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Better Health Foundation

Annual Giving
$2.6M
Grant Range
$8K - $0.3M
Decision Time
5mo

Better Health Foundation

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $2-3 million (exceeded $5.3 million total since 2023 launch)
  • Success Rate: Not publicly disclosed
  • Decision Time: Varies by cycle (typically 4-5 months from LOI to award)
  • Grant Range: $8,000 - $350,000 (depending on grant type)
  • Geographic Focus: 9-county Quad Cities region (IA/IL)

Contact Details

Address: 2805 Eastern Avenue, Davenport, Iowa 52803
Phone: (563) 383-6066
Website: https://www.thebetterhealthfoundation.org
Grant Portal: https://www.grantinterface.com/Home/Logon?urlkey=betterhealthfdn
Email: Elaine Schilling, Admin/Grants Assistant - [email protected]

Overview

Better Health Foundation is an independent, private foundation established March 1, 2023, following the merger of Genesis Health System with MercyOne. Genesis Health System seeded the foundation with $40 million to ensure its long-term sustainability. The foundation's mission is "to mobilize philanthropy to measurably improve community health for all the people of the 9-county greater Quad Cities region." Led by CEO Missy Gowey, CFRE, the foundation operates according to four core values: transparency, collaboration, open learning, and equity with a focus on reducing health disparities. In its first two years, the foundation exceeded its initial goal of distributing $4 million by awarding over $5.3 million in grants. The foundation serves a 9-county region spanning Iowa and Illinois, supporting 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations that address community health needs.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

1. Innovation Grants (Spring Cycle)

  • Amount: $100,000 - $200,000
  • Timeline: Letters of Inquiry open in January; awards announced late May
  • 2024 Awards: $1.3 million total
  • Focus: Bringing new players, new methods, or new partnerships to community health priorities. Emphasis on creativity and genuine community partnership
  • Application Method: Two-stage process (LOI followed by full proposal if invited)

2. Capacity Building and Service Support Grants (Fall Cycle)

  • Amount: $10,000 - $75,000
  • Timeline: Letters of Inquiry open in July; awards made by year-end
  • 2024 Awards: $900,000 total
  • Focus: Strengthening nonprofit operations, management skills, financial planning, fundraising strategies, and service expansion to underserved communities
  • Application Method: Two-stage process (LOI followed by full proposal if invited)

3. Solutions at Scale Grants (Biennial - Summer)

  • Amount: $250,000 - $350,000
  • Timeline: Invitation-only in February; awards in August (every two years)
  • Focus: Deploying evidence-based programs across the region to serve multiple communities
  • Application Method: By invitation only from the foundation

4. Discretionary Grants (Rolling)

  • Amount: Maximum $8,000 per request
  • Timeline: Year-round, out-of-cycle
  • Focus: Emergency response to organizational crises or unforeseen expenses preventing essential service delivery
  • Application Method: Contact foundation directly

Priority Areas

The foundation focuses on three core health priorities across the Quad Cities region:

  1. Mental and Behavioral Health: Support for mental health services, substance abuse treatment, behavioral health counseling, and psychiatric services for underserved populations

  2. Maternal and Child Health (Ages 0-5): Programs addressing prenatal care, infant and child wellness, developmental services, and support for mothers and young families

  3. Obesity and Diabetes Risk Reduction: Initiatives targeting prevention, nutrition education, food security for at-risk populations, and health behavior change

Recent funded projects include mental health support for mothers, food insecurity programs for pregnant women with diabetes, substance abuse counseling, and expansion of prenatal care services.

What They Don't Fund

The foundation explicitly excludes:

  • Individual grants or scholarships
  • Fiscal agent/pass-through organizations
  • Political campaigns or lobbying activities
  • Sponsorships or event funding
  • Conferences and convenings
  • Endowments
  • Building/capital projects and capital campaigns
  • Debt reduction
  • Exclusively religious purposes
  • Laboratory or clinical research
  • Individual academic support
  • Organizations that compete with Genesis, MercyOne, or Trinity Health Systems

Regional affiliates of national organizations must demonstrate that services and funds focus solely on the 9-county Quad Cities region.

Governance and Leadership

Executive Leadership

Missy Gowey, CFRE - Chief Executive Officer
Previously led the charitable foundations at Genesis Health System before becoming CEO of Better Health Foundation. Gowey has emphasized the foundation's commitment to community health, stating: "When we began awarding grants in 2023, it was our goal to distribute up to $4 million in our first two years of operation. To exceed that goal by $1 million speaks both to the needs being identified and addressed every day by our grantee partners, and to the commitment of the Better Health Foundation Board of Directors to make health and wellness available to all in our community."

Elaine Schilling - Admin/Grants Assistant

Board of Directors

Dr. William Langley - Board President

The Better Health Foundation Board comprises 16 community and business leaders representing diverse sectors:

  • Rob Woodall - Vice President
  • Sandi Deke - Secretary/Treasurer
  • Dr. Mallik - Medical professional
  • Dr. Saxon - Medical professional
  • Dr. Wickwire - Medical professional
  • Nicholas Brandt - John Deere representative
  • Dave Heller - Owner, Quad Cities River Bandits
  • Claire Motto Steil - Empower House

The board includes medical professionals, business leaders, nonprofit executives, and community representatives who bring expertise across healthcare, philanthropy, and regional development.

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

Pre-Application Steps:

  1. Attend Information Session: The foundation holds information sessions before Fall and Spring grant cycles (typically no more than two weeks before the cycle opens). These sessions cover grant purposes, Letter of Inquiry requirements, and proposal processes. Questions and answers are posted online for those unable to attend.

