Alliance for Greater Works™ Receives $2.4 Million Grant to Address Rural Mental Health

AUSTIN, Texas – The Hogg Foundation has awarded $2.4 million to Alliance for Greater Works™ to serve as the Statewide Collaborative Coordinator for the Hogg Foundation’s Collaborative Approach to Well-Being In Rural Communities initiative. The grant is part of the foundation’s larger effort to transform the environments where people live, learn, work, play and pray, bringing a population health approach to support resilience, mental health and well-being. 

Alliance is one of six organizations that received grants totaling $4.5 million. The other five organizations are charged with forming collaboratives to consist of key stakeholders from across sectors, including people who have been historically excluded from community decision-making processes, who are developing and/or delivering strategies to move their community toward greater well being. Alliance for Greater Works is charged with providing coordination of the entire initiative. 

“Alliance for Greater Works is committed to dismantling the systems, structures, and practices that perpetuate inequity in marginalized communities,” said Sherrye Willis, President and CEO of Alliance for Greater Works. “We are honored and excited to work in partnership with the Hogg Foundation and the five communities to address mental health and well-being of communities at the systems level.” 

The Collaborative Approaches to Well-Being in Rural Communities initiative grows out of the Hogg Foundation’s new strategic direction, which is shifting from a primary focus on recovery from mental illness to the upstream or root causes of poor mental health at the community and systems level. It recognizes that community-based approaches are necessary to make a lasting transformation in mental health and well-being. 

The other five grantees are:  

• Bastrop County Cares (Bastrop County) 
• Community Action Corporation of South Texas (Brooks County) 
• Northeast Texas Community College (Morris County) 
• Stephen F. Austin State University (Nacogdoches County)
• Victoria County Public Health Department (Victoria County)

“We were extremely impressed with the quality and innovativeness of the proposals submitted by over 60 rural communities from across the state,” said Dr. Octavio N. Martinez, Jr., executive director of the Hogg Foundation. “It was a challenge to select only five communities to embark on this new partnership.”

Not only does the new initiative focus on rural communities, but the projects are designed to ensure the participation of historically excluded groups (on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, socioeconomic status, geography, etc.) at every crucial phase. Each grantee has considerable flexibility in developing their collaborative and approach, but all applicants had to demonstrate a commitment to shared learning, provide detailed plans for community inclusion and participation, and address the need for inclusive leadership that does not reproduce existing inequities. 

Learn more about the Hogg Foundation’s new focus on collaborative approaches to mental health.  

ABOUT ALLIANCE FOR GREATER WORKS

Founded in 2001, Alliance for Greater Works envisions a world without under-resourced communities. Our mission is to strengthen and position leaders and organizations to transform under-resourced communities. We champion collaborative solutions to transform marginalized communities.

ABOUT THE HOGG FOUNDATION FOR MENTAL HEALTH

Established in 1940, the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health envisions a future in which the people of Texas thrive in communities that support mental health and well-being. Using a variety of approaches, including grantmaking, convening, research and public policy, the foundation works collaboratively to transform how communities promote mental health in everyday life.