Content excerpted and adapted from a Kresge Foundation press release. 

The Kresge Foundation has announced $1 million to bolster vaccine access and health equity through Detroit’s community health centers, community development organizations and human service agencies.

The foundation is also committing to an additional $1 million in vaccination support grants in Detroit in the coming weeks.

The funds announced include $600,000 targeted to federally qualified health centers, community development organizations and human service agencies in northwest and southwest Detroit, where testing shows the city’s highest COVID-19 case rates. 

The funds will support a variety of efforts including vaccine outreach and education and transportation to vaccine sites.  

The funds will also support the organizations in connecting residents with resources for a variety of basic needs, such as food, housing and mental health services.

Additional grants of $1 million promote vaccine access and availability, including partnerships with the city of Detroit and other organizations, will be announced in the near future.

Nationally, including the Detroit grants, The Kresge Foundation will announce at least $4.4 million to support the equitable distribution of vaccines in 2021. In 2020, the foundation committed $19 million in grants and investments to support nonprofits confronting the COVID-19 crisis nationally and in cities across the United States.

“COVID-19 is not over, especially in Black and Brown communities. Community organizations are telling us that there’s more to be done to get out the word in neighborhoods that vaccines are readily available, safe and save lives, and to help connect residents to them,” Wendy Lewis Jackson, managing director of the Kresge Foundation’s Detroit Program said.