  2. Submit Letter of Inquiry (LOI): All applicants (except discretionary grants) begin with a LOI through the online portal at https://www.grantinterface.com/Home/Logon?urlkey=betterhealthfdn

  3. Invitation to Full Proposal: Only organizations whose LOIs align with foundation priorities receive invitations to submit full proposals

  4. Full Proposal Submission: Invited organizations submit detailed proposals with mandatory budget templates showing all funding sources

  5. Review Process: The Grant Review Committee evaluates proposals and makes recommendations to the Board of Directors

  6. Board Decision: The Board of Directors makes final award decisions

Important Application Rules:

  • Organizations may submit only ONE application per grant cycle
  • Multiple submissions from a single organization are not permitted
  • Public entities (government, schools) must partner with a 501(c)(3) organization as the formal grantee, with a signed Memorandum of Understanding detailing roles and resource allocation

Decision Timeline

Innovation Grants (Spring):

  • January: LOI portal opens
  • Late January/Early February: Information session
  • Late May: Awards announced
  • Total Timeline: Approximately 4-5 months

Capacity Building Grants (Fall):

  • July: LOI portal opens (typically July 7-28 window)
  • August-November: Review process
  • By year-end: Awards announced
  • Total Timeline: Approximately 5-6 months

Solutions at Scale (Biennial):

  • February: Invitations extended to select organizations
  • August: Awards announced
  • Total Timeline: Approximately 6 months

Discretionary Grants:

  • Rolling basis - contact foundation directly at (563) 383-6066

Success Rates

The foundation does not publicly disclose application-to-award ratios or success rates. For the 2024 Capacity Building cycle, 20 organizations received awards totaling $900,000. For the 2024 Innovation cycle, specific recipient numbers were not disclosed, but total awards reached $1.3 million.

Reapplication Policy

The foundation does not publicly specify policies for unsuccessful applicants seeking to reapply. Organizations are encouraged to contact foundation staff for guidance on reapplication timing and strengthening future proposals.

Application Success Factors

Based on the foundation's stated priorities and funded projects, successful applications demonstrate:

Evidence-Based Problem Definition

The foundation requires that "evidence of the scope of the problem and that problem within the community being addressed must provide the opening discussion in proposals." Strong applications use data to quantify the health issue and its impact on the target population within the 9-county region.

Authentic Community Engagement

The foundation "places a particular emphasis on community engagement in all aspects of its health and wellness." Competitive proposals must indicate "how the community that is covered by the proposal has been engaged in the approach being proposed and how it will continue to be engaged over the life of the project." For Innovation Grants, the foundation specifically emphasizes "creativity and ensuring that there is true community partnership."

Sustainability Planning

The foundation states: "The Foundation does not wish to develop a relationship of dependency with its grantees and will carefully assess the strategy of the applicant in ensuring sustainability of effort and of resources supported by its grants." Applications must articulate clear plans for continuing impact beyond the grant period, including diverse funding sources.

Measurable Outcomes

Proposals must demonstrate "measurable progress" with concrete metrics and evaluation plans. The foundation's commitment to "measurable improvement" in community health requires applicants to define success indicators and data collection methods.

Clear Implementation Milestones

"As a general rule, grants will be made for one year only, and if applications involve more than one year of implementation, any added year of support will be contingent on clear milestones set out in the proposal, with evidence of meeting those milestones required." Multi-year proposals (maximum three years) need detailed milestone schedules.

Budget Transparency

The foundation's mandatory budget template requires detail on all funding sources (not just the Better Health Foundation grant). This demonstrates project viability and the organization's broader resource development capacity.

Recent Funded Projects as Examples

  • Community Health Care: $350,000 Solutions at Scale grant to improve prenatal care across the region
  • Unity House of Davenport: $75,000 for drug and alcohol counseling services
  • ChildServe Foundation: $64,000 for their new Davenport center
  • Community Health Care: $75,000 for psychiatric services in Muscatine
  • Family Resources: $200,000 Innovation Grant for a shared human services campus
  • Genesis Foundation: $200,000 Innovation Grant to extend the Genesis FoodPlex to food-insecure pregnant women with diabetes

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Align with the three priority areas: Mental and behavioral health, maternal and child health (0-5), or obesity/diabetes risk reduction. Proposals outside these areas are unlikely to succeed.

  • Geographic focus is essential: Demonstrate clear service delivery within the 9-county Quad Cities region (Cedar, Clinton, Louisa, Muscatine, and Scott counties in Iowa; Henry, Mercer, Rock Island, and Whiteside counties in Illinois).

  • Community engagement is not optional: The foundation expects authentic partnership with the communities served, not just services delivered to them. Show how community members shaped the proposal and will participate in implementation.

  • Attend the information session: These pre-cycle sessions provide valuable insights into foundation priorities and application expectations. Q&As are posted online for those unable to attend.

  • Choose the right grant type: Innovation Grants ($100K-$200K) are for new approaches; Capacity Building ($10K-$75K) strengthens existing operations. Don't apply for Innovation funding if you're proposing an established program expansion.

  • Demonstrate sustainability: The foundation explicitly avoids creating dependency. Show diverse funding sources and a clear path to continuing impact beyond the grant period.

  • Use data strategically: Open your proposal with evidence quantifying the problem in your target community. The foundation values measurable, evidence-based approaches.

  • One shot per cycle: Organizations may submit only one application per grant cycle, so choose your strongest proposal aligned with the current grant type.

References

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