News Releases

Technical Assistance - Fall 2002 RFP

• You do not need to have the original RFP to submit a proposal, but you must have the elements that we request on the application included in your proposal. Please adhere to the page requests under Program Description.
• You may download the application by going to www.bcbsf.com-ourcompany-bluefoundation. We do not accept online applications, so your proposal must be mailed or hand-delivered by the deadline.
• We prefer to receive your proposal by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 3, 2002. We will, however, accept your proposal if it is postmarked by that date. Our offices will not be open on Monday, September 2, 2002 for deliveries in observance of the Labor Day holiday.
• Due to the large number of proposals that we anticipate receiving, we will not have an opportunity to discuss with you at length your proposal ideas before submission. We encourage you to review the RFP guidelines, The Blue Foundation's mission and review the examples of grants we have made during our past two grant cycles.
• We encourage you to review the latest news and other details about The Blue Foundation for a Healthy Florida through the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida website in the "Blue Foundation" section.
• We will accept multiple proposals from one organization for different programs. You may also combine your programs into one proposal. You will not be penalized for either method of submission.
• There are no specific guidelines on the type size, typeface or format of your application. We simply ask that the proposal be clean and easy to read. It is not necessary to bind your proposal in a notebook or folder; a large paper clip or binder clip is acceptable and preferred.
• The Blue Foundation accepts proposals twice a year, and those proposals can be hand-delivered, faxed, sent overnight or mailed.

• We would like to have one copy of the attachments requested on the RFP. You will not be penalized for submitting more than one copy of the attachments.
• If you applied during the last grant cycle and submitted your attachments, we request that you resubmit at least one copy of the attachments for this RFP cycle.
• If your organization does not have certain attachment requests (for example, a recent audit or an annual report), please just submit the attachments that you do have available. You will not be penalized for not having certain attachments. However, your IRS status ruling letter and your current board of directors listing are must-have attachments in order to be considered.
• If the list of other major business and foundation donors is large, please submit a list of those donors that support the program for which you are applying. The same applies for your current operating budget - if your organization is part of a larger company, please submit your current budget for the project for which you are applying, or for your specific organization's operating budget.
• The professional affiliations for the board of directors are those organizations that your board members either work for or are the representatives for on your board. If you have different boards for your umbrella organization and for the program for which you are applying, please submit the list of both boards of directors.
• The request for resumes, biographies or position descriptions helps The Blue Foundation assure that your organization's staff has the nece4ssary skills, experience and knowledge to effectively manage the program for which you are applying. If you are a multi-location program and have several program managers, please submit the bio/description for the overall leader or highest level manager

• An organization may apply that is not located in Florida; however, the program for which it is applying must operate in Florida and directly serve Floridians.
• The organization applying must be a 501(c)(3) organization as defined by the Internal Revenue Service and not be classified as a private foundation. Public county health departments and other government entities are not eligible to apply unless they have this status. A public entity may serve as a fiscal agent for a charitable organization or be part of a coalition or consortium applying for funding.
• An organization that applied for funding in the previous grant cycle may apply again for the current grant cycle, using the same proposal idea or a new program. We will not provide specific information about why your proposal was not chosen during the last cycle, or ideas for improvement to your proposal.
• Organizations that received funding from The Blue Foundation during past grant cycles may apply again for funds for another program, but cannot reapply for the same funded program for at least one year, or the program's grant duration.
• The Blue Foundation for a Healthy Florida operates two grant cycles each year, in the spring and fall. The Spring 2003 deadline is planned at this time for March 1, 2003. If you would like to be included on the mailing list to receive an application for the spring cycle, please contact 1-800-477-3736, x63215. Those who have received applications or correspondence from the foundation in the past are already included on the mailing list. Please keep us informed of address changes.

• The mission of The Blue Foundation for a Healthy Florida is broad enough to have a significant impact on the many different health care challenges in Florida. There are areas of interest for which we will consider funding. These include: health care education, awareness and training programs, especially those that have a grassroots or community outreach component; workforce preparation initiatives that have a health focus; demonstration and/or research projects that attempt to find a new way to deliver health care or to increase access to health care services for the uninsured and underserved; and projects that use innovative techniques or use collaborative methods to address a specific problem in a geographic area or target population. Our mission - to promote the health and well-being of uninsured and underserved Floridians - at its core is to support philanthropic, proactive approaches to address the health care issues of today and more importantly, tomorrow.
• Funding for direct health care services will be considered, but must not serve as a replacement for insurance reimbursements or as a supplement to insurance reimbursements from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida.
• Funding for general operating support alone or for capital campaigns will be considered, but are not a priority area.
• The Blue Foundation will not fund administrative overhead charges for universities or higher education institutions, nor fund tuition costs for undergraduate or graduate students to attend university courses.

• The Blue Foundation uses a four-step review process for determining grant recipients. Independent readers review all proposals submitted using the foundation's established grant criteria. Following this initial review, The Blue Foundation Employee Grant Review Team receives selected proposals and makes funding recommendations to the foundation board of directors grant committee. The grant committee submits its final recommendations to the foundation board of directors for final approval.
• The process takes approximately two months to determine grant recipients. Organizations chosen for grants will be notified by December 1, 2002 by telephone. Organizations not chosen will be notified by December 15, 2002 by mail.
• The Employee Grant Review Team is composed of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida employees who are involved in the community and have various skills in planning, finance, marketing, legal and grantmaking. The members of the team serve alternating terms of service. Members are chosen through an application process and are chosen by the foundation board of directors.