Through our Healthy Active Community focus area, the Foundation seeks to increase physical activity and encourage healthy eating habits for North Carolinians. Healthy Active Communities encompasses the BCBSNC Foundation's Be Active Kids Signature program, Fit Together Grants and a grant-making program.   For those agencies interested in requesting funds for EQUIPMENT ONLY (maximum request $5000), please click here.

For the Healthy Active Communities grant-making program, investment decisions will be based on an organization's ability to achieve one or more of the following objectives, with highest consideration given to those proposals that utilize a combination of programming, environmental changes, and policy changes to address physical activity and healthy eating:

1. Measurably increase physical activity and healthy eating opportunities for school age children and staff

• Increase physical activity levels during the school day¹
• Increase access to and consumption of healthy food² during the school day
• Increase parent awareness about physical activity and healthy eating so that healthy habits learned during the school day are reinforced at home

2. Measurably increase physical activity and healthy eating opportunities in rural communities³or for vulnerable populations⁴ in urban communities.

• Increase physical activity levels of a targeted population⁵
• Increase access to and consumption of healthy food
• Increase physical activity levels through the creation of an implementation plan⁶for physical projects (such as greenways or parks)

Grant Process and Examples

How to Apply to the Healthy Active Communities Focus Area

Application (General)

Budget Template

¹ School day is defined as the time immediately before, during or immediately after school hours, and can also include track-out day camps. Programs to increase physical activity and access to healthy food during the school day do not have to take place on school property (e.g., YMCAs, recreation centers, Boys and Girls Clubs sites, etc.).

² Healthy food is defined as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, low fat dairy products, and snacks with reduced amounts of refined sugars, hydrogenated fats, and sodium. Healthy food also refers to food preparation methods that avoid frying foods and to balanced meal choices designed to achieve the My Pyramid daily intake suggestions

³ Rural communities are located in counties defined as rural by the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center. To see if your county qualifies, go to www.ncruralcenter.org/databank/rural_county_map.asp.

⁴ Vulnerable populations are defined as uninsured, low-income, minority, and/or chronically ill individuals.

⁵ Active Living by Design's 5 P model is one recommended strategy for achieving the result of increasing physical activity. The model recommends the integration of the 5 P's: Preparation, Promotion, Programs, Policy Influence, Physical Projects, as a way to comprehensively promote active living in communities. www.activelivingbydesign.org/fileadmin/template/documents/albd_primer_low.pdf

⁶ Requests for planning fundsmust include information on how funds will be obtained for construction of the physical project.