Support

• Nonprofit Status

  Is the organization recognized as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code? If not, does the organization have a fiscal sponsor?

• BIPOC-Led

  Is the organization led by a Black, Indigenous, or Person of Color (BIPOC) or is the project a collaboration between organizations in which at least one of the organizations is BIPOC-led? For more information, please review our FAQs.

• Geographic Location

  Is the organization based in and serving communities located in Pennsylvania? The grant program will prioritize organizations that serve Pennsylvania’s most under-resourced neighborhoods in rural and predominantly BIPOC communities.

• Commitment to Racial and Social Justice

  Does the organization show a commitment to addressing the root causes of social/racial injustice at a community level?

• Person-Centered

  Is the organization supportive of a person-centered and non-punitive approach to drug use?

*Note: Community-based organizations do not need to have a work history of engagement activities and issues related to drug use.

• Tuesday, September 19th, 2023

  REACH PA Application Period opens

• Monday, October 2nd at 1pm ET

  Virtual Informational Session for potential applicants

  To view a recording of the informational session, click here.

• Monday, October 30th at 11:59pm ET

  REACH PA Application Period closes

• November

  Selection Committee reviews applications

• Early December

  Applicants notified of award status

• Monday, January 15th, 2024

  Grant Start Date

• Monday, June 3rd, 2024

  Interim Report Due

• Tuesday, December 31st, 2024

  Final Report Due

Vital Strategies and Scattergood are interested in proposals promoting health-based harm reduction approaches to drug use. Projects should seek to address inequity caused by racism and poverty; for example: the impact of the War on Drugs (increased incarceration, family separation and child removal), unequal access to naloxone and medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), stigma toward people who use drugs, increasing Black maternal mortality, and lack of treatment options for stimulant users. Strong proposals will use innovative and expansive outreach strategies to engage underserved populations through place-based programming (at a brick-and-mortar location or through outreach in a neighborhood or community). Please note, this is a one-time funding opportunity and is not intended to support research projects.

Projects may use funds to:

• Implement harm reduction practices in conjunction with existing services,
• Offer services outside of regular business hours,
• Work towards partnerships with local social and healthcare services to provide connections to care,
• Offer compensation to program participants to help build programming and create connections to underserved groups.

Examples of harm reduction-oriented services include, but are not limited to: 

• Disseminating safer drug use supplies (including test strips and naloxone), safer sex kits, hygiene kits, and menstruation kits,
• Providing in-house HCV/HIV, STI, and pregnancy testing,
• Offering services to support family preservation, 
• Implementing low barrier services such as housing (housing-first model) and medical care (wound care, low threshold MOUD, primary care),
• Providing case management and linkage to employment,
• Addressing community and individual level harm by utilizing a transformative/restorative justice model and/or offering community-based mediation,
• Connecting people who use stimulants to cardiac health resources,
• Referring and connecting clients to services for hepatitis C, HIV, pregnancy, wound care, domestic violence, housing, benefits, and Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD).

Grantees will be expected to:

• Increase their understanding and knowledge of harm reduction among program staff
• Execute project and deliverables proposed in application questions
• Engage in up to six 2-hour technical assistance sessions with the Scattergood Foundation Additional optional office hours or individual sessions available if interested
• Provide biannual progress reports to Scattergood Foundation

For the full Request for Proposals, including the application and FAQs, see below.

Please watch this recording of our virtual informational session, held on October 2nd:

Slides from the October 2nd Informational Session can be accessed here.

Please also click here review our regularly updated FAQs for the grant program.