Delta Dental Community Care Foundation awards $16.3 million to nonprofits that bring dental care to people who go without
The foundation of Delta Dental of California and its affiliates announced the round of Access to Care Grants on Nov. 5. It covers 15 states and Washington, D.C.; the release names neither the number of grantees nor the amounts each received.
San Francisco. The Delta Dental Community Care Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Delta Dental of California and its affiliated companies, said on Nov. 5 that it has awarded $16.3 million in Access to Care Grants to nonprofits that provide oral health care to underserved people. The grants reach across the company's service area of 15 states and Washington, D.C.
The foundation's announcement does not say how many organizations received grants, which ones, or how the money was divided among states. Its own site lists the area as Alabama, California, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.
Three kinds of work
The program funds work in three areas, the foundation said. The first is care for seniors and special populations, programs that address health disparities among vulnerable older adults and people with special needs. The second is innovative and preventive care, new technologies and preventive methods meant to improve dental health. The third is rural communities, where the aim is to add dental services in rural and underserved areas.
Beyond paying for treatment, the foundation said, the grants are meant to strengthen local organizations, expand clinical capacity and give providers what they need to reach more patients.
As an example, the announcement points to CommUnityCare Health Centers in Austin, Texas, which the foundation calls one of its partners. It tells of a single mother who put off care for her son's dental pain for five months out of worry about the cost, and whose two children then received exams, cleanings, fillings, crowns and extractions at the clinic.
“These partnerships support the organizations and providers who are delivering care every day and help build stronger, healthier and more resilient communities by improving access to quality oral health care where it is needed most.”
More than $200 million since 2011
The foundation says it has given more than $200 million in funding and support since 2011 to nonprofits working on oral health, health equity and barriers to care in its service area. On its site it describes Access to Care Grants as several million dollars a year to dental clinics, and says it supports well over 300 nonprofit partners and community health clinics.
Its grants are by invitation only. The foundation's site says an organization that believes it is a good fit may write to the foundation to introduce itself.
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