• DPH
  • RIZE
  • Funded by the MA Department of Public Health, Bureau of Substance Addiction Services and Powered by RIZE Massachusetts Foundation

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Family Resilience Grant

About the Grant

RIZE will award $7,500,000 over three years to organizations leading local initiatives to address critical gaps in care for children and families impacted by the opioid crisis. The maximum request is $500,000 annually. Specific attention will be paid to the applicant’s budget to ensure alignment with the organization’s size and scope.

This grant program will provide funding for comprehensive support services to enhance family stability, improve child well-being, and strengthen community resources. Specifically, the objectives include:

  • Empowering families through education, trauma-informed care, and navigation of social systems
  • Improving housing stability for families and youth to cultivate healthier communities
  • Enhancing developmental, educational, and emotional support systems for children and families
  • Promoting the well-being of families by providing comprehensive peer recovery support and harm reduction education, ultimately fostering a healthy environment for reunification and healing

We anticipate the funding will support 5 to 10 organizations. Projects should embed a family-centered approach, emphasizing the collective well-being of the family rather than focusing solely on the individual. This perspective recognizes that challenges one family member faces can impact the entire family unit and that family support can be crucial for success. Projects may include support for grandparents raising grandchildren, parent(s) with lived and living experience, other caregivers impacted by substance use, and/or direct support for children.

For the purposes of this grant, “family” is defined broadly to encompass various structures that include traditional nuclear families, extended families (such as grandparents, aunts, uncles), chosen families, and guardians or caregivers who play a significant role in a child’s life. The key focus is on those who provide emotional, physical, and social support, regardless of legal guardianship or formal custody arrangements. This inclusive definition aims to recognize the diverse ways in which caregiving and familial relationships manifest in the context of recovery and support.

Applicants should propose projects designed to impact one or more of the following priority areas. Please see the Grant Guidelines for more details.

1. Comprehensive Family Support Services

  • Support Parents & Caregivers
  • Provide Trauma-Informed Support for Children
  • Help Families Navigate Systems & Services

2. Housing and Stability Support

  • Offer Emergency Housing for Families in Crisis
  • Connect to Transitional & Supportive Housing
  • Prevent Homelessness Among At-Risk Youth

3. Early Childhood and Educational Support

  • Promote Early Childhood Interventions
  • Support for Foster & Kinship Care Families

4. Community-Based Harm Reduction & Recovery Support

  • Offer Peer Recovery & Psychoeducational Support for Families
  • Deploy Harm Reduction & Overdose Prevention for Families

Grant Guidelines & Application

How Funds Can Be Used

Proposed projects and initiatives must adhere to the Massachusetts State Sub-Division Agreement for Statewide Opioid Settlements and advance non-punitive, health-centered approaches to substance use disorder-related harms and challenges.

The funds can support projects and initiatives developed with input from people with lived and living experience, public health experts, municipal leaders, and families affected by the opioid crisis.

We recognize that families may have urgent needs that require attention. Therefore, funds can also be utilized for incentives or assistance with basic needs (non-cash), such as transportation, emergency housing support, childcare, etc.

In addition to grant funding, RIZE will provide technical assistance and learning opportunities tailored to specific needs identified by the grantees. This comprehensive support is designed to facilitate the effective implementation of initiatives, strengthen organizations, and build more resilient communities.

Funds cannot be used for:

    • Care or costs reimbursed by the state, including MassHealth and MA DPH Bureau of Substance Addiction Services, unless they strengthen and supplement these services but not supplant them
    • Fundraising pursuits
    • Endowments or annual appeals
    • Clinical or drug trials
    • Direct payments to individuals
    • Lobbying or legislative activity
Who Should Apply

RIZE seeks to fund nonprofit organizations that work with any aspect of the care continuum from prevention to recovery and that serve diverse communities and populations that are historically underserved and have experienced a higher rate of opioid-related overdose deaths. For this grant program, this includes nonprofit organizations that have a total annual operating budget of $20 million or less and are:

  • 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations (fiscal sponsorship models are acceptable)
  • Multi-service agencies
  • Minority-Led and minority-serving community-based organizations
  • Tribal entities or community-led initiatives
  • Organizations that conduct their proposed activities within Massachusetts
  • In good standing and current with state and federal reporting requirements
Application Process & Timeline

If your project meets the guidelines, we invite you to complete an application and submit it by 11:59 pm EST on June 17, 2025. The application questions are for review at the end of the Guidelines document. Questions are highly encouraged and should be submitted to grants@rizema.org. RIZE will post answers to submitted questions on mosaic.rizema.org. All questions will be posted anonymously. RIZE may contact applicants for additional information or clarification if needed during the review process. RIZE is committed to providing ample technical assistance and support during the application process.

