By Sherri Welch | Published August 24, 2021 | Crain’s Detroit Business

⦁ Nonprofits viewed as trusted by people they serve
⦁ Close to $7 million in government funding awarded for vaccine outreach
⦁ Builds on earlier efforts in spurring census, redistricting participation

Detroit nonprofits are drawing millions in government funding to do COVID-19 education, outreach and vaccinations in their communities.

A total of $4.3 million in federal grants has been awarded to engage nonprofits in the efforts to get more people vaccinated against COVID-19.

The state of Michigan has granted another $2.5 million to the Michigan Association of United Ways for pass through to its local affiliates around the state and ultimately, to nonprofits that have boots on the ground in communities.

Funded strategies could include stipends for neighborhood canvassers, development and printing of fliers, door hangers and local radio ads, incentives to draw people to local vaccine clinics and creating community events that include on-site vaccine education and clinics, MAUW President and CEO Mike Larson said. The grant will also support management and development of educational materials in multiple languages.

The United Way-led effort of mobilizing nonprofits in communities is modeled on the approach the Michigan Nonprofit Association took to encourage census engagement and a similar engagement effort early this year to give underrepresented communities a voice in redistricting.

Mike Larson

“Nonprofits have trusted relationships throughout communities,” Larson said. “With the level of hesitation related to the COVID vaccine, it’s important that people are getting information from people they know and trust. Empowering the organizations that are already embedded in community to provide education and access is key to the success of this model.”

In late July, four community nonprofits got a total of $3.7 million in funding from the Health Resources and Services administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. They included:

• C-Assist in Dearborn, $681,006
• Community Health Awareness Group, Detroit, $1 million
• Michigan Voices, Detroit, $999,998
• Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency, Detroit, $1 million

The grants were part of $121 million in grants awarded by the federal agency to support “trusted voices in local communities” in sharing information about vaccines, building vaccine confidence, and addressing barriers to vaccination for individuals in underserved communities.

Community Health Awareness Group will leverage its relationships with influencers among people with a history of using drugs and in the LGBTQ+ community, implementing a social networking approach to reducing vaccine concerns, said Barbara Locke, director of finance and prevention programs.

“The intent is to work with people who have been vaccinated and can serve as influencers in their community to help their populations to overcome vaccine hesitancy concerns and encourage them to get vaccinated,” she said.

The approach has proven successful in encouraging people in those communities to get tested for HIV and other communicable diseases, she said.

CHAG will train those people in evidence-based interventions. It will also bring will bring a medical mobile unit with clinical staff to provide on-site vaccinations for those opting in, Locke said.

“Once our individuals decide they want to get vaccinated, they’re less likely to go to a health care institution. We want to be right there so they can do it,” Locke said.

CHAG will also connect those people to community health workers who keep them engaged to make sure they come back for the second shot, she said. The focus of this work will be primarily in Detroit but could also serve others from outlying communities who come to CHAG for assistance.

A June round of $125 million in federal funds went to groups including two for grassroots outreach in Michigan: the National Alliance of Hispanic Health and United Way of New York City. The grants are supporting community-based efforts to mobilize community outreach and health workers, patient navigators, social support specialists and others working to increase vaccinations.

Eric Davis

United Way for Southeastern Michigan is distributing $600,000 of the federal grant to its New York affiliate to Detroit churches to fund direct outreach such as phone calls, texting and door-to-door canvassing to build awareness of upcoming vaccination events, along with online education through church websites, social media and email blasts, said Eric Davis, vice president, basic needs, health and outreach.

United Way will provide any technical assistance needed for the churches to do that education and outreach, he said.

The Detroit-based agency and its affiliates across the state are using a similar model to pass through another $600,000 in grant funding from the Michigan Association of United Ways to community groups in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties for education and outreach in their communities, said Esperanza Cantu, director of health initiatives. It plans to issue a request for proposals the first week of September.

Esperanza Cantu

“It will be a quick timeline,” Cantu said. “The need to get the community vaccinated is really great. We’re still seeing pockets in Southeast Michigan where we have high percentages of people not vaccinated, yet. We’re looking to support our community partners who have boots on the ground in their neighborhoods.”

The long-lasting trust the groups have built in communities is an asset and a strength we need to build upon, especially during a time of so much mistrust … there’s a lot of misinformation about the safety of the vaccines. We believe our nonprofits can help to address that mistrust.”

In connection with the nonprofit-led vaccine outreach efforts, United Way is developing a marketing campaign that will include pro bono radio spots and social media posts, Davis said.

The direct funding to nonprofits follows a public service announcement Ford Motor Co. Fund produced in April with 11 nonprofits to encourage multicultural communities to help combat the spread of misinformation about the vaccine among multicultural populations.

The #VaxWithFacts PSA was published across the digital and social media platforms of the organizations that took part in it and shared with their stakeholders. While the Ford fund doesn’t plan another concentrated effort to reshare the PSA, nonprofits are welcome to share it, said Stefanie Dunham, digital communications coordinator for the fund.

“The PSA was created to be a tool that each organization could use to support their communities, and they are welcome to continue using the PSA in any new vaccine efforts they may be planning or have underway,” she said.