The Kalamazoo Board of Commissioners and the Kalamazoo Community Foundation, recognizing the urgent need for a localized response to the opioid crisis, formed a strategic partnership to distribute resources from the opioid settlement funds to where they are needed most. This collaboration has led to the creation of Opioid Remediation Mini Grants, the initiative is designed to allocate funds swiftly and effectively, supporting existing community-based projects and organizations dedicated to opioid use disorder.

Kalamazoo County aims to utilize opioid settlement funds for opioid remediation, defined as care, treatment, and other programs designed to:

• Address the misuse and abuse of opioid products,
• Treat or mitigate opioid use or related disorders, or
• Mitigate other alleged effects of, including those injured by the opioid epidemic.

Eligibility Requirements:

• Applicants must be a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, governmental agency, educational institution (public school, college, university), or an organization with a Fiscal Sponsor, in good standing with the IRS. Fiscal sponsors will not be negatively impacted by sponsoring other organizations or projects.
• Applicants must be proposing work that benefits residents of Kalamazoo County.
• Applicants must be currently serving people impacted by opioid use disorder.
• Applicants may use funding for existing programs; The budget must clearly show how the awarded funds will expand Opioid-related services within the organization.

Settlement Use Requirements:

• Opioid settlement funds must not supplant (or replace) current funding already allocated towards the work/project.
• Applicant’s proposed work must align with one or more of the approved uses in Exhibit E. You can access a crosswalk of the settlement priorities within Exhibit E here and the full Exhibit E is accessible here.
• Funds cannot be used to reimburse the costs of activities incurred before the grant term.

Priority Points:

• Priority points will be awarded to applicants who serve populations experiencing gaps and disparities in access to services. These may include organizations serving rural communities, people involved in the legal system, delivering culturally specific services, folks experiencing homelessness, and supporting individuals with multiple oppressed identities (including LGBTQ+, disabled, race/ethnicity).
• Priority will be given to applicants that demonstrate program strategy/ services filling an urgent gap or critical need in addressing issues related to substance use in Kalamazoo County.
• Priority will be given to applicants that include evaluation metrics, such as quantifiable figures indicating the number of individuals to be served or impacted, and target success rate data and statistics.
• Priority will be given to applications that reflect collaboration between multiple partners to increase efficiency, impact and/or reach.

Mini Grant Timeline and Overview:

• Timeline: 
  • Application Opening Date: Tuesday September 10, 2024, at 8am
  • Application Deadline: Tuesday October 1, 2024, by 5pm (open for 3 weeks)
  • Grant Award Notifications: Monday October 28, 2024
• Available funds: $231,250.00
• Applicants can request up to $30,000. Partial awards may be offered to applicants.
• The grant term is one year or less, with a one-time lump sum payment at the start of the grant term.
• Indirect charges can be included and cannot exceed 7.5% of the grant award amount. A definition of Direct vs. Indirect costs can be found here.
• Funds awarded cannot be used for capital expenses.
• A final report must be provided within 30 days of the project end date or complete expenditure of the funds. Final report components include: 
  • Data collected on outputs or outcomes
  • Photos, testimony, and other case study information to demonstrate success
  • Summary of how funds were utilized
  • Narrative information on learnings
  • KZCF will provide a link for your report to be completed within 30 days of the project end date
• Receipt of these funds does not impact consideration for future Kalamazoo County Opioid Settlement Fund grant opportunities or any other Kalamazoo Community Foundation grant processes.

You can download a PDF version of the Opioid Remediation Mini Grants RFP, here.