Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance: Woman to Woman Grant Program

As more and more women are living with ovarian cancer every year, the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance (OCRFA) saw a need for education and support programs that help women take control of their lives by finding balance, striving for physical and mental health, and giving back. In 2011, OCRFA began exploring the idea of developing a national support program and network. Woman to Woman, which is based on an OCRFA-funded program at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, seeks to improve the quality of care for gynecologic cancer patients by strengthening coping capacities through a patient-to-patient support model. Woman to Woman mentors—themselves survivors of gynecologic cancers—are symbols of hope that are professionally trained to provide one-on-one emotional support and mentoring; The program supports women and families through all phases of treatment, recurrence, and recovery, and is offered free of charge to all participants.

This grant opportunity is available to institutions with a large volume of gynecologic cancer patients and a need to provide this type of support service to patients. Grants are provided to cover the cost of a part-time Program Coordinator’s salary (can be a new hire, or a reassignment), program costs, and the patient fund. It is expected that each Woman to Woman program will become self-funding after the first year. OCRFA will provide all program materials for patients, as well as technical assistance and support, for the life of the program (even after the end of the grant period).

Amount: Hospital-based programs: $50,000; community-based programs: $25,000.

Eligibility: Varies based on type of program:

• Hospital-based program: The most competitive applicants will be hospitals or cancer centers that are able to demonstrate the following: adequate gynecologic oncology patient volume, physician and hospital leadership support, the need for the program, the ability to run patient-focused initiatives, and the ability to fundraise to support programs.
• Community-based program: The most competitive applicants will be able to demonstrate the following: the need for the program in the community or geographic area served, a history of running successful patient-focused initiatives, and an active working relationship with the proposed hospital partners. Hospital partners must collectively have substantial gynecologic oncology patient volume, demonstrated support from hospital leadership, and a need for the program.

Link: https://womantowoman.ocrfa.org/apply-now

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