The CHCM launched its new Inspiration Grant in 2018-2019, and at the organization’s annual banquet on June 20, 2019, five selected projects will receive up to $50,000 each for their implementation.
Daniel Lussier, CHCM Executive Director, explains. “The Inspiration Grant started with a contribution from the Grey Nuns of Montreal to the CHCM about a year ago, which we matched. We have about $3 million in total. We waited to accumulate interest before starting to distribute the funds.”
The purpose of the grant is to develop innovative projects that will make a real difference in the lives of the people served by CHCM Communities of Service, and what better way to identify new ideas than by going straight to the source.
“We consulted the people working directly with clients, those on the front line in every Community of Service, to learn more about what they were seeing. We wanted to know what they felt was lacking in terms of services, what the most pressing needs were.”
“It’s important for the Communities of Service to always be on the lookout for new ideas that could make a positive difference in the lives of patients, clients, residents, etc., and the Inspiration Grant is a good way to encourage that.”
Indeed, the response to the CHCM’s call for projects was strong, with more than 25 proposals submitted. “It was challenging to narrow down the choices,” says Lussier. “And since it was our first call for proposals, we had to finetune our criteria. We set a maximum allocation of $200,000 to $210,000 per year. We came in at under $200,000 this year.”
Three people had the job of selecting the winning projects: Daniel Lussier, Cliff Jeffers, a former CHCM board member, and Susan Stradford, a former Executive Director of the Centre de santé Saint-Boniface, one of the CHCM’s Communities of Service. Two projects from St.Amant, two from Marymound and one from Actionmarguerite were chosen as the first recipients.
The projects will be shared at the Annual Banquet on June 20 and we’ll share that video will be on the website right after the AGM.
The CHCM Executive Director is excited about the prospects. “Each project chosen has the potential to really make its Community of Service stand out and have a strong impact on client service. The projects are responding to unmet needs in innovative ways.”
Plans to launch the next call for projects in 2019-2020 are already underway.