Best Grants for Public Health in Alaska

The Costco Wholesale Charitable Contributions program prioritizes support for children, education, and health services within local communities. Nonprofit organizations seeking assistance must be 501(c)(3) certified and focus on monetary requests. Applications are reviewed within 4-6 weeks, factoring in community needs and collaboration. However, Costco limits grants to 10% of the program budget and typically restricts organizations to one request per fiscal year. They do not fund individuals or direct aid for various specific purposes.

The Creag Foundation, established in 2009 in Woodinville, Washington, provides funding to innovative 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations addressing social issues. Focused on smaller organizations, the foundation seeks to support those with unique approaches to improve the human condition. Eligible applicants must have held 501(c)(3) status for at least one year and present a new or previously unaddressed solution to societal challenges. Applications are by invitation only, encouraging creativity and passion in charitable work.

The Labcorp Charitable Foundation, a private 501(c)(3) entity, aims to enhance healthcare access and education for all. With grant opportunities focusing on food programs, healthcare services for underserved populations, and STEM initiatives, it seeks to support community health and well-being. Organizations eligible for funding must be U.S.-based and hold tax-exempt status. Requests are reviewed biannually, in March and September, to foster impactful community projects.

The Bank of America Foundation Sponsorship Program aims to enhance economic mobility and social progress in low- and moderate-income communities through partnerships with nonprofit organizations. This initiative focuses on critical areas such as workforce education, basic needs like food and housing, and community development. The Foundation invested $350 million last year and encourages employee volunteerism and giving, supporting nonprofits in various sectors, including arts, culture, and diversity initiatives.

The Community Facilities Grant Program in Alaska provides essential funding for rural areas to develop vital community facilities. Eligible projects include healthcare, public safety, and educational services in communities with populations under 20,000. Grants can cover up to 75% of project costs, depending on the median household income of the area. This program aims to enhance quality of life and ensure access to necessary services in underserved regions, fostering community growth and sustainability.

The Robinson Foundation Grant, established in 2016, aims to alleviate hardships faced by individuals and communities, demonstrating God's love through charitable contributions. As a family-operated foundation, it focuses on creating meaningful, long-term impacts in various areas including animal welfare, education, and disaster relief. Organizations eligible for funding must be 501(c)(3) public charities. The foundation prioritizes fiscally responsible projects with the potential for tangible results, while not supporting capital projects.

The Strategic Projects: Capital Grants by the M J Murdock Charitable Trust offer vital funding opportunities for nonprofit organizations in the Pacific Northwest. These grants support transformative projects that enhance community well-being through construction, renovation, and infrastructure investments. Eligible entities include 501(c)(3) nonprofits and government entities. The Trust emphasizes projects that demonstrate strong community impact and funding diversification, ensuring sustainable growth and lasting benefits for the communities served.

The M J Murdock Charitable Trust offers Strategic Projects: Equipment & Technology Grants to nonprofits in the Pacific Northwest. These grants focus on capacity-building projects and essential equipment, requiring recipients to cover at least 50% of costs. Eligible organizations include 501(c)(3) nonprofits and tribal entities. Priority is given to projects enhancing community services, education, and environmental stewardship, supporting initiatives that foster human flourishing and demonstrate diversified funding.

The M J Murdock Charitable Trust offers the Strategic Projects: Program & Staff Grants to support nonprofits in the Pacific Northwest. These grants focus on capacity-building for mission-driven projects and infrastructure investments. Eligible organizations must demonstrate a commitment to community flourishing, with funding available for new programs or expansion of existing ones. The Trust prioritizes initiatives that align with its strategic goals, fostering sustainable nonprofit growth and impact in the region.

The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation offers grants to support diverse initiatives, including museums, educational programs, and environmental activities. Aiming to make a significant impact with modest funding, the Foundation targets IRS-qualified non-profits in the U.S. Grants typically range from $1,000 to $20,000, fostering community development and enhancement. Organizations focused on youth, seniors, and individuals with disabilities are particularly encouraged to apply, as the Foundation seeks to empower those in need.

The Burroughs Wellcome Fund's Next Gen Pregnancy Initiative Grants aim to enhance research on pregnancy outcomes, addressing issues such as preterm birth and maternal health. With an emphasis on fostering diverse scientific collaboration, the initiative supports innovative proposals from researchers across various disciplines. Each grant offers up to $500,000 over four years, encouraging groundbreaking studies that explore the biological and environmental factors affecting pregnancy. This initiative seeks to improve health outcomes through informed research and interdisciplinary partnerships.

