The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas 2024-2025 Blue Impact grant application is open for Texas nonprofits that focus on improving social determinants of health, the Richardson-based company announced.

BCBSTX said the Blue Impact grants and its other community investments directly target the social and economic factors that play a role in health and wellness.

Sheena Payne

Sheena Payne, the director of BCBSTX community investments, highlighted the importance of addressing these factors, noting that they account for over 50% of poor health outcomes. The grants are aimed at “how we can make a difference,” she said in a statement.

“For decades, we have worked in close collaboration with local community organizations and partners, leveraging their knowledge, experience, and talents on a local level to help support healthier communities,” Payne said. 

It’s a model the organization continues to refine, she added, noting that the organization continues to “align our investments in areas where data shows we can make an impact.” 

In 2023, Blue Impact grants replaced its Healthy Kids, Healthy Families grants to better reflect the insurer’s advanced focus on supporting optimal health outcomes for more Texans.

Nearly $3M in Blue Impact funding to 101 Texas organizations

Last July, BCBSTX announced $2.93 million in Blue Impact 2023-2024 funding to 101 community-based organizations across the state, including several North Texas groups.

Grants are just one of the ways the company supports local communities. Its community investments also include microgrants and sponsorships, as well as in-kind donations, employee volunteerism, and disaster relief.

BCBSTX invites Texas-based community, business, and provider organizations that align with its mission and priorities to request sponsorship and grant requests. Organizations should either be 501(c)(3) non-profits per IRS code or government, civic, and cultural organizations.

Bonton Enterprises, the organization behind Dallas’ Bonton Farms, is one of the 2023-2024 BCBSTX Blue Impact grant recipients. [Photo: Samsung US]

Five areas of focus

BCBSTX’s said its community investments align under five areas of focus to support the company’s mission to expand access to care, including:

• Economic Opportunity and Stability: Addressing issues such as poverty, removing barriers to employment, providing good jobs and upskilling.
• Nutrition: Supporting efforts to decrease hunger and increase access to nutritional food.
• Neighborhood and Built Environment: Focusing on affordable, healthy housing, as well as access to transportation and physical activity.
• Locally Defined Health Solutions: Addressing hyperlocal health and human service needs.
• Optimal Health Outcomes: Helping close gaps in care, specifically around six priority areas: immunizations; diabetes care; cardiovascular care; behavioral health; early detection cancer screening; and maternal & infant health.

“With targeted grants, we’re supporting innovative approaches in Texas to address the maternal and infant health crisis, as well as helping add community health workers in rural and isolated areas to bridge gaps where there are provider shortages,” Payne said.

“As the state’s largest provider of health benefits, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas is deeply dedicated to contributing to the well-being of the communities where we live, work, and play,” BCBSTX President Jim Springfield said in a statement.

Apply for the 2024-25 Blue Impact grant by Feb. 9

To apply for a 2024-25 Blue Impact grant, a ‘Letter of Intent’ must be submitted before 5 p.m. on Feb. 9. Once the letter is reviewed, organizations selected to apply will be notified about the next steps.

Go here for details and a link to apply.

Quincy Preston contributed to this report. 

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