Health Equity Fund

Investing in community initiatives to address health disparities

The Richmond Health Equity Fund invests in community-led programs, initiatives, and leaders to improve health and quality of life in communities experiencing deep health disparities and the longstanding impacts of racism.

To-date:

The HEF has invested $1.2 million in 15 organizations working to improve health and address root causes of health disparities in communities across Richmond.

Additional investments are being made ongoing in community organizations and initiatives filling gaps to address health disparities.

How the Health Equity Fund Works

The Richmond Health Equity Fund is managed by Richmond and Henrico Public Health Foundation.

While RHPHF and Richmond and Henrico Health Districts serve all of Richmond and Henrico, with current funding, the HEF only considers and funds projects taking place within the City of Richmond.

We understand deeply that residents in Richmond and Henrico and the broader region face many of the same health challenges and systemic injustices, but the federal funding that makes the HEF possible has been specifically allocated to Richmond and cannot fund projects in Henrico at this time.

Community Advisory Committee

To prioritize where the HEF makes investments, a Community Advisory Committee (CAC) of Richmond residents informs and leads  these decisions. CAC members have a combination of both lived and professional experience in the health disparities of focus for the HEF. 

The CAC has helped to shape the process, championing community-based nominations, as well as the selections for funding, weighing complex questions of how the HEF can best fill gaps to address community needs.

HEF Funding

Funding Priorities

Consistent with the Mayor’s Equity Agenda, the HEF invests in new work — or supports expansions or enhancements to existing work — led by nonprofit and community organizations that directly addresses a range of health disparities, including:

  • COVID-19 disparities to increase full vaccination and decrease spread, illness, hospitalizations, and deaths
  • Mental and behavioral health
  • Food access and security
  • Substance use and recovery
  • Access to care and health education
  • Maternal and infant health
  • Underlying health conditions
  • Other emergent health outcomes where Richmond’s populations have disparate burdens, as indicated by trends in data and community engagement processes
A father holding his son.
The HEF welcomes both solutions that provide direct programming to address immediate health outcomes and broader strategies that address the root causes of poor health in communities across Richmond (housing, transportation, economic stability, community support, etc.).

HEF Applications

The HEF funds projects that serve Richmond residents – addressing health disparities and building strong, thriving communities across the City. 

Gaps in funding and resources too often create or exacerbate disparities in our health outcomes. The HEF seeks to fill these gaps for vital, innovative, evidence-based initiatives. Single organizations, collaboratives, and individual leaders are all eligible for funding. Funding decisions are made with the HEF’s Community Advisory Committee.

 

The HEF is not currently accepting applications. Applications will open in 2024.

Health disparities in communities across Richmond are longstanding but many deepened during the pandemic. After establishing the HEF, the City of Richmond and RHPHF have provided immediate funding to several projects that will have a direct, near-term impact on community health.

COVID-19

Daily Planet Health Services

Personal follow up and support for unstably housed patients to ensure access to up to date vaccination and connections to primary care.

Crossover Ministries

Cultural and language supportive services to ensure access to testing and treatment and connections for broader follow up care.

Sacred Heart Center

Vaccine and other resource access and referral services for Spanish-speaking clients.

Food Access & Security

Waymakers Foundation

Culturally relevant emergency nutrition services.

The Happily Natural Day

Three-season youth farming program and online urban farm fellowship.

Maternal & Infant Health

Birth In Color

Healthy Hearts Plus

Urban Baby Beginnings

Access to community doulas for Richmond families and training and certification support for doulas.​

Mental & Behavioral Health

RBHA

Expanding community and individual mental health services in three RRHA community resource centers.

The Hive

Community based, healing-centered case management program for youth touched by the criminal legal system.

Substance Use & Recovery

Nolef Turns
OAR of Richmond

Transitional housing support and case management for residents returning from incarceration settings with a history of substance use.

REAL LIFE

Transitional housing support and case management for residents returning from incarceration settings with a history of substance use.

Access to Care & Health Education

Nationz Foundation

STI/STD testing and emergency support services.

Underlying Health Conditions

Virginia Community Voice

Community-engaged design and planning for holistic healing space.

Questions? Connections? 

We add updates and information to this site to inform our communities and partners on the HEF’s activities. 

For additional information, contact Saraya Perry, the Program Officer for the HEF.