Small-grants programs: lessons from community-based approaches to changing nutrition environments.

ABSTRACT

Providing small grants to community organizations can be an effective way to encourage changes in the environment that support better nutrition. This is effective because these organizations can provide insights into their communities, ready-made relationships with community members, and the trust of the community. Small-grants programs are more likely to be successful when they are tailored to the needs of individual communities, led by organizations that have established reputations with the community, fully supported by the lead community organization, and engage local partners that complement the skills and resources of the lead organization. An evaluation of a small-grants program, Grants for Healthy Youth, found that grantees developed unique approaches to improving their community nutrition environments, gained experience and skills in program development, built partnerships, and received recognition for their project work. Grantees faced some common barriers, especially with program evaluation. Small-grants programs can be an effective way to improve community nutrition environments, but granting agencies need to provide effective technical assistance to communities throughout the process.