The terms defined on this page are not intended to represent a complete glossary of terms for the health industry or nonprofit world.
We selected terms that we use in our literature, especially in the Proposal Guidelines, and that tend to have ambiguous meanings.
The definitions you see here might not be “industry standard”, but they are the understandings of Endowment staff and the reviewers of Endowment grant proposals.
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- access to health
- An individual's ability to obtain appropriate health and health care services. The barriers to access that the Endowment is currently focusing on are: economic (insufficient monetary resources), geographic (physical distance and communications access between client and provider), and social-cultural (primarily stigma, language, and cultural barriers).
- activities
- (See “project activities”).
- advocacy
- Taking part in efforts to create or effect change in policies or systems. Advocacy efforts can take many forms, including education, direct action, and lobbying. Funding from the Endowment may not be used to attempt to influence specific legislation; to influence the outcome of, or participate in, any public election; or to carry on, directly or indirectly, any voter registration drive.
- applicant organization
- The organization that is applying to the Endowment for a grant.
In the case of a group of organizations working together to apply for a grant, the group chooses one of its members to be the applicant organization. The chosen organization is accountable to the Endowment for the programmatic and financial outcomes of the grant.
In the case of a legally organized collaborative, the collaborative is the applicant organization.
- Applied Research & Data Grants
- Money awarded by the Endowment to an organization to conduct applied research, data collection, and/or data analysis that improves the understanding of health issues in New Hampshire. An organization must receive an invitation from the Endowment in order to apply for one of these grants.
- best practices
- Strategies, programs, and initiatives that have been formally evaluated and documented as consistently producing positive, desired results.
- bridge grant
- Money awarded through a Discretionary Grant that is used to fill an urgent, short-term gap in the funds needed to provide continuous, essential services. A proposal for this type of funding must provide descriptions of current need and provisions for long-term funding.
- capacity
- The organizational structure, management and staff skills, technical resources, and operating methods of an organization that determine its ability to solve problems, create and sustain services and programs, and generate resources and support.
- collaboration
- A group of organizations that works together to achieve a common goal by planning, designing, and implementing a project.
In this effort, all stakeholders exchange information, share resources, enhance the capacities of each other, and alter their normal activities to achieve the goal.
A collaboration must be a legal entity in order to apply for an Endowment grant.
- community needs assessment
- Documented research results that indicate the needs of the target population of a project, as opposed to the needs of the applicant organization. Research includes consulting with members of the public, community organizations, service providers, and local government officials to identify and prioritize community health and health care needs.
- Convening Grant
- Money awarded by the Endowment to an organization to gather diverse stakeholders to exchange information regarding health improvement.
- Core Operating Support Grant
- Money awarded by the Endowment to provide core operating support to statewide organizations that focus on health-related, nonprofit capacity building, knowledge development, or advocacy.
This is a pilot, non-competitive grant for Program Years 2006 and 2007.
- data collection method
- The way that information is collected.
Examples of data collection methods include surveys, interviews, focus groups, observation, document review, and tests.
- Discretionary Grant
- Money awarded by the Endowment to an organization to support short-term, health-related projects that respond to urgent needs and opportunities.
- dissemination plan
- A documented strategy for sharing the knowledge gained from a project. For many projects, the activities that make up the dissemination plan will be included under an outcome in the project workplan.
- eligibility criteria
- The standards (outlined in the Proposal Guidelines) that the Endowment uses to determine whether an organization or a project is eligible to receive funding.
- Emergency Grant
- Money awarded by the Endowment when it becomes aware of a critical situation in the New Hampshire health-related safety net (typically, in a community mental health center, community health center, or dental clinic).
These grants are non-competitive.
- evaluation plan
- See “outcome evaluation plan”.
- Fiscal Sponsor
- A tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) organization that serves as the applicant for another organization or a collaborative that is not formally incorporated. The mission statement of the Fiscal Sponsor should be similar to the mission statement of the organization or organizations it represents. The Fiscal Sponsor agrees to be accountable to the Endowment for the programmatic and financial outcomes of the grant. All information in the “Organization Profile” section of the Grant Proposal form (including the EIN number) describes the Fiscal Sponsor.
- goal
- See “project goal statement”.
- grant
- Money awarded to an organization to support a project.
- health
- The state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. This is the World Health Organization (WHO) definition of “health”.
- indicator
- A quantitative or qualitative measure that provides a basis for assessing achievement, change, or performance over time.
- in-kind revenue
- Contributed goods or services from an applicant or collaborating organization, as opposed to contributed financial gifts.
- input
- A resource needed to implement a project activity and achieve a project output. “Inputs” are frequently referred to as “resources”. Examples of inputs include staff, consultants, volunteers, new technology, new equipment, and supplies.
- letter of commitment
- A letter from a collaborating organization that indicates commitment to the submitted project in one or more of the following ways:
- Already participated in the planning of the project.
- Personnel will actively participate in the project.
- Will contribute resources to the project.
- letter of inquiry
- A letter to the Endowment from a potential applicant organization that outlines a proposed project.
See Proposal Guidelines for information on the appropriate uses of a letter of inquiry.
- letter of support
- A letter from an organization other than the applicant organization that expresses agreement with or enthusiasm for a proposed project.
