our opportunity for impact and catalyze change on a broader scale.

We know that timelines and deadlines don’t always make it easy to collaborate, which is why the flexibility of the Opportunity Fund makes it unlike any other funding program we’ve introduced. Getting the right people around the table, collecting the necessary data and information, and acquiring support all takes time. The ideas we anticipate funding will need these elements and more, so it’s important that organizations have the flexibility they require to pull it all together the right way.

You can learn more about the Opportunity Fund by exploring our website and reading our frequently asked questions. If you’re already prepared to begin the process, you can contact us through our online form. We are so pleased to offer this new funding program and are excited to learn about the great ideas we know are out there. Together, let’s seize the opportunity.

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