Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation supports obesity and diabetes prevention, healthy lifestyles, access to care, mental health, aging in place, dental health, medical education and scholarships in Texas.
IP TAKE: This is a transparent, well-established health legacy funder that takes a broad approach to health funding and has several different ways to get involved and receive a grant. Its different tiers of grantmaking suit the needs of a broad variety of grantseekers. Applicants need to be careful, however, because each type of grant has its own application procedure and method. Pay attention to deadlines too, as they come up fast.
PROFILE: Established in 1976, the Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation (VBLF) is a health conversion foundation based in Harlingen, Texas. Its original mission was to raise money for the Valley Baptist Health System. In 2011, the Valley Baptist Health System entered into a joint venture with Vanguard Health Systems, and the foundation changed its mission to support the broader healthcare-related needs of the community. The foundation “invests in and serves as a catalyst for ideas, partnerships, medical education, research and programs that improve the health and quality of life in the Rio Grande Valley.” VBLF funds local efforts to improve health in the lower Rio Grande Valley for obesity and diabetes prevention, healthy lifestyles, access to care, mental health, aging in place, dental health, medical education and scholarships.
Grants for Public Health and Access
The Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation approaches health giving by viewing health as a complete state of mental, physical, spiritual and social well-being. Its health program areas include efforts to improve health in the lower Rio Grande Valley for obesity and diabetes prevention, healthy lifestyles, access to care, mental health, aging in place, dental health, medical education and scholarships.
The foundation offers four types of grants: Responsive Grants of less than $50,000 for specific programs and projects, Collaborative Grants between $50,000 – $500,000, Matching Grants that leverage funds from other funders, and Foundation Initiatives for projects requiring funds exceeding $500,000. VBLF provides capital grants, emergency funding, and scholarships too. It provides funding for operating expenses, multi-year requests, new projects, indirect costs up to 10 percent and staff positions.
Past local grantees include the Brownsville Wellness Coalition, Boys and Girls Clubs of Harlingen and the City of Rio Grande City. The foundation has also given tens of millions to University of Texas Rio Grande Valley over the years for medical education. Other significant grantees include South Texas Emergency Care Foundation, Nuestra Clinica Del Valle, Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley, and Tropical Texas Behavior Health. It also gave $17 million to Driscoll Children’s Hospital to support children’s health in the region.
Important Grant Details
Grants have gone as high as $15 million but most range between about $5,000 and $800,000. The average grant amount is $50,000. Grantmaking focuses on Harlingen and the Rio Grande Valley region of Texas.
This foundation accepts unsolicited grant applications from nonprofits via its application form. Responsive grant applications are due May 1 and November 1. Collaborative grant letters of intent are due September 20 and March 20. VBLF accepts LOIs for foundation initiatives only from organizations that it selects, however. Interested grantseekers should familiarize themselves with VBLF’s grantmaking process before applying. Direct general questions to the staff at 956-335-3042 or via online form.
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