Approximately 125,000 people in Washington state live with dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. This number is expected to double in the next twenty years. Many communities are disproportionately impacted by dementia: Black/African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Hispanic communities have higher rates of diagnosis.
The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) with support from the Washington State Dementia Action Collaborative (DAC) is offering grants to community-based organizations (entities that operate within a specific community or geographical area, aiming to address local needs and improve the well-being of its residents) and faith-based organizations in the state. We are looking for trusted messengers (link to the document I’ll be sharing) with strong connections to the people they serve within their organization or community to:
- Increase awareness of dementia and its risk factors
- Promote brain health through community-based initiatives focused on:
- Education
- Communication
- Connection to resources
This initiative is made possible with funding from the Centers for Disease Control Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act Grant.
Grant Overview
A minimum of $2,500 is available to train trusted messengers to share information about brain health and dementia awareness and encourage their community to take action to reduce the risk of dementia. Grantees can also complete optional educational and programmatic activities for additional funding, up to $10,000. The funding is flexible to adapt to organizational capacity and community needs. DOH will provide support and resources throughout the grant term.
Recipients of the grant awards will identify trusted messengers within their organization to attend an in-person training session to learn how to share information about brain health and dementia. The messengers must then host two 2-hour educational sessions (within the first six months of the agreement period) for their organization or for the community they serve based on what they learn.
DOH will host a drop-in office hour meeting for any potential applicants to ask questions about the grant or requirements.
Drop-in office hours
2-3 p.m., March 12, 2025
Join the meeting
Meeting ID: 275 373 081 268
Passcode: CX7C6PG6
Minimum Grant Requirements
$2,500 Grants, Estimated Time to Complete: 30-35 Total Hours
- Participate in an initial awardee conference call with DOH and email communications as needed.
- Complete and submit a workplan to DOH outlining activities within 30 days of signing the agreement.
- Identify a trusted messenger from the organization and send their contact information to DOH.
- Send the trusted messenger to in-person facilitator training for the Brain Health and Dementia Awareness curriculum on June 12. A location is to be determined at a later date. Up to $500 in travel costs will be reimbursed to attend this training.
- Trusted messenger will host two educational sessions (2 hours each with a minimum of 10 attendees per session) using the provided Brain Health and Dementia Awareness curriculum and materials.
- Administer the evaluation provided at each session and share the results with DOH.
- Submit a final narrative report of all grant activities and available documentation, outcomes, insights, and data to DOH.
- Submit invoices and summary updates to DOH at least quarterly.
- Complete project evaluation survey sent by DOH.
Optional Grant Activities
Up to $7,000 in Grants
- Choose any activities from the Category 1 and Category 2 lists to implement in addition to the grant requirements. Total grant reimbursement for activities from Category 1 and 2 combined must not be more than $7,000. DOH will provide resources and technical assistance to support implementing optional activities chosen. We encourage community partnerships to complete these activities.
Operational Requirements
- Applicants who are accepted to receive a grant award must register in the Statewide Payee Registration System before creating an agreement with DOH. This system is maintained by the Washington State Department of Enterprise Services (DES) to process payments for all Washington state agencies. You must complete this step to be paid and must provide a Social Security number or Employer Identification Number.
- Awardees will be required to enter into an agreement with DOH outlining the required and optional activities and payment terms.
- Awardee organizations must be in the state of Washington.
Funding Details
- Grants up to $10,000 each will be provided to awardee organizations.
- Funds will be available for up to a year after signing an agreement with DOH. Agreement timeline terms may be flexible depending on the number of activities chosen.
- Some grant funds will be awarded shortly after the signing of the agreement, other funds will be based on reimbursement for optional tasks completed and submitting the final reports due as outlined in the agreement.
- Grant funds may be used for project staff/volunteer salaries or stipends, supplies, project-related (local) travel, subcontracts, community convenings, and other direct expenses.
- Grant funds may not be used to substitute for or replace funds already allocated or spent for the same activity; or for equipment, construction or renovation of facilities, lobbying, travel unrelated to the project, or as a substitute for funds currently being used to support similar activities. Grant funds must be used in accordance with federal funding guidelines as outlined in the agreement. Federal funds cannot be used to purchase food or promotional items.
- Travel to attend the 6.5 hour Trusted Messenger Training on June 12, 2025, is required and associated travel costs will be reimbursed up to $500 per organization in addition to the base funding of $2,500. Training location will be determined after the location of awardees is known. Travel reimbursement will be based on Washington state per diem rates (PDF) and must follow the DOH non-employee travel policy. The travel reimbursement expenses will be included in the maximum $10,000 award organizations can receive.
Key Dates
Dates are subject to change if the process requires it.
| Activities | Responsible Party | Estimated Time |
|---|---|---|
| Release of application | DOH | February 28, 2025 |
| Drop-in Office hours for applicant questions Join the meeting Meeting ID: 275 373 081 268 Passcode: CX7C6PG6 |
DOH and interested applicants | 2-3 p.m. March 12, 2025 |
| Deadline for receipt of applications | Interested applicants | 11:59 p.m. April 4, 2025 |
| Announcement of awards | DOH | April 18 |
| Establish funding agreements | DOH and awardees | April 18 to May 15, 2025 |
| Initial awardee call |
DOH and awardees |
To be determined |
| Trusted Messenger In-Person Brain Health and Dementia Awareness Training (6.5-hours). Location to be announced. |
All awardees' trusted messengers | June 12, 2025 |
| Final report and activities due | All awardees | Up to 1 year from the signing of the agreement |