Outside of clinical settings, one major way St. Luke’s carries out its mission - to improve the health of people in the communities we serve - is through its Community Health Improvement Fund (CHIF), which provides financial support to many of our community partners.

Eighty-five nonprofit organizations across the Treasure Valley, West Treasure Valley, Elmore County, Valley County, Adams County, and the Wood River regions will receive $686,295 in CHIF grants this year. St. Luke’s will invest an additional $328,700 in Magic Valley nonprofits this year.

When choosing how to distribute the grants, St. Luke’s gave special consideration to organizations whose proposals target significant health needs identified through St. Luke’s Community Health Needs Assessment. Consideration is also given to nonprofit organizations that work collaboratively and have equity-driven approaches to address community health needs or social determinates of health such as safe neighborhoods, transportation, and access to nutritious foods.

Because the assessment is both quantitative and qualitative, it takes into consideration the voice of local experts and community members to identify needs from their lived experience.

“In addition to guiding the types of health improvement programs we provide, St. Luke’s uses this the information to guide our grant support and collaboration with community partners,” said Theresa McLeod, St. Luke’s Health System administrator of community health and engagement.

Prioritized community health needs include:

• Affordable housing and homelessness.
• Behavioral health, including mental health and well-being, suicide prevention and substance misuse.
• Access to affordable health care, including oral and vision health.
• Access to health-related services, including improving language and cultural barriers.
• Cost of living, including caregiving and early learning.

Here is how just a few of the programs St. Luke’s is supporting make a difference:

Treasure Valley

Jesse Tree serves Treasure Valley renters who qualify as low-income (under 80% Area Median Income) and who are at risk of eviction and homelessness. All of the clients Jesse Tree serves are low-income and in the legal eviction process when they contact Jesse Tree.  A majority of households served are asset limited, income constrained, and employed (ALICE). The ALICE population has access to little or no state financial support programs and are often one crisis away from financial instability.

Jesse Tree has been providing homelessness prevention services to the Treasure Valley since 1999. The work to develop and maintain partnership with health care providers, including St. Luke’s, to improve community health through housing stabilization.

Their CHIF grant will support their Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program that offers support, education, and financial assistance to keep individuals and families safely housed during a financial crisis and empower them to find stability.

Elmore County

The Mountain Home School District is expanding an existing program that offers an alternative to suspension or citation for teens caught using tobacco products in school.

Students who take the class are allowed to continue playing sports, participate in other after school activities and stay in school instead of being placed on suspension.

The four-week class provides education on the dangers of addiction and will now offer, through the support of a CHIF grant, cessation programs that are not currently available for teens in the Mountain Home area.

By participating in the class the desired outcome is improved health of the students and the opportunity for students to serve as positive role models for others.

McCall 

Ignite Idaho Family Resource Center located in McCall, provided mental and behavioral health services to individuals and families in the region. Many of the parents they serve have young children and work varying schedules leading to a lack of childcare options. As a result, it makes it difficult for parents and caregivers to regularly attend appointments for their own health.

The new Wellness Drop-In Childcare program was piloted last fall. Due to the positive response Ignite Idaho is expanding the program with the support of a CHIF grant.

Parents can drop off their children at Ignite Idaho’s childcare facility for one to two hours. Giving the parents an opportunity to take care of their wellness and health care needs, while the kids are being cared for in a safe, developmentally appropriate and supportive environment.

West Treasure Valley

Insight Matters is a non-profit organization affiliated with Insight Counseling & Therapy. Their program objective is to increase the availability and access to mental health and behavioral health resources and services, and to improve the socioemotional wellbeing of community members.

Their CHIF grant will support increasing awareness of their services in the communities they serve, especially in the more rural area, where services and resources aren’t typically less available.

By increasing awareness, Insight Matters, plans to expand programs and increase services by identifying potential providers and community partners to support resource needs.

Wood River

Syringa Mountain School located in Hailey is developing a social group program that serves students kindergarten through eighth grade. The social groups will help students navigate the challenges of the post-COVID era, focusing on those in need of social-emotional support.

The project is especially beneficial for the youth seeking connection and understanding in a safe environment. The groups are guided by licensed counselors skilled in addressing contemporary emotional and social challenges.

Syringa Mountain School considers and accommodates different cultural backgrounds and linguistic needs; it can help bridge language and cultural barriers, ensuring that all students, regardless of their background, have access to vital emotional support.

Partnerships like those above help fulfill St. Luke’s important mission of bettering the health of people in communities throughout Idaho.

Apply for CHIF

CHIF grants are announced and awarded in January and February each year, with special consideration given to applicants that align with needs identified through St. Luke’s Community Health Needs Assessments and address social determinants of health.

St. Luke’s begins accepting CHIF grant applications from non-profit organizations every summer. In the Treasure Valley, McCall and Wood River, applications open in August and close Sept. 30. Magic Valley accepts applications two times a year, February through March and in August through September.

Each application is reviewed by multiple committees, expert volunteers and St. Luke’s leaders. As part of the grant award, receiving organizations must submit an “Activation Report” by Oct. 1, outlining how the grant dollars were used and where the impact was made. 

Find program application forms on the Community Health Improvement Fund Grants page.

2024 CHIF Recipients

Advocates Against Family Violence
Alzheimer’s Association, Greater Idaho Chapter
American Cancer Society
Angel Wings Network, Inc.
Assistance League of Boise, Boise
Assistance League of Boise, Canyon County
Because Kids Grieve, Inc.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Idaho
Blaine County Seniors Council
Boise Bicycle Project
Boise Public Schools Education Foundation
Boise Valley Habitat for Humanity
Boys & Girls Clubs of Ada County
Boys & Girls Clubs of Canyon County
Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Treasure Valley
Breaking Chains Academy of Development
Camp Rainbow Gold
Cascade Public Library
Charitable Assistance to Community’s Homeless, Inc.
Children’s Home Society of Idaho
City of Boise Parks & Recreation Dept.
City of Good  
City of Mountain Home Parks and Recreation
Council Valley Ambulance
Donnelly Rural Fire Protection District
Elmore County Domestic Violence Council
Episcopal Diocese of Idaho Paradise Point Camp
Family Advocates Family Strengthening Education Program
Family Health Services Corp.
Family Justice Center Foundation of Idaho
Far + Wise Foundation
Girl Scouts of Silver Sage Council
Girls on the Run - Idaho, Inc.
Horizons Lifestyle and Education Team
Idaho2Fly, Inc.
Idaho Academy of Family Physicians Annual Conference
Idaho Caregiver Alliance
Idaho Diabetes Youth Programs
Idaho Farmer’s Market Association
Idaho Foodbank Warehouse, Inc
Idaho Hunger Relief Task Force
Idaho Immunization Coalition
Idaho Youth Ranch, Inc.
Ignite Idaho Family Resource Center
Insight Matters Inc.
Jannus Inc.
Jayden DeLuca Foundation
Jesse Tree
Learning Lab, Inc.
Life’s Kitchen
Marsing Joint School District
McCall Arts and Humanities Council
McCall Senior Center - Meals on Wheels
Meadows Valley Community and School Garden
Men’s Second Chance Living
Mountain Home School District #193
Mountain Home Senior Center
Nampa Schools Foundation
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
Pancreatic Cancer Action Network
Parma Area Senior Citizens Inc.
Payette Lakes Community Association
Ride for Joy Therapeutic Riding Program
Rise Up 2 Thrive, Inc.
River Discovery
Ronald McDonald House Charities Idaho
Shepherd's Home, Inc.  
Snake River Stampede for the Cure Foundation
Special Olympics Idaho
St. Michael’s Episcopal Cathedral
Surviving Hearts Cancer Support Group
Syringa Mountain School
The Mentoring Network, Inc.
The Salvation Army, Boise
The Salvation Army, Caldwell
The Salvation Army, Nampa
Third District Guardian ad Litem Program
Treasure Valley Food Coalition
Valley Regional Transit
Weiser Fire District - GRIT, Grounded Resistance Intensive Training
Weiser Memorial Hospital Foundation                  
West Central Mountain  Youth Advocacy Coalition
Women’s and Children’s Alliance, Inc.
Wood River Community YMCA
Wyakin Foundation