The Humana Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM), has selected Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Knoxville, Tenn., and New Orleans as the 2015 communities for the company’s Humana Communities Benefit program.

Nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations that aim to transform their communities by lowering barriers to health and well-being – and whose specific focus or overall efforts address diabetes and/or congestive heart failure – are encouraged to apply for the multi-year charitable grant totaling $350,000.

“Humana’s goal is to improve the health of the communities we serve by making it easy for people to achieve their best health, and preventing diabetes and congestive heart failure is critical to that mission,” said Virginia Kelly Judd, Executive Director of the Humana Foundation.Humana and the Humana Foundation carefully considered the cities where we wanted to offer the Humana Communities Benefit program this year. We look forward to identifying outstanding nonprofit partners that are helping to reduce the impact of low health literacy, poor health behaviors, and lack of access to services and support. These grants are intended to help close the gap between people and care, leading to improved health and well-being for the community.”

Winners will use the Humana Foundation grant to create new programs or enhance ongoing activities that have a positive, transformational impact on the organization and the community.

Last year, the Humana Foundation relaunched the program, awarding nonprofits in Tampa Bay, Chicago and San Antonio a total of $350,000 each over a three-year period. Recipients receive $200,000 the first year; $100,000 the second year; and $50,000 the third year. Since the Humana Communities Benefit charitable giving program was introduced in 2003, the Humana Foundation has awarded nearly $9 million to nonprofits in 12 communities nationwide.

Call for Entries

For the first time, nonprofits will be required to submit a Letter of Intent outlining what their organization would achieve with the funding over the three-year period. The letter must also explain how the initiative aligns with the overall goals of the Humana Communities Benefit program, which include lessening the negative impact of diabetes and/or congestive heart failure on community health and well-being, lowering barriers to health, and increasing access to services that improve health outcomes. After the Letters of Intent are reviewed by the Humana Foundation, organizations will receive an invitation to complete a detailed application.

501(c)(3) organizations in the Knoxville, New Orleans and Fort Lauderdale areas are encouraged to review the Request for Proposals on Humana.com/HCB and submit their Letter of Intent by Friday, May 29. Eligible counties/parishes include:

  • Humana Communities BenefitFort Lauderdale — Broward County
  • Humana Communities BenefitKnoxville — Anderson, Blount, Cumberland, Knox, Loudon, Roane and Sevier counties
  • Humana Communities BenefitNew Orleans — Orleans, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. Tammany, St. Bernard, St. James, Plaquemines, Washington and Tangipahoa parishes

The timeline for this year’s charitable grant program in the three communities is as follows:

  • Letter of Intent: May 2 – May 29
  • Application Deadline: June 30
  • Judging: August
  • Online Community Vote: August
  • Grant Recipients Announced: September

The online community vote was introduced to the Humana Communities Benefit program in 2014 and allows the community to weigh in on which organization in each community it feels is most deserving of the $350,000 grant. Voting is based upon a video and short narrative submitted by the three finalists in each city and takes place at HumanaHCBVote.com. The online community vote accounts for a portion of the finalists’ total score in the final judging process.

Resources Available to Nonprofits

Humana and the Humana Foundation offer several complimentary resources and programs that connect nonprofits to individuals who are available to assist applicants through the entire Humana Communities Benefit process, including:

  • Free Educational Seminars: Eligible nonprofits are invited to attend an interactive seminar facilitated by a Humana leader, who will educate grant writers on the Humana Communities Benefit application process, offer tips and answer questions.
  • HCB Mentors: Prospective applicants can visit Humana.com/HCBMentor to connect with former grant winners regarding their experience with the Humana Communities Benefit process. On this site, nonprofit leaders can ask any questions that may not be listed in the Frequently Asked Questions document.
  • Humana Communities Benefit eNewsletter: A comprehensive digital newsletter highlights news about the grant program, offers advice and tips from previous winners, outlines key dates and highlights success stories of past recipients. To view and subscribe to the newsletter, visit Humana.com/HCB.
  • Email Inquiries: For additional information about the Humana Communities Benefit program or if a nonprofit has any questions throughout the process, they can submit an email to HCB@Humana.com and someone will reply in a timely manner.

The Humana Communities Benefit program is one element of Humana and the Humana Foundation’s overall commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR), and the company’s Healthy People, Healthy Planet, Healthy Performance CSR platform. Humana has been recognized as a leader in health care for its CSR focus, from organizations and rankings ranging from the Dow Jones Sustainability Index to the FTSE4Good Index to the Newsweek Green Rankings.

About The Humana Foundation

The Humana Foundation was established in 1981 as the philanthropic arm of Humana Inc., one of the nation’s leading health care companies. Located in Louisville, Ky., the site of Humana’s corporate headquarters, the Foundation funds 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations and institutions that focus on supportive relationships and their potential to generate healthy behaviors and prevent chronic conditions. For more information, visit www.humanafoundation.org.

Humana and the Humana Foundation are dedicated to Corporate Social Responsibility. Our goal is to ensure that every business decision we make reflects our commitment to improving the health and well-being of our members, our associates, the communities we serve and our planet.

About Humana

Humana Inc., headquartered in Louisville, Ky., is a leading health and well-being company focused on making it easy for people to achieve their best health with clinical excellence through coordinated care. The company’s strategy integrates care delivery, the member experience, and clinical and consumer insights to encourage engagement, behavior change, proactive clinical outreach and wellness for the millions of people we serve across the country.

More information regarding Humana is available to investors via the Investor Relations page of the company’s web site at www.humana.com, including copies of:

  • Annual reports to stockholders;
  • Securities and Exchange Commission filings;
  • Most recent investor conference presentations;
  • Quarterly earnings news releases;
  • Replays of most recent earnings release conference calls;
  • Calendar of events (including upcoming earnings conference call dates and times, as well as planned interaction with research analysts and institutional investors);
  • Corporate Governance information.