The Alaska State Council on the Arts offers Youth Cultural Heritage Project Grants to support organizations delivering cultural heritage programs for children and youth in Alaska. Funded by the Rasmuson Foundation, these grants aim to enhance cultural knowledge, foster creative engagements, and promote cross-cultural understanding. Eligible applicants include 501(c)(3) nonprofits, schools, and tribal entities. The program prioritizes cultural heritage groups facing barriers to funding, ensuring diverse representation within Alaska's communities.

The Helen Walker Performing Arts Grants, administered by the Alaska State Council on the Arts, support performing arts initiatives across Alaska. Named after notable arts advocate Helen A. Walker, this program encourages projects that reach underserved communities and promote artistic heritage. Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations, government units, and tribal entities. Funding can cover diverse performances and workshops, fostering accessibility and innovation in the arts. This initiative aims to enhance cultural engagement and community involvement in the performing arts.

The Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) program in Alaska aims to provide financial assistance to local communities for essential public facilities and planning activities that enhance health and safety. With a maximum grant of $850,000 per community, it supports initiatives that create jobs for low and moderate-income residents. In the 2024 cycle, approximately $2.5 million is available to eligible municipal governments, excluding Anchorage, and non-profits may partner as co-applicants.

The Alaska Community Development Block Grant Program provides vital funding for public facilities and planning activities to enhance the health and safety of local communities. With approximately $2.5 million available for competitive grants, the program supports community development, planning, and special economic development activities aimed at job creation for low and moderate-income residents. Non-profits can apply with Alaskan municipal governments, except Anchorage, for grants up to $850,000.

About Alaska DOT&PF

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities designs, constructs, operates and maintains the state’s transportation infrastructure systems, buildings, and other facilities used by Alaskans and visitors.

Alaska Community Transit

We support Alaska's communities—urban and rural—by ensuring safe, efficient, and accessible transit services for everyone, including transit-dependent populations.

Human Service Transportation Grant 

Purpose

The purpose of the Human Service Transportation Grant is to provide transportation services that meet the special needs of seniors and individuals with disabilities and Alaska Mental Health Trust Beneficiaries for whom public transportation services are unavailable, insufficient, or inappropriate. The Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities, Community Transit Office (ACT) uses a combination of federal Section 5310 and Alaska Mental Health Trust funds to provide awards to nonprofit organizations or public bodies that certify that no nonprofit organization or association is readily available in an area to provide service.

Alaska Community Foundation

The Alaska Community Foundation connects people who care to the causes that make a difference and matter most to them. We encourage and nurture philanthropy through building and managing permanent endowments, convening stakeholders, working with partners to strengthen Alaskan communities, and providing donors with flexible giving options that are strategic to their philanthropic objectives. ACF also manages the Pick.Click.Give. program.

Mission: Inspiring the spirit of giving and connecting people, organizations, and causes to strengthen Alaska’s communities now and forever.

The Alaska Community Foundation runs competitive grant cycles throughout the year that are open to eligible local nonprofits and other organizations serving the public good.

Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP)

The Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) is a five-year initiative focused on strengthening rural communities by improving healthcare access, quality, and outcomes by transforming the healthcare delivery ecosystem. Through innovative system-wide change, the RHTP invests in the rural healthcare delivery ecosystem for future generation.

Alaska’s RHTP will advance statewide health system transformation by funding projects that expand access to care, improve health outcomes, strengthen workforce capacity, modernize technology, and advance financially sustainable health care payment models.

Funding will support community-based and system-level projects aimed at improving access, workforce capacity, and care delivery statewide. The program is intentionally structured to promote fair access, a range of approaches, and geographic balance, ensuring that organizations across Alaska, regardless of size, location, or prior funding experience, can participate meaningfully.

The program is administered at the federal level by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and led at the state level by the Alaska Department of Health. The Department of Health serves as the lead for program design, policy direction, funding decisions, and overall stewardship of the initiative.

To move resources to grantees and partners quickly and effectively, the Alaska Community Foundation (ACF) is managing the grant process, facilitating grant review, and providing technical assistance to RHTP grantees.

Program Priorities

RHTP funding supports projects aligned with Alaska’s six RHTP initiatives. A detailed description of the initiatives and potential uses of funds can be found on Alaska’s Department of Health RHTP webpage.

