Thank you for your interest.
A new horizon reaches our community as the Gateway Wellness Foundation provides unprecedented support to the highest areas of health needs in our communities.
Through intentional partnerships and collaborations, Gateway Wellness improves and supports the quality of life in WNC by promoting wellness opportunities among organizations for people they serve regionally. Gateway Wellness is thrilled to announce that its first grant cycle opens for applications on August 1st. Organizations can apply online through September 23rd at www.gatewaywellnessfoundation.org.
Through the course of its six-month tenure, Gateway Wellness has been working diligently to set policies and procedures aligned with public charity best practices. Their mission is to address the social determinants of health throughout WNC, specifically in Burke, McDowell, Polk, and Rutherford counties, and look to offer tangible resolutions.
In preparation of its first grant cycle, the Gateway Wellness Grants Review Committee studied needs assessment data, health impact factors, and facilitated listening sessions with 27 organizations throughout the four-county region. The information learned was used to inform its first grant cycle, however, the drive to collect more knowledge continues. The Foundation will hold ongoing listening sessions to expand its knowledge and learn the highest areas of needs our communities face.
The Gateway Wellness Foundation encourages organizations to submit applications regardless of their attendance at past listening sessions. Guidance and consult will be provided by a third party to encourage success of organizations who apply. Organizations can attend a grant writing workshop on either August 13th or August 28th to learn more about the Foundations grant application. Any organization who is interested in attending can email the Foundation directly at, info@gatewaywellnessfoundation.org for more information.
Gateway’s focus centers in health cultivation of the WNC community.
In their inaugural year, the Gateway Wellness Foundation will focus on Poverty, Access to Healthcare/Primary care, Housing, Education and Food Insecurity. The Gateway Wellness Foundation welcomes your proposals to address these initiatives:
Access to Health Care
Poverty
Increasing the number of people employed in living wage jobs, through job training, soft skills training, and/or removing barriers to employment.
Education
- Youth empowerment programs – such as mentors and pro social teen activities
- Increasing preschool enrollment including nonprofit projects supporting preschool costs for families in need
- Increasing the availability of after-school programs
Housing
- Addressing issues of affordable housing including increasing affordable housing stock, providing education around purchasing and maintaining a home, and removing barriers to home ownership
- Increasing provision of home repair or rehabilitation for people in need
- Increasing access to emergency housing or providing shelter
Social and Community Context
Increasing the number of interpreters in schools, healthcare settings, human service organizations, and other settings
Food Insecurity
Measurably decreasing food insecurity and increasing the availability of healthy food
Special Interest Category
This has been identified as a primary need in our region which impacts all of the social determinants of health. We are looking to fund initiatives with either unique solutions and/or current efforts to provide transportation, especially those with collaborative efforts among human service or medical providers.
The Gateway Wellness Foundation mission is to address the social determinants of health throughout WNC, specifically in Burke, McDowell, Polk, and Rutherford counties, and look to offer tangible resolutions.
We are currently unable to fund:
- Individuals
- Political purposes, including lobbying
- Out-of-area projects or organizations
- Grants prohibited by IRS regulations