Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation Awards $500K in Grants

Funding will support oral health for uninsured, underserved Arkansans

LITTLE ROCK—Good tidings came early to 23 Arkansas non-profit organizations: They are the winners of $500,000 in grants from the Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation. Ranging from $5,000 to $30,000 each, the awards will support community-focused oral health initiatives across the state. The funding, awarded through the Foundation’s annual Community Grants Program, will ultimately benefit hundreds of thousands of Arkansans, especially low-income, uninsured and underserved residents.

“We are thrilled to award these grants,” said Chrissy Chatham, executive director of the Foundation. “They support and nurture meaningful, transformational projects that promote improved oral health for individuals who need it the most. It’s our goal for all Arkansans to achieve good oral health and therefore, improve their quality of life.”

The 2021 Community Grants are being awarded to projects that offer treatment, prevention programs and/or educational programs related to oral health. The funds will be made available in January 2021.

Organizations receiving a total of $270,000 to provide treatment include:

1. WelcomeHealth, Northwest Arkansas
2. Shepherd’s Hope Neighborhood Medical Center, Central Arkansas
3. Samaritan Community Center, Northwest Arkansas
4. DePaul Community Health Centers, Southeast Arkansas
5. University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Foundation, Central Arkansas
6. UA Little Rock Children International, Pulaski County
7. Harmony Health Clinic, Pulaski County
8. Community Dental Clinic (a program of CSCDC), Crawford and Sebastian counties
9. Hope Cancer Resources, Northwest Arkansas
10. University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Foundation, Lonoke and Pulaski counties
11. Conway Regional Health Foundation, Central Arkansas
12. Cancer Support Foundation, Crawford, Franklin, Johnson, Logan, Polk, Scott, Sebastian and Yell counties
13. Safe Haven Ministries, Inc., Franklin, Johnson, Logan, Pope and Yell counties

Organizations receiving a total of $45,000 to focus on prevention programs include:

1. Lafayette County Dental Clinic, Inc., Lafayette
2. Arkansas Medical, Dental & Pharmaceutical Association (AMDPA), Northeast Arkansas and Southeast Arkansas

Organizations receiving a total of $185,000 to offer oral health educational programs include:

1. Arkansas Children’s Foundation, Entire State
2. Boys & Girls Clubs of Arkansas River Valley, Pope and Yell counties
3. University of Central Arkansas, Conway, Greenbrier, Quitman, and Heber Springs
4. University of Arkansas Fort Smith Foundation, Northwest Arkansas
5. Arkansas Department of Health, Entire State
6. Arkansas Foodbank, Central Arkansas and Southeast Arkansas
7. World Services for the Blind (WSB), Northwest Arkansas
8. Arkansas Community Foundation, Entire State

Each year, Community Grant funding seeks to improve the oral health of Arkansans through community partnerships by funding preventative services and/or treatment for underserved individuals of all ages, ethnicities, genders, and socio-economic statuses in Arkansas. Grants of up to $30,000 are available for eligible organizations and are awarded based on the applicants’ ability to meet any of the four funding goals of the Foundation: support low-cost clinics; provide oral health educational opportunities; service connecting organizations, and incorporate oral health into broader social determinants of health.

Applications are typically accepted in mid-summer, with selections made in November and grant funds issued in January.

About the Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation

The Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation is committed to fulfilling Delta Dental of Arkansas’s mission to improve the oral health of all Arkansans. Since 2015, the Foundation has contributed an average of $1 million per year to local communities to support oral health education, prevention and treatment programs. More information is available at https://www.deltadentalar.com/giving-back/delta-dental-of-arkansas-foundation/about.