The Foundation's Funding Opportunities, Limitations and Decisions are guided by the way we conduct business. The following is an outline that guides our practices.

The Way We Conduct Our Business:

• Strategic Initiatives

• Responsive Grantmaking

• Convening Conversations

• Sponsorships
  

Strategic Initiatives

Periodically, the Foundation may select a community issue in which to invest significant resources over a sustained period of time. Currently, the Foundation is invested in two strategic initiatives: Access HealthColumbus and the Affordable and Sustainable Health Care. Both of these initiatives have developed through the Foundation’s prior investments and are directly in response to the demands the community has made regarding the need for substantial change in the health care delivery system. The Foundation defines this work as “big ideas” and has pledged significant resources in support of those big ideas.

Responsive Grantmaking

The Foundation offers several grantmaking cycles each year in response to projects designed to impact significant community health issues.  Our focus is on health promotion; health maintenance; reducing health disparities; increasing health literacy; and increasing access to health care (both physical and mental health).

Convening Conversations

The Foundation places significant value on convening conversations on health and health care. It views its convening role as both a strategic focus and a tactic for the work it will undertake during 2007. The Foundation believes the methodology of hosting conversations is an essential strategy in its efforts to gain broad-based community engagement.

Sponsorships

The Foundation offers opportunities to the nonprofit community in financial support of community events/fundraisers that might not meet the Foundation’s specific grantmaking priorities. While, limited these opportunities provide the Foundation and its affiliate organizations a means to demonstrate support of significant community events.

Funding Limitations
The CMAF does not make grants to or for:

• Individuals or direct financial subsidy of health services to individuals
• Physician salary release time
• Activities that are normally the responsibility of government (The CMAF will, in selective cases, join with units of government in support of special projects.)
• Activities exclusively for religious purposes or activities restricted to one religion or denomination
• Support of political candidates
• Ongoing operating expenses
• Indirect costs or administrative overhead
• Existing deficits or endowments
• Research and Bio-Medicine

Eligibility Criteria
The applicant must demonstrate how the proposed project will directly benefit the health of residents of Franklin County and the six contiguous counties. The applicant must also meet one of the following criteria and provide appropriate documentation at the time of application:

• Existed for a minimum of one year at the time of application.
• Tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; or
• Not a private foundation as defined in section 509 of that code; or
• Recognized as an instrumentality of state/local government.

Funding Decisions
Each grant applicant will be notified in writing regarding the CMAF funding decision usually within 3 weeks of the Board of Trustees' decisions.

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