Thriving Communities: A Model for Community-Engaged Grantmaking

Interact for Health is a health conversion foundation serving the three-state region of Greater Cincinnati, Ohio. Its current community change initiative, Thriving Communities, is a community-learning model that helps embed health promotion and advocacy work in communities while those communities build an equitable infrastructure with stakeholders to more rapidly spread evidence-based practices. This article explores the three tools developed for the Thriving Communities initiative: Success Markers, the Developmental Pathway, and Relationship Mapping. Interact for Health has found that these tools build core competencies and confidence among grantees as well as a process for community engagement that produces results at the local level. Thriving Communities grantees are eligible for up to $50,000 in funding over five years. In addition to the general operating grants, Interact provides training, tools, and structured- learning collaboratives where grantees can network and share best practices. With five years invested in this work, Interact has found that these small, flexible grants are succeeding in developing infrastructure to continue health promotion after funding from the foundation ends.