[Kaiser Permanente] -Kaiser Permanente Santa Clarita Valley will begin accepting 2016 community grant inquiry applications starting on Monday, Feb. 8 through Monday, Feb. 29 at 2 p.m.

Kaiser Permanente’s social mission is to improve the health of not only our members, but the communities we serve. Community health non-profit organizations that work to alleviate health disparities in the Santa Clarita Valley area are strongly encouraged to learn more and apply online [here].

The Kaiser Permanente Community Benefit program addresses the needs and priorities identified through local needs assessments. Addressing these needs is accomplished, in part, by supporting partnerships with community-based organizations through our community grants program. Kaiser Permanente Panorama City & Antelope Valley Medical Center area’s community benefit grant program provides opportunities to respond to grant requests from nonprofit organizations, educational institutions and government agencies whose work aligns with key funding priorities in the Santa Clarita Valley area.

A limited number of grants will be awarded to organizations that address critical needs in at least one of the following three areas of focus:

* Access to Health Care and Health Insurance with a focus on providing access to health insurance and primary health care services, including prenatal care, specialty care, dental, and mental health for uninsured and underinsured individuals.

* Chronic Disease Prevention, Education, and Management focusing on improving education, prevention, early detection, and treatment of chronic diseases with an emphasis on cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, and cholesterol.

* Obesity and Overweight Prevention and Reduction focusing on initiatives and partnerships that promote healthy eating and active living to combat increased obesity rates through medical, environmental, and social changes.

Organizations that are interested in applying must:

* Be a nonprofit organization or a local, state, or federal government agency operating for a public purpose

* Provide services within the Santa Clarita Valley

* Provide services to disadvantaged and/or underserved populations

* Address critical public health needs in our culturally diverse community

* Have submitted evaluation reports for all historical grants

In 2015, Kaiser Permanente Santa Clarita awarded more than $62,000 in grants to 10 local nonprofits.

Kaiser Permanente recently launched a new streamlined grant inquiry and application process which can be found online; organizations may learn more about eligibility requirements, funding priorities, frequently asked questions, and apply online at http://community.kp.org/panoramacity.

For more information about the process, please contact Amy Wiese at Amy.C.Wiese@kp.org by Wednesday, Feb.24.

To learn more about Kaiser Permanente’s Community Benefit programs, please visit: http://community.kp.org/ and follow @KPCommBenefit on Twitter. For more information on Kaiser Permanente, please visit: https://kp.org/santaclarita.