The Connecticut Health Foundation (CT Health) is pleased to announce the availability of funding to diversify and strengthen oral health advocacy in CT. CT Health anticipates making two awards of up to $40,000 for a two-year period will be made. For over ten years, CT Health been committed to improving access and quality of oral health care in the state. There is evidence that these efforts have made a measurable difference in access and utilization of oral health care for low-income Connecticut residents, especially children. The existing community of oral health advocates have been essential to these efforts. To build greater momentum, however, we must increase the number and type of effective advocates who have credibility and influence. The second part of our theory is supporting the integration of oral health into overall health must be supported to elevate its status.

1. Strengthening Oral Health Advocacy Infrastructure to
Sustain Improvements in Oral Health Access For Low-Income Families
Webinar
February 11, 2015

2. Overview
AGENDA
CT Health Presentation
• Welcome
• Who is CT Health?
• What Health Equity Means for Connecticut
• What is systems change in health reform?
Overview of Oral Health Advocacy RFP Grant Opportunity
• Rationale & Objectives
• RFP Applicant & Criteria
• Grant Award & Time Frame
• Participant Questions, Answers & Discussion

3. Who is the Connecticut Health Foundation?
• The Connecticut Health Foundation (CT Health) is the state’s
largest independent health philanthropy.
• Since 1999, the foundation has supported innovative grant-making,
public policy research, technical assistance and convening to
achieve its mission – to improve the health of the people of
Connecticut.
• Over the past 14 years, CT Health has awarded grants totaling
$54M throughout the state.

5. How CT Health Expands Health Equity
Health
Equity
Grantmaking
Leadership
Development
Strategic
Communications
Public
Policy

6. System = Interaction of People + Places + Rules
People who
make the rules
and set the
priorities
Places literal
and symbolic
where:
-decisions are
made
-health care is
delivered
Rules that make the
system run:
-laws
-administrative policies
-professional
standards
-procedures
-regulations
-resource allocation
-enforcement
-accountability
-”That’s just the way
we do things.”Rules
Places
People

7. CT Health’s Approach to Systems Change
• Invest in the right people
• Open up places – access, transparency
• Re-write the rules

8. Strengthening the Advocacy Infrastructure to
Sustain Improvements in Oral Health Access
For Low-Income Families
Request for Proposals

9. Background and Eligibility
• Broaden the base of advocacy for oral health
• Looking for “non-teeth” people!
• Eligibility:
– Capacity and history of general health advocacy
– Participates in groups that support policy/administrative change
to improve health care access
– Can mobilize stakeholders including consumers
– Can utilize opportunities and events to increase visibility of oral
health access challenges
– Can use existing research information to formulate advocacy
strategies

10. Key Objectives are to Increase/Implement:
1. Create and implement an oral health advocacy agenda that is both
defensive (protecting current levels of oral health access) and proactive
(setting incremental benchmarks towards a larger policy change goal).
2. Increase the support of oral health access through coordination,
collaboration and mission alignment among community and system
partners, including nontraditional alliances in support of oral health
access.
3. Increase the number of credible health advocates working to improve
oral health access and quality, including legislators, consumers, and
health care providers.
4. Increase responsiveness of new and existing health advocates to
unique opportunities to bring attention to oral health access challenges
and solve problems.
You must address ALL FOUR objectives

11. Focus of Oral Health Advocacy Projects
• Grant funding should be directed to growing advocacy within an
organization and embed it into its overall health advocacy
agenda.
• CT Health will not fund consumer education on oral health
awareness.
• CT Health will not fund original research on oral health given
that multiple resources already exist.

12. Funding Level
• Up to two grants of $40,000 over two years
• Detailed budget is for year one only
• We want this initiative to be sustainable:
– No new hires!
Grant Resources
• Working with existing oral health entities and advocates
• Dr. Joanna Douglass, CT Health Oral Health Consultant

13. Timeline
Successful Applicants Will Clearly:
• Demonstrate that they meet the eligibility criteria
• Articulate how they will successfully achieve the RFP objectives
• Utilize a “systems change” approach in their proposed work
Activity Date
Webinar to AddressQuestions February 11at 10:30am
ApplicationsDue March 17at 5:00 p.m.
Notificationof Successful Award June 23
Grant Period July 1,2015to June 30,2017

14. WE ARE LISTENING
Your Questions and Reactions

15. Additional Questions about RFP?
Please contact:
Yolanda Caldera-Durant
Senior Program Officer
yolandacd@cthealth.org
860-724-1580 ext. 20