  • Application Released: April 22, 2025
  • Informational Webinar (Register here): April 28, 2025 @ 1pm
  • Office Hours: May 19, 2025 @ 10am
  • Application Due: June 17, 2025 @ 11:59 pm
  • Notifications: September 2025
  • Grant Period Begins: November 1, 2025
Grant Selection Criteria

All proposals will undergo an unbiased, fair, equitable, and timely review process that includes people with lived and living experience and other subject matter experts. RIZE recognizes that not every proposal will address all items below, but in general, seeks to fund organizations that:

  • Address prevention, harm reduction, access to care, recovery, and trauma, grief, and family supports.
  • Have a well-thought-out project and describe the partners engaged (including people with lived and living experience, experts, and professionals) and how their feedback informed the proposal.
  • Serve populations and communities with high rates of opioid overdoses and deaths that have been historically underserved.
  • Currently deliver programs and services for children and families that reflect the input of their communities and are based on best and promising practices.
  • Are rooted in health equity and engage in activities to address disparities in services and outcomes for children and families.

Applications will be reviewed based on the following:

  • Alignment with grant criteria
  • Strength and innovation of the proposal
  • Engagement of people with lived/living experience
  • Geographic equity and population focus
  • Organizational capacity and readiness
  • Data tracking and evaluation capacity
  • Budget feasibility and sustainability
Evaluation & Reporting

RIZE aims to measure what matters most, not just what is easily measurable. Our evaluations track progress, increase grantee capacity for data-informed decision-making, and develop a community of learning and improvement. This helps grantees understand what works, adjust what doesn’t, and create sustainable means to measure success. In addition, with the evaluation of the Family Resilience Grant RIZE aims to develop evidence about the feasibility and effectiveness of different approaches for supporting children and families who the opioid crisis has impacted. For example, we may explore questions like:

  • How many families were reached by the program, and what were their characteristics?
  • What kinds of services and supports were offered to participants?
  • What went well, and what was challenging about implementing different models? What factors affected implementation?
  • What services and supports did families use most often or find most helpful?
  • How did family stability, resilience, and well-being change over time?
  • What approaches were most effective for promoting positive family outcomes? What approaches were less effective and why?

Our evaluation partner, the Institute for Community Health, will develop measures to help grantees track program implementation and outcomes at the family level. Evaluation focus areas and metrics will be designed with grantee input and participation, and the evaluation process will respect the grantees’ time and resources. The evaluation will also gather feedback on the grant application process, technical assistance, and learning events to gather lessons and recommendations for future programs.

With support from ICH, grantees will be asked to:

  • Track and report on participant demographics
  • Track and report on service delivery
  • Administer a family outcomes evaluation assessment and enter data (a specific tool will be developed with grantee input)
  • Participate in qualitative data collection such as interviews or focus groups

We recommend that applicants include staff time for data entry and reporting when developing their project budgets. ICH will offer support and technical assistance to help grantees build their data and reporting capacity to participate in the evaluation.

Grantees will be offered opportunities to participate in virtual or in-person meetings, technical assistance, and convenings to network, share ideas, and learn from each other. In addition, we ask grantees to share their progress, successes, and challenges annually.

Health Equity Statement

RIZE believes that anyone with substance use disorder should have access to a range of substance use treatments, including all types of MOUD, psychosocial interventions, harm reduction, community services, and recovery supports. Yet, gaps in access to care remain, especially for people who identify as BIPOC, as well as rural residents, LBGTQ+ persons, youth, and others. RIZE makes health equity a grantmaking priority by investing in programs that increase access to care and address root causes, such as racism, poverty, and power imbalances. RIZE also follows the MA Department of Public Health Principles for Racial Equity and endeavors to meet national Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) standards as an additional tool to help achieve health and racial equity.

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