Past Programs

The collective efforts of our grant awardees from past grant programs have helped support the Foundation’s mission to advance health equity and foster community wellbeing. The past programs included below have made significant contributions toward their fields, but the programs have been discontinued and are no longer accepting applications.

Connections for Cardiovascular HealthSM (CCH) and CCH Next Generation
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM)

Overview

About Connections for Cardiovascular HealthSM (CCH) and CCH Next Generation

In support of its overall mission to improve advance health equity and foster community wellbeing, in 2010, the AstraZeneca Foundation launched Connections for Cardiovascular HealthSM (CCH), a program with the goal of improving cardiovascular health, to address a leading cause of death in the US.

CCH provided grants to US-based nonprofit organizations with programs working in innovative ways to help improve cardiovascular health at the community level. CCH-funded programs used tailored approaches with measurable outcomes to address specific unmet needs of communities across the country, especially underserved communities.

In 2020, the AstraZeneca Foundation launched CCH Next Generation, building off the legacy of the CCH program with a focus on sharing 10 years of Foundation and grant awardee learnings from the field.

The CCH Next Generation program sunset in 2023, and final grants were awarded to eligible grant awardees to support their missions and efforts to improve community health.

About National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM)

NBCAM is a legacy program of the AstraZeneca Foundation. Over 30 years ago, a collaboration of national public service organizations, professional medical associations and government agencies came together to promote breast cancer awareness, share information on the disease and provide greater access to services. The AstraZeneca Foundation supported NBCAM since the Foundation’s inception in 1993.

In 1985, when these groups first came together, there were very low levels of breast cancer awareness, and these leading healthcare organizations felt there was a need to create a national dialogue on breast cancer. 

Today, NBCAM has taken on a life of its own, and many organizations, groups and individuals across the country raise awareness during the month of October and throughout the year. NBCAM recognizes that although many great strides have been made in breast cancer awareness and treatment, there remains much to be accomplished, and NBCAM lives on through the work of its previous collaborating partners who are dedicated to educating and empowering women and men to take charge of their own breast health.

Previous Support

Information about the Foundation’s past Connections for Cardiovascular HealthSM Next Generation grant awardees can be found below:

 

Information about the Foundation’s past Connections for Cardiovascular HealthSM grant awardees can be found below.

Information about the Foundation’s previous charitable contributions to National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM) collaborating organizations can be found below.

Lessons Learned

The AstraZeneca Foundation is committed to sharing lessons learned from its grantmaking programs and its grant awardees. Through these efforts, we aim to inspire other organizations across the country to work to improve health in their communities. Use the links below to access Foundation and grant awardee resources.

AstraZeneca Foundation Resources

  • Mentorship Program Toolkit:
    Understanding the challenges community programs often face in their first year, the AstraZeneca Foundation developed a capacity-building mentorship program to help guide funded organizations in the successful implementation of their programs through a curriculum of peer-to-peer support, webinars and educational resources. Comprised of lessons learned and effective practices from our impactful Mentorship Program, the Mentorship Program Toolkit serves as a roadmap for other philanthropic and nonprofit organizations interested in developing a mentorship program of their own.
  • Effective Program Practices Guide: 
    Based on 10 years of learnings from the CCH program, the Effective Program Practices Guide is an educational resource designed to help organizations develop their own community health programs. The Guide includes general guidelines for building an effective community health program, as well as six innovative program approaches commonly used by CCH grant awardees for other organizations to adopt or modify. Check out the summary and infographic to learn more.
  • Dissemination and Communications Guide:
    Initially developed to support CCH grant awardees as they bring awareness to their programs, build sustainability and disseminate key learnings, the lessons in this Guide are generally applicable and may be used by other organizations working to develop, sustain and communicate about a community health program through traditional and social media.

Program Toolkits

  • Asian Health Coalition: 
    CARDIO (Cardiovascular Awareness Recognizing Diet and Integration of Exercise Options) Program Toolkit
    Outlines effective practices and outcomes for heart disease prevention among high-risk communities. 
  • Catherine’s Health Center:
    Live Heart Smart Health Coaching Toolkit
    Provides information centered on health coaching as an innovative practice used to assist with implementing a patient-centered approach to behavior change. 
  • Chesapeake Charities:
    Partnering for Youth Cardio-Fit Project Toolkit
    Provides detailed lesson plans for implementing a youth program that teaches youth to embrace the positive, preventative actions necessary to enjoy a lifetime of cardiovascular health.
  • Manna Ministries, Inc.:
    MOVE Program Toolkit
    Provides program outlines and resources to help implement an obesity reduction and cardiovascular health education program for adults and families.
  • Mid-Valley Family YMCA:
    Activate Your Heart Program Implementation Guide
    Provides detailed information on how to implement a community-based program aimed at reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, including tips for developing program partners and recruiting and retaining participants.
  • Saint Agnes Hospital Foundation:
    Heart-to-Heart Program Toolkit
    Provides key learnings and steps to consider in order to develop a faith-based cardiovascular health program.
  • Sankofa Community Development Corporation:
    Healthy HeartBeats Program Toolkit
    Provides information to help other organizations implement community-based programs to decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease, including step-by-step tools and recommendations for developing, implementing and evaluating a program.
  • St. Mary’s Health Wagon:
    Heart Health 1, 2, 3. Program Toolkit
    Provides information on the key components, lessons learned and steps to implement a successful cardiovascular health program. 
  • West Virginia Health Right, Inc.:
    SCALE Program Toolkit
    Provides information on the key components and how to implement a weight loss and health status improvement program. 
  • Westminster Free Clinic:
    Corazones Sanos Program Toolkit
    Provides information on the key components, lessons learned and steps to implement a participant-centered cardiovascular health program.