As a part of the 5 Healthy Towns Project (5H), the Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation (CWF) awarded $230,000 in grants on June 25.

The grants were given to 18 different community programs and organizations; 11 in Chelsea, six in Manchester and one in Dexter. Every group receiving funds were previously approved as part of the 5H project.

Grants are awarded to interventions that further the CWFs mission within its service area every two months, according to Matt Pegouskie, program and community resource manager for the foundation.

“Each of the five communities we serve — Dexter, Chelsea, Grass Lake, Manchester and Stockbridge — can ask for up to $100,000 for the 2013-14 plan,” Pegouskie said. “If the (programs) requesting grant money are sustainable, work to complete our mission and are feasible, then they will be approved.”

For the 2012-13 plan, communities were able to request up to $200,000 in funding. All grants awarded to Chelsea on Monday were from the 2013-14 plan, whereas those awarded to Dexter and Manchester were from the 2012-2013 plan.

CWF is a tax-exempt, private foundation that aims to create a culture of wellness within the five communities it serves. Their mission is to encourage community members to eat better, move more, avoid unhealthy substances and connect with others in a healthy way.

Nonprofit organizations that serve the CWF service area are eligible to apply for funding.

“For the most part, we don’t have any interventions that aren’t approved,” Pegouskie said. “As long as they can demonstrate that they will use the grant money to further our goals and we have the proper funding, we approve the grant.”

The annual amount of funding available for grants is determined by, and comes from, the returns made on the market investments of CWF assets, Pegouskie said.

CWF has been working to make the cities it serves the healthiest communities in the Midwest since 2009. The foundation launched the 5H project two years ago and has just completed its second wave of awarding grants.

“Since the launch of 5H, I think people are starting to realize and appreciate how important health is,” Pegouskie said.

Pegouskie said he and the foundation’s board of directors are excited to watch the funds go toward creating a healthier community.

“All of the interventions that received grants are great,” Pegouskie said. “We’re very excited about the potential of these grants.”

Chelsea Hoedl is an intern reporter for AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at choedl@mlive.com.