• Healthy Beginnings: strengthens maternal and child health as a foundation for healthy families.
• Health Care Access: expands and sustains essential primary, behavioral, oral, specialty, emergency, home and community-based and post-acute care health services across Alaska’s rural communities.
• Healthy Communities: invests in enhancing access to preventive and primary care services that enable early chronic disease management, expanding the use of consumer-facing digital tools and population health clinical infrastructure, and promoting healthy lifestyles with culturally appropriate community education.
• Pay for Value: Fiscal Sustainability: incentivizes a shift from traditional volume-based reimbursement models to build the long-term financial stability of rural providers through voluntary innovative care and payment models that increase care coordination, lower costs and improve health outcomes.
• Strengthen Workforce: builds a resilient rural health care workforce through pipeline, recruitment, training and retention strategies, alongside wraparound housing and child care supports to help providers remain in rural communities.
• Spark Technology and Innovation: harnesses data and technology to expand the use of consumer wearables and digital devices, enhance telehealth, foster appropriate use of AI, strengthen cybersecurity, facilitate data sharing and system interoperability, and test new delivery modalities using emerging technologies.

RHTP Grant Opportunities

Recognizing the interconnected nature of these priorities, Alaska’s RHTP includes four funding pathways:

• Readiness Grants – early-stage support to address foundational capacity gaps, including planning, feasibility, partnership development, and community engagement.
• Planning Grants - investments to support structured planning and design for clearly defined health system interventions.
• Implementation Grants – will fund projects that are fully prepared to execute and deliver high-impact work with demonstrated feasibility.
• Future Targeted Innovation Grants - which will enable the Department of Health to advance fully developed, high-impact projects. Funding opportunities through this pathway are expected to occur at a later date.

The NNLM Region 5 Professional Development Award offers funding for individuals at member institutions to enhance their knowledge and skills in health-related areas. This initiative aims to support meetings, workshops, and training that focus on health literacy, public health, and evidence-based practices. By fostering professional development, the NNLM seeks to improve healthcare services and access to health information across various communities, ultimately contributing to better public health outcomes.

The Kenai Peninsula Foundation Competitive Grant aims to enhance the quality of life for residents of the central Kenai Peninsula. This grant supports diverse community projects focused on health, education, the outdoors, arts, and community development. Priority is given to organizations that have not received funding in 2024. Collaborations with other entities are encouraged to maximize impact across the community. The foundation utilizes its permanent endowment to fund these essential projects.

Newman’s Own Foundation is offering the Food Justice for Kids Prize, providing up to $100,000 in grant funding over two years for organizations promoting food justice for children in the U.S. This initiative focuses on Indigenous Food Justice and Nutrition Education, addressing the high rates of food insecurity among children, particularly in marginalized communities. Eligible applicants include nonprofits, public schools, and tribes that serve children under 18. The foundation aims to ensure all kids have access to nutritious food and education on sustainable food systems.

The Social Impact Theatre Grant Program supports innovative theatrical productions that address pressing social issues, fostering dialogue and community engagement. With a focus on sustainability, the program offers production-specific and change capital grants to eligible nonprofit organizations in select states. Grantees are encouraged to explore new models, deepen community connections, and support emerging leaders in theatre. Applications for the next cycle will open in Spring 2025, following the completion of the current funding round.

The Mutual of America Foundation Community Partnership Award honors exemplary nonprofit organizations in the U.S. that foster collaborative partnerships across sectors. Annually, a national competition showcases numerous organizations demonstrating impactful community partnerships. Six organizations receive recognition, including the Thomas J. Moran Award, which offers $100,000, and the Frances R. Hesselbein Award, granting $75,000. Since 1996, the award has acknowledged 262 partnerships, emphasizing Mutual of America's commitment to societal improvement through collaboration.

The Ketchikan Community Foundation Grant Program, part of The Alaska Community Foundation, invites applications from 501(c)(3) organizations and equivalents to support community projects in Ketchikan. The new IMPACT GRANT aims to address diverse needs, including health, education, and arts, with funding up to $50,000. Eligible organizations include local nonprofits, faith-based groups, and tribal entities, fostering sustainable community development and lasting impacts.

The Kodiak Community Foundation Grant Program, managed by The Alaska Community Foundation, invites applications from tax-exempt organizations to address community needs in the Kodiak Archipelago. Grants typically range from $1,000 to $3,000 and can support initiatives in health, education, arts, and more. Projects must be completed within a year, with a final report required. Eligible entities include 501(c)(3) organizations, tribal entities, and certain government bodies.

The Sitka Legacy Foundation Competitive Grant Program, an initiative of The Alaska Community Foundation, aims to enhance the quality of life for residents of Sitka and surrounding rural communities. The program supports a diverse range of projects focusing on health and wellness, education, arts and culture, and community development. Priority is given to applications that demonstrate collaboration among organizations and have the potential for broad community impact, ultimately fostering a stronger, more connected community.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is offering assistance under the Contaminated Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act Lands Assistance Program. This initiative aims to support Tribal entities in Alaska in addressing contