In June 2018, Nicole Thomsen, Health Policy Analyst, and then Administrator Jefferson Ketchel, were selected to participate in the third cohort of The Kresge Foundation’s Emerging Leaders in Public Health (ELPH) initiative. Kresge’s ELPH was designed to provide public health leaders of county and local health departments with the opportunity to gain additional knowledge and build skills to address the challenges public health professionals face in their communities. Following selection, the Board of Health authorized the Board Chair and Administrator to sign a letter of support (August 2018) and sign the grant agreement letter (Exhibit A; December 2018). This award was for $125,000 for the period of October 1, 2018, through November 30, 2019. Since that time, the District has received two no-cost extensions. The current end date is January 31, 2021.
In August 2020, Kresge reached out with a new grant opportunity, Advancing Public Health Communities, specifically for ELPH teams and organizations. This opportunity is dedicated to addressing the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic challenges that we all face in doing the work of keeping our public safe. On October 5, 2020, we received notification that our proposal has been approved. The award is for $30,000 with 18% for indirect (the max allowable by Kresge) for the period of October 31, 2020, through January 31, 2021. The intent of these funds is to conduct a community survey in partnership with the Community Equity Advisory Board to assess our COVID response thus far and gather community voices for actions/steps they would like to see happen in the future. Kresge has not provided an amended contract, but rather asked for an electronic signature to receive the funds.
In alignment with proposed POL 130.004 - Contacts, if any amendment exceeds ten percent of the value of the original contract, the amendment must be approved by the appropriate management level based on cumulative contract value. The value of the amendment exceeds this threshold and the cumulative grant is $155,000, thereby requiring Board authorization.