HealthSpark Foundation Awards $400K to Advance Advocacy and Housing Justice in Montgomery County
HealthSpark Foundation is proud to announce $400,000 in 2025 grant awards through the Building Community Power Fund and the Building Community Solutions Fund – Housing Justice.
These investments reflect our deep belief that lasting change is built by communities themselves. At a moment when residents across Montgomery County are organizing for dignity, stability, and belonging, these grants are designed to strengthen advocacy, advance housing justice, and overall support solutions that address the root causes of inequity.
These grants are intended to do more than support programs – they invest in people, relationships, and long-term systems change. By resourcing community-rooted organizations, HealthSpark Foundation seeks to support collaborative solutions and help remove the structural barriers that limit access to opportunity.
Now in its second cycle, the Building Community Power Fund has awarded $140,000 to support nonprofit organizations in embedding or deepening advocacy efforts that shift public policy, strengthen community leadership, and build community voice.
This year marks the first round of awards for the Building Community Solutions Fund – Housing Justice, with $260,000 awarded to advance our Housing Justice Framework and strengthen the housing justice ecosystem in Montgomery County. These grants support policy and advocacy efforts that expand renter protections, grow homeownership opportunities, increase emergency housing capacity, and counter punitive approaches to homelessness.
Read on to learn more about the grantee projects awarded.
Building Community Power Fund | 2025 Grantees
Centro de Cultura, Arte, Trabajo y Educación (CCATE) ignites social transformation by developing talents and empowering dreams of the Latinx immigrant community through culture, art, training, and education. Their REVARTE program creates "counter-spaces through community multimedia" to uplift Latin American voices. Since November 2024, their "Diálogos de la Villa Inmigrante" podcast has produced 34 episodes, including 17 bilingual episodes featuring legislators, congress members, and legal experts. Funding will expand "Diálogos de la Villa Inmigrante" podcast (34 episodes) into a comprehensive advocacy training and mobilization platform and increase weekly bilingual programming focused on health equity and community power-building.
ElderNet* has been committed to giving voice since 1976 to the most vulnerable members of the community by ensuring that older adults and adults with disabilities are heard by township administrators, elected officials, and service agencies, with staff and board members engaging in daily advocacy that addresses immediate needs such as rent overcharges, food insecurity, and benefits access while also revealing systemic barriers that require policy change. Guided by its monthly Advocacy Committee of board, staff, and community members, ElderNet advances advocacy through issue monitoring, public education, civic engagement, and now with this grant, will embed advocacy more fully into its mission and case management by strengthening policymaker relationships, expanding coalitions, hosting educational and listening sessions, and increasing civic participation. The organization hopes to move beyond individual assistance to drive systemic change and empower older adults to shape the policies and practices that affect their lives.
Generations of Indian Valley* is a community center located in Souderton, founded in 1968, that provides comprehensive support and programming for older adults, including social services, daily activities, a noon meal program, volunteer opportunities, continuing education, fitness classes, travel, and socialization, and for more than 50 years has operated a Meals on Wheels program serving the Indian Valley and, more recently, the North Penn communities. Generations is receiving a second-year grant to continue and expand their newly launched advocacy engagement, which helped establish an Advocacy Committee, engage the Board in advocacy, strengthen communication with elected officials, share advocacy messages through local media and a newsletter (which reaches over 2,600 households), collaborate with partner organizations, and begin focused advocacy for local, nonprofit, volunteer-supported Meals on Wheels programs. With continued funding, Generations will deepen this work by hosting community forums and calls to action, engaging legislators through visits and direct advocacy, organizing a public candidate forum, amplifying participant stories through public and social media, and providing action-ready advocacy tools for older adults and their families, supported by the addition of a 10-hour-per-week role for an experienced Meals on Wheels staff member with extensive background in aging and social services.
Peaceful Living provides residential services, day programs, and community-based activities that promote independence, belonging, and quality of life for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/A). The ID/A community is one that often lacks a strong voice because many individuals are unable to advocate for themselves. Montgomery County families deserve practical tools, accessible training, and direct opportunities to raise their voices with policymakers. Community power is at the heart of this initiative. This investment will embed advocacy into their operations, expand local advocacy skills, elevate the voices of people with ID/A and their families, and strengthen Montgomery County’s capacity to influence policies that affect health, safety, and community inclusion. By equipping these advocates with the skills and opportunities to speak directly to policymakers, we help ensure that the voices of people with ID/A are heard in the decisions that most affect their lives.
Planned Parenthood Southeastern PA (PPSP) provides sexual, reproductive, and complementary services, delivers comprehensive sexuality education, and advocates for the protection and advancement of health equity and access to care – all with a commitment to cultural humility. This grant funding will expand PPSP’s Montgomery County-based advocacy programs by engaging a dedicated fellow who will work exclusively within Montgomery County communities. This investment will allow PPSP to deepen their local organizing efforts, build lasting relationships, and activate a broader, more representative base of reproductive health champions. PPSP will continue to recruit and empower advocates who reflect the identities and lived experiences of PPSP’s patients in Montgomery County.
The Arc Alliance empowers nearly 2,000 individuals with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities, and Autism (IDD/A) in Montgomery County. The “Advocacy Power for Inclusion” project will improve the quality of life for individuals with IDD/A and contribute to a more just and inclusive society. Funding will support the Arc’s advocacy work, which includes training Board, staff, and individuals with IDD/A along with their families, on effective storytelling and allowable advocacy efforts; developing educational materials to share with advocates, lawmakers, and the public; expanding and strengthening relationships with elected officials and policymakers, including facilitating IDD/A storytelling. By amplifying the voices of individuals with IDD/A, many of whom cannot advocate for themselves, the “Advocacy Power for Inclusion” project ensures that their needs are prioritized in policies, programs, and practices that affect their lives.
VMSC Emergency Medical Services is a trusted community health partner founded by Dr. Frank E. Boston in 1933. They deliver innovative pre-hospital care and extend the scope of EMS by providing emergency response and preventative and primary care through Mobile Integrated Health, community health education, and continuous professional development for EMS personnel.
"Data to Policy: From Frontline Experience to Policy Impact", is designed to build VMSC’s organizational capacity to interpret and use EMS and Mobile Integrated Health (MIH) data for advocacy. Each year, extensive EMS and MIH data are collected that reflect the realities of unhoused residents, seniors, and individuals in behavioral health crises. However, the data is primarily used for clinical and operational purposes and remains underutilized in shaping policy. This funding will support the training of VMSC staff and Board in data analysis and nonprofit advocacy. By combining frontline perspectives with quantitative insights, VMSC can become a stronger voice for residents whose experiences too often go unheard, ensuring that data from the field informs decisions that shape the health and wellbeing of our community.
Woori Center serves the most pressing needs of Korean and Asian American communities in Montogomery County through trainings, senior food pantries, and advocacy in support of equitable statewide policies for all immigrants. This work is possible because of a dedicated team of community members. To sustainably maintain their commitment to empowering the Asian immigrant community, Woori Center will contract with the Organizing Resource Institute (ORI), who maintains more than 40 years of experience organizing Korean and Asian communities around immigrant justice. ORI will provide executive and organizing coaching for Woori Center’s team and guide the creation of strategic goals for effective community base building, planning advocacy campaigns.
YWCA Tri-County Area* aligns its advocacy with the core tenets of its mission, vision, and programs, prioritizing a collective voice for justice through engagement, education, advocacy, and collaboration, and leveraging national and statewide partnerships to advance local policy and reform. With this grant support, the organization will add a part-time advocacy focused team member to coordinate outcome driven efforts in partnership with local, county, and statewide leaders, clarify campaign goals, align with key stakeholders, elevate community-informed messaging, and prioritize storytelling and media engagement to amplify impact. Advocacy efforts will be integrated into signature initiatives such as Week Without Violence and Until Justice Just Is, include regular engagement with policymakers, coordinated advocacy days in Harrisburg, and statewide and national collaboration through Pennsylvania YWCAs and YWCA USA, alongside robust issue education through webinars, trainings, and curated resources.