- leveraged funds
- Monies to be received from sources other than the Endowment, if those monies are dependent upon receiving a grant from the Endowment. Leveraged funds should be identified in the project budget.
- model project
- A project that can be used as a model solution by other organizations.
- outcome
- The result of project activities, often expressed in terms of changes in behavior, norms, decision-making, knowledge, attitudes, capacities, motivations, skills, or conditions of individuals, families, households, organizations, systems, or communities. Together, the full set of project outcomes should achieve the overall project goal. See Project Workplan Guidelines for a complete description of project outcomes.
- Outcome Evaluation Plan table
- The component of the Project Workplan, presented in table form, that describes how each outcome (not the process) of a project will be assessed, including outcome indicators, data collection methods, and timeframes. Applicants present some initial thinking about outcome indicators and data collection methods during the proposal process. If a project is funded, the Outcome Evaluation Plan table for each outcome must be finalized within the first six months of project implementation.
- output
- A direct, tangible, and measurable product of a project activity. An output is usually expressed as a number of units delivered. Examples of project outputs include: 5 classes held, 3 outreach materials developed, 200 participants served, 300 hours of service provided, and 6 focus groups held. Together, a set of project outputs achieve one of the project outcomes. See also, “outcome.”
- Planning Grant
- Money awarded to an organization to facilitate the planning of a project.
- Principal Investigator
- The person who is responsible for the research work of a project.
- project
- The total effort to be undertaken by the applicant organization in order to achieve the project goal set forth in the proposal, including activities for which funds are sought from the Endowment, and usually, additional activities to be funded by other sources.
- project activities
- How a project uses its inputs to achieve outcomes. Project activities are described in the Project Workplan Guidelines. An example of a project activity is, “Identify a consultant to develop the training curriculum.”
- project goal statement
- A broad, general statement about what will be accomplished by a project and how it will be done. See Project Workplan Guidelines for a complete description of the project goal statement, including its content and its importance in the project life cycle.
- project revenue
- Money that is generated by the project for which funding is being requested. For example, if the proposal includes training sessions where a dentist and pediatrician provide training to providers, the monies generated by the session fees would be considered project revenues.
- Project Workplan
- A clear representation of a project showing who is going to do what, when they are going to do it, and what they will accomplish.
This must include project activities related to disseminating the knowledge gained from a project and sustaining the health improvement outcomes of a project beyond the Endowment grant period.
See Project Workplan Guidelines for complete instructions on developing a project workplan.
- Public Policy Grant
- Money awarded to an organization to conduct research, data collection and analysis, convening, planning, technical assistance, and/or project implementation to address a critical gap between a health-related outcome and a current public policy that is designed to achieve that outcome.
An organization must receive an invitation from the Endowment in order to apply for this type of grant, and an organization may submit a Letter of Inquiry to prompt an invitation.
- sustainability
- The ability of the health improvement outcomes of a project to continue beyond the Endowment grant period without further Endowment funding. This may involve locating new sources of funding, working to improve reimbursement systems, and/or integrating the work of the project into existing health systems.
All Endowment applicants are expected to be actively planning for sustainability, and all grantees are expected to begin implementing sustainability activities early in the grant period.
- systemic change
- A permanent change to the health system of a target population. Ultimately, systemic change may require a change in public policy.
- target population
- The group of persons whose health status is expected to be directly improved by the project.
- Technical Assistance Grant
- Money awarded by the Endowment to an organization to acquire the expertise necessary to improve their organizational capabilities.
For example, paying for a technology consultant to help improve information systems in the organization.
- technical feasibility
- The likelihood of implementing a project and achieving the expected outcomes, when project activities are compared with current knowledge and experience in the related field.
- Terms of Award
- A contract that specifies the conditions that a grantee and the Endowment must meet in order for the grantee to receive payment of an approved award.
- Theme Implementation Grant
- Money awarded to an organization, usually over a multi-year period, to implement model solutions to critical health issues in New Hampshire. A proposal for a multi-year Theme Implementation Grant must include a separate budget for each year and a combined Project Workplan that spans all years.
Theme Implementation Grants focus on selected health-related themes that address critical, unmet, population-based needs that affect a significant number of people in New Hampshire. Current themes are: Economic Barriers to Accessing Health, Geographic Barriers to Accessing Health, Social-Cultural Barriers to Accessing Health, and Mental Health of New Hampshire's Children and their Families. (The Mental Health theme is not available for this grant during Program Year 2007.)
Proposals are only accepted from organizations that submit a Letter of Inquiry and then receive an invitation from the Endowment; not all Letters of Inquiry result in an invitation. See Proposal Guidelines for more information.
- Theme Summary
- A document that contains a summary of the outcomes and strategies for an Endowment theme, the progress to date in achieving those outcomes and strategies, and the work yet to be done.
- theoretical soundness
- The validity of the concepts upon which the outcomes of a project depend, when those concepts are compared with current theory and experiential knowledge in the related field.
- underserved population
- A group of people, who for a variety of reasons, do not have equal access to health and health care services.
- vulnerable population
- A group of people with certain characteristics that cause it to be at greater risk of having poor health.
The Endowment considers these characteristics to include, but not to be limited to, age, culture, disability, education, ethnicity, health insurance, housing status, income, mental health, and race.
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