Healthy Lakewood Foundation

TO ADVANCE PROGRAMS, POLICIES AND PRACTICES THAT INSPIRE A LAKEWOOD COMMUNITY IN WHICH HEALTH AND WELLNESS ARE REFLECTED IN ALL ASPECTS OF LIFE.

IN 2022, THE HEALTHY LAKEWOOD FOUNDATION (HLF) IMPLEMENTED ITS COMPREHENSIVE GRANTMAKING STRATEGY, RUNNING FOUR GRANTEE PROCESSES DURING THE YEAR. THE HLF BOARD AWARDED 253,655 IN COMMUNITY GRANTS IN JULY; 98,350 IN NEIGHBORHOOD OPPORTUNITY GRANTS IN NOVEMBER 2022; 64,865 AS A SYSTEMS-LEVEL GRANT IN MAY 2022; COVID-RESPONSE GRANTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR TOTALING 95,000; AND OTHER GRANTMAKING TOTALING 7,630. HLF PURCHASED GRANT SOFTWARE PROGRAMMING IN 2021 AND STAFF AND BOARD MEMBERS WERE TRAINED IN ITS USE. APPLICATIONS, TIMELINES, CRITERIA, AND GUIDELINES WERE ESTABLISHED FOR EACH GRANT PROCESS. COMMUNITY GRANTS SUPPORT PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS THAT PRIORITIZE THE CARE AND SUPPORT OF CERTAIN POPULATIONS IN THE LAKEWOOD COMMUNITY AND ADDRESS SPECIFIC SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH. NEIGHBORHOOD OPPORTUNITY GRANTS SUPPORT COMMUNITY-BASED PROJECTS AND INITIATIVES IN LAKEWOOD THAT: SUPPORT COMMUNITY BUILDING AND WAYS OF CARING FOR EACH OTHER; ADDRESS COMMUNITY ISSUES THROUGH INNOVATION AND TRYING NEW IDEAS; AND ADVANCE LEARNING AND UNDERSTANDING BY DOING. SYSTEMS-LEVEL GRANTS SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS THAT WORK TO INFLUENCE AND GUIDE CHANGE IN STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS TO IMPROVE INDIVIDUAL AND COMMUNITY HEALTH OUTCOMES. ADDITIONALLY, HLF CONTINUED PROVIDING SELECTED COVID-RESPONSE GRANTS TO SUPPORT ONGOING EFFORTS RELATED TO MITIGATING THE EFFECTS OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON LAKEWOOD RESIDENTS. HLF CREATED AND HIRED A PART-TIME GRANTS COORDINATOR IN 2022 TO SUPPORT THE ABOVE MENTIONED GRANTMAKING PROCESSES. ADDITIONALLY, THE HLF BOARD APPROVED A BENEFITS PROGRAM, EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK, AND A PROCESS FOR EVALUATING THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S PERFORMANCE. THE BOARD ALSO APPROVED AN OFFICIAL CODE OF CONDUCT AND FINANCIAL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES DOCUMENT. HLF STAFF WORKED WITH A COMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANT TO DEVELOP A MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS PLAN FOR THE ORGANIZATION. THE ORGANIZATION'S PRESENCE ON THREE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS, EMAIL MARKETING, AND WEBSITE MARKETING ALL INCREASED IN TERMS OF DISTRIBUTION AND ENGAGEMENT. HLF UTILIZED THESE COMMUNICATIONS MODALITIES TO INCREASE AWARENESS IN THE COMMUNITY AND AMONG AREA NON-PROFITS OF ITS GRANTMAKING AND PROGRAMMING OPPORTUNITIES. ON SEPTEMBER 21, 2022, HLF HELD ITS FOURTH ANNUAL COMMUNITY MEETING IN PERSON, DRAWING 75 ATTENDEES AND PARTICIPANTS. HLF'S COMMUNITY MEETING IS A COMPONENT OF ITS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY PLAN (ENACTED IN 2020) TO PROVIDE LAKEWOOD RESIDENTS AND STAKEHOLDERS TO LEARN ABOUT HLF'S WORK AND PROGRESS OVER THE PAST YEAR, ASK QUESTIONS OF THE BOARD AND STAFF, AND TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK. HLF'S BOARD ORGANIZES ITS WORK THROUGH FIVE STANDING COMMITTEES: EXECUTIVE; FINANCE; GOVERNANCE; COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT; AND LEARNING, EVALUATION & ASSESSMENT. THESE COMMITTEES MEET AT LEAST QUARTERLY, DEVELOP ANNUAL PRIORITIES, AND UTILIZE WORK PLANS TO ATTEND TO BOARD BUSINESS OUTSIDE OF HLF'S BI-MONTHLY BOARD MEETINGS. HLF APPOINTED TWO NEW MEMBERS TO ITS BOARD IN 2022 DUE TO ATTRITION. THE BOARD ALSO ELECTED OFFICERS AND RENEWED BOARD TERMS AS IT DOES ANNUALLY AT ITS MARCH ANNUAL MEETING. ADDITIONALLY, HLF'S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND ONE BOARD MEMBER PARTICIPATED ON THE STEERING COMMITTEE OF A COMMUNITY-WIDE HEALTH NEEDS ASSESSMENT, COLLABORATING WITH OTHER STAKEHOLDERS TO CREATE A REPORT AND ACTION PLAN TO ADDRESS SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH WITHIN LAKEWOOD.