Building Community Solutions Fund - Housing Justice | 2025 Grantees
Access Services is a human services nonprofit serving 14 counties in Eastern Pennsylvania, dedicated to strengthening communities by empowering individuals toward wholeness and belonging through person-centered programs addressing mental health, intellectual disabilities, and housing instability. In response to the growing crisis of housing unaffordability and homelessness in Montgomery County - where encampment sweeps have proven ineffective and harmful - Access Services will lead a demonstration project in Lansdale using the UCSF Benioff Encampment Resolution Process, an evidence-based, data-driven alternative to displacement. This initiative will engage encampment residents where they are, deliver essential services, build relationships with the surrounding community, and create locally supported pathways to stable housing, while reducing harm for both residents and neighbors. This project will be led by Access Services as the backbone organization, in partnership with Montgomery County Street Medicine, Street Outreach, Trinity Lutheran’s Code Blue leadership, and a broad network of community organizations, municipal leaders, law enforcement, businesses, and landlords.
Family Promise Montco PA* partners with the community to address homelessness and hunger, working to make homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring. Rising housing costs and basic needs create barriers even as families gain income, employment, and benefits. Its expanded Housing Program provides Prevention, Diversion, and Stabilization services, including financial assistance for rent and utilities, employment support, and individualized case management with budgeting, financial literacy, and landlord/utility advocacy, helping families maintain stable housing and progress toward long-term self-sufficiency. Families typically receive $1,300 in tailored support, and 92% remain stably housed while advancing toward economic independence. This year, the organization plans to fund a dedicated coordinator to serve at least 80 families, targeting 85% to maintain housing, connect to services, and improve financial stability. With looming cuts to FEMA and HUD funding, support for Family Promise Montco’s programs is critical to sustain and expand services to meet growing community needs.
Habitat For Humanity Mont-Delco (HFHMDC) brings people together to build homes, communities, and hope, envisioning a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Serving moderate-to-low-income individuals in both Montgomery and Delaware counties, Habitat provides homeownership opportunities through rehabilitation and new construction, home repairs for owner-occupied units, and community cultivation through Neighborhood Revitalization. HFHMDC uses the Community Land Trust model to increase the number of housing units, improve neighborhoods, and allow low-income buyers to become homeowners.
HFHMDC’s Attainable Housing Rehab initiative, alongside Mosiac Community Land Trust (MCLT) and Pottstown Borough, is aimed at addressing the growing demand for affordable housing in the region. This rehab will consist of a triplex condo building for homeownership through zoning use approval, designed to provide high quality, energy efficient, and sustainable homes for low-to-moderate-income households. Once complete, each unit will be sold affordably by Habitat to qualified buyers earning less than 80% of AMI. This model, along with CLTs ground lease agreement, keeps the land and the unit affordable. When people have safe, decent, and affordable homes, they can improve their health, educational, and safety outcomes, and build personal and generational wealth. HFHMDC believes that homeownership should be an affordable and attainable endeavor.
Pottstown Beacon of Hope provides direct services and support to individuals in the Pottstown Area experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity. Programs include case management, housing navigation, and access to emergency shelter, all designed to stabilize lives and create long-term pathways to housing. Newly launched in 2025, the Capital Campaign expands safe, dignified housing options in Pottstown as Pottstown Beacon of Hope continues to grow a network of collaborative partners, ensuring that no neighbor is left behind. In addition, their new Permanent Housing and Resource Center will provide stable, long-term housing paired with resources like workforce development, healthcare navigation, and community-based services that residents need to thrive. Funding from this grant will strengthen their housing stabilization programs and build long-term capacity for safe, affordable housing in Pottstown so that more residents can transition from crisis to stability.
The Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania is a statewide coalition providing leadership and a unified voice to advance policies, practices, and resources that ensure all Pennsylvanians—especially those with low incomes—have access to safe, decent, and affordable homes. They champion common-sense solutions that strengthen Pennsylvania’s housing market and expand access to homes and housing stability for those most in need.
Funding will support continued partnerships with Access Services and Resources for Human Development to increase their collective capacity to support and empower people with lived experience of homelessness and / or housing stability to tell their stories and speak directly to decision makers. The Housing Alliance will also partner with the Bucks-Mont Collaborative and apply lessons learned from their storytelling and narrative change work towards shared advocacy goals. Through partnerships and collaboration, The Housing Alliance will continue to amplify the lived experiences of those experiencing housing inequality in Montgomery County to transform an unjust system.
The Open Link*, the Upper Perkiomen Valley’s only social service provider for more than 50 years, has expanded its work in response to rising homelessness driven by unaffordable housing, serving 10–15 unhoused or at-risk individuals monthly and partnering with faith groups and residents to form the Upper Perk Homelessness Coalition. Together, they are educating the community to reduce stigma, mobilizing volunteers and allies, and sharing accurate information to build understanding that homelessness is a local issue affecting neighbors. The Coalition and The Open Link have launched a successful, volunteer-run Code Blue shelter, are working to expand it to women and add daytime warming centers and have created a strong pipeline to case management that connects unhoused individuals to food, benefits, healthcare, and SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery applications (SOAR). As needs grow, The Open Link is strengthening case management capacity and planning longer-term solutions such as transitional and permanent housing to provide dignified, sustainable pathways out of homelessness.
TLC For the People is dedicated to eliminating homelessness and addressing inequities related to housing and basic human needs in Montgomery County. They provide critical services through their Code Blue Shelter, community outreach, and housing advocacy and actively advance health equity and justice by advocating for equitable housing policies and embedding anti-racist, equity-centered frameworks across programs.
Funding through this grant will contribute to the development of a partnership with Plymouth Township Police Department; engagement with local doctors’ offices, federally qualified health centers, and mobile clinics to provide on-site or scheduled wellness checks for shelter guest; and the formalization of partnerships with housing providers and affordable housing agencies to create a coordinated housing referral pathway. Through this coordinated and collaborative effort, TLC will continue to provide critical services while also building community solutions to dismantle systemic barriers and ensure sustainable, community-led solutions to homelessness.
Valley Youth House is a catalyst for youth to achieve their desired futures through genuine relationships that support families, ensure safe places, and build community connections.
Grant funding will support two of VYH’s programs – the Transitional and Rapid Re-Housing for transition-age youth (up to age 24) and families with children, and the Street Outreach for transition-age youth. Mobile services offered by the Street Outreach Team meet youth where they are and offer individualized counseling and goal planning. While the Transitional and Rapid Re-Housing program serve the highest priority clients identified through the coordinated entry system. Both programs center the safety and stability of clients by providing support for basic needs and safety. The process offers accessible, highly supportive services to people at high risk for experiencing long-term housing instability.
Willow Grove Community Development Corporation helps low-to-moderate-income families and communities by providing affordable housing and services in eastern Montgomery County. Since 2023, Willow Grove CDC has operated the Bridging the Gap in Upper Moreland and Eastern Montgomery County Program to increase the number of affordable rental housing units available to low- and moderate-income households in these communities, and to assist the same to become first-time homebuyers.
The ongoing work of Willow Grove CDC is important to housing justice through its provision of safe, affordable, quality, and accessible housing that allows low-to-moderate income families to not only survive, but thrive, in the local communities of eastern Montgomery County. Grant funding will allow Willow Grove CDC to continue championing the cause of affordable housing for all.
*These organizations received fast-tracked funds during this past cycle in support of their efforts to address the SNAP pause and the resulting harmful effects in communities across Montgomery County. Funds allowed for increased flexibility in their use.
Why These Investments Matter
Across Montgomery County, organizations are driving powerful work to build civic engagement, advance racial and social equity, improve public systems, and address the social determinants of health and wellbeing. These grants help:
- Grow resident power and leadership
- Advance equitable, data-driven policy and legislative change
- Strengthen coalitions and cross-sector collaboration
- Support community-led housing justice solutions
- Create long-term stability, safety, and opportunity
HealthSpark Foundation is honored to support this year’s grantee partners and looks forward to the impact they will create ahead.