HVP Current Activity

Call for Applications
2019 Ohio Small Hospice Providers 
VFW Rural Hospice Grant

This is the seventeenth consecutive year that the former Midwest Care Alliance, now LeadingAge Ohio, will be working with the Veterans of Foreign Wars of Ohio, Hospice Grant Fund, supporting an opportunity for Small Hospice Providers to apply for funding which is primarily meant to support small hospice programs that provide services to the underserved and/or rural populations, to patients and families without the financial or insurance needs for end-of-life care.

The application requirement for programs to complete for disbursement of funds is described below.  The funds available will be distributed in May 2019.  All applications are competitively reviewed by a grant committee. The committee will determine the grant distribution amounts.  We anticipate distributed funds will vary in amounts between $1500 and $5000 for this year’s application process.

The grant monies to be distributed are primarily designated for direct patient care cost(s).  The application process requires the hospice to submit a written proposal for the use of these funds.  The application may be for direct patient care needs occurring anytime within the calendar year 2018 or anticipated in the current 2018 year. Application deadline extended to March 1, 2019.

Eligible Entities

Small hospice providers are entities that provide care to underserved populations or individuals in rural communities and have a patient Average Daily Census of less than or equal to 70.  The eligible entity will also be either a public health, county health, or tax exempt, non-profit, 501(c) 3 organization.  Grants will not be awarded to individuals, for capital campaigns, endowments or for-profit corporations. 

Area of Interest

The goal is to provide support to community-based small hospice organizations that have direct patient care costs beyond the means of normal reimbursement.  The cost may be used for direct care costs, staff support for caregiver needs, or to cover the cost of indigent care, equipment related to direct care, and / or palliative care treatments.

 Program Budget

The VFW intends to award the grants during the month of May 2019.  The grant awards may be affected by the quality and quantity of the proposals received and/or the amount of funding available.  It is anticipated that the VFW Charities will award approximately $20,000 in grants this year.  The grants are not renewable.  However, if the VFW chooses, it may consider additional grant opportunities for the same eligible entities in the future.  Grant amounts typically will not exceed the amount of $5000.00 per organization.

Application Process

To apply for this grant, the hospice provider organization needs to provide the following basic demographic information, grant application narrative and agree to adhere to the program reporting requirements.

Demographic Information

• Name
• Address
• Hospice Program census, number of patients served in your last fiscal year
• Current Average Daily Census
• Latest fiscal year 990 (For hospice providers whose financials are included in a larger health system’s 990 please provide your program’s financial statement of activities or year end financial report specifically related to your hospice program activities.)
• Areas Served by County
• Executive Director
• Board of Directors
• Mission Statement

Narrative

Grant Application narratives must be double-spaced, 12-point font, one-inch margins.  Applicants should write an essay of not more than 1500 words explaining the need for and how these funds will be used to meet the criteria of “providing direct care costs.”  The essay may be specific for an individual patient or for general program use to provide direct care.  Part of the application process may involve a phone interview from a representative of the grant committee.  All grants shall be awarded on a competitive basis.

Program Reporting Requirements

Entities must submit a final report upon the expiration of the grant funds or by December 31, 2019.  The report shall account for the expenditure of grant funds and describe program accomplishments.  The final report should be in the same format described in the Application Process.  All funds must be expended within one year from the date funds are received from the VFW.  Extensions can be granted, but requests for extensions must be made in writing two months before the end of the grant year.

Evaluation Criteria

Grant applications shall be evaluated against the following criteria:

• Does the project align with the goals set forth by the VFW within the grant criteria?
• Is there a clearly defined need or problem in the proposal?
• Does the budget reflect a clear understanding and reasonable use of project implementation costs?

Grant Review Procedures

The VFW Grant Coordinator will review Grant applications, for completeness, upon receipt.  Organizations completing the necessary information will have their application reviewed by the VFW Grant Review Committee, which will make final recommendations.  The Grant Committee may ask applicants for additional information before the Committee makes any decisions.  Decisions by the Grant Review Committee are final.

Other Provisions

The VFW reserves the right to request the return of funds if the work of the grantee is not taking place as proposed, or the grantee is not complying with reporting requirements.  Applicants may be asked to clarify certain aspects of their funding proposal, which will become part of an approved agreement with the VFW.  Funds granted for the operations of this project must be used exclusively for the purposes stated in the approved proposal and expended in accordance with the program’s budget categories and the grantee’s policies and procedures related to such expenditures.  Any budget changes will have to be pre-authorized by the VFW Grant Review Committee during the grant period.

Application Submission and Deadline

Mail the application to:

Ervin Yoder, Grant Coordinator
VFW Rural Hospice Provider Grant
35 E Chestnut St.,  Suite 506
Columbus OH 43215

Applications must be RECEIVED by close of business, Friday, March 1, 2019.

No EMAIL or FAX copies of an application will be accepted.  All applications that are funded by the VFW will be available for public review.  For additional information about this grant application contact Ervin Yoder by email at vfwdohio@ameritech.net or at 614-224-1838 or contact Jennifer Taylor by email at jtaylor@leadingageohio.org or at 614-545-9028.