GRANT GUIDELINES & PRIORITIES

Grant Guidelines:

The Healthcare Initiative Foundation considers grants to 501(c)(3) healthcare nonprofits that are based in Montgomery County, Maryland, or to nonprofits that have county-based health programs activities. To access HIF’s online grant portal, click here.

Within our geographic and focus area, our areas of priority:

• Support behavioral health and wellness across the lifespan;
• Expand the availability and access to comprehensive health and wellness services across the lifespan;
• Support sustainable service delivery systems and safety-net services across the lifespan focused on direct health and wellness services & place-based initiatives
• Support sustainable service delivery systems and safety-net services across the lifespan supporting systems-based approaches, knowledge and best practices, and collective impact models; and
• Develop a culturally competent healthcare workforce.

To view a PDF of our Grant Priorities, click here.

We generally consider new grants only after we make a site visit.

• To be considered for a possible site visit, send a brief, informal email (4 paragraphs or less) about your organization, its mission, programs, and clientele to: [email protected]. 

We make grants that:

• Start or grow well-conceived programs/organizations;
• Offer innovative solutions to improve the quality, accessibility and/or delivery of health and wellness services;
• Replicate and scale successful programs and services from our own or other jurisdictions;
• Serve HIF’s strategic priority areas and historically under-invested communities and populations (e.g,. youth of opportunity, senior communities, and Black, Indigenous, People of Color [BIPOC]);
• Build organizational capacity to enhance sustainability and/or improve service delivery  (e.g., commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion); and
• Leverage resources, whether human or financial (e.g., revenue, partnerships, matching, or aligned funds).

We do not:

• Give to endowment funds or annual campaigns;
• Fund lobbying or political activities;
• Make grants to individuals;
• Provide funds to private foundations unless for a particular grant purpose;
• Fund a nonprofit system or organization, including its affiliate(s) that owns or operates an acute care hospital in Montgomery County, Maryland;
• Provide funds to cover bricks and mortar capital expenses;
• Replace government funding; or
• Fund religious activities, although secular health programs provided by a religious institution or its affiliate(s) may qualify.

We take a comprehensive view of each application:

• Full compliance and in good standing with relevant state, federal, and county regulations;
• Financial sustainability of the organization (i.e., regular independent audits, Directors and Officers [D&O] insurance);
• The quality, completeness, and comprehensiveness of the application;
• Compliance with grant guidelines and agreement in current and previous cycles;
• Feasibility of planned program, project, and organization to implement the request;
• Attended a HIF grantee training and hosted a HIF site visit;
• Amount requested and allocation of funds aligns with HIF guidelines; and
• Geographic area of the county to be served (i.e., historically under-invested communities).

To view this information in PDF, click here.