Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware is pleased to announce a special grant cycle through BluePrints for the Community focused on social determinants of health. In light of the continuously growing needs that existed prior to, but are now exacerbated by, the pandemic, BluePrints for the Community is seeking proposals for programs and projects dedicated to improving health and access to care.

Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware, along with its enterprise-wide social determinants of health (SDOH) team at Highmark Health, aims to address the confluence of medical and non-medical drivers of poor health outcomes. The organization implements and funds innovative programs to identify and effectively address barriers to good health.

“We are pleased to invite our nonprofit partners to submit proposals that focus on the economic and social conditions that influence health,” said Nick Moriello, president of Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware. “We already know that our friends leading community-based organizations are working tirelessly to make Delaware a healthier place, and BluePrints for the Community will continue to support their efforts.”

Key areas of social determinants of health that will be considered are economic and financial stability, access to education, transportation, health and health care, including dental/oral health, and neighborhood and environment factors. Organizations interested in applying must be a 501c3 nonprofit or non-revenue generating state agency that provides community services. Requests should not exceed $200,000.

To apply, organizations can create an account or sign into an existing account using DCF’s proposal platform at www.grantinterface.com/Home/Logon?urlkey=delcf?. The deadline to submit proposals is Wednesday, October 21. Those interesting in joining a virtual workshop on October 7, at 2:00 p.m., should email Mashiya Williams at mwilliams@delcf.org for more information. Recipients will be announced in December. 

Last year, BluePrints for the Community contributed more than $1.1 million during a special grant cycle to combat opioids. Established as a donor-advised fund at the Delaware Community Foundation, BluePrints for the Community has contributed more than $16 million to the community since its inception in 2007.

Other enterprise efforts in the arena of social determinants include Highmark’s free and anonymous online resource tool Highmark Community Support, powered by Aunt Bertha. Highmark Community Support is an online, social care network that connects people with social service resources, such as food pantries, transportation services, housing and utility needs, child care, and niche needs for populations like veterans and seniors. Highmark Community Support can be accessed at Highmark.auntbertha.com. Highmark is also a sponsor of the Gravity Project, an organization developing consensus-driven structured data standards to support use and exchange of SDOH data that can help identify and measure social barriers, strengthen continuity of care and provide important insights into the intersection between health and social care. 

About Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware

Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware serves approximately 441,000 members through the company’s health care benefits business. It is an influential company in the market generating an economic impact of $135 million and supporting more than 1,000 direct and indirect jobs across the state. Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies. For more information, visit www.highmarkbcbsde.com.

About BluePrints for the Community

BluePrints for the Community, the donor-advised fund of Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware at the Delaware Community Foundation, has contributed over $16 million to the community since its inception in 2007. It was established to serve Delawareans, with emphasis on, but not limited to, the needs of the uninsured and underserved, and to reduce health care disparities in minority population and address social determinants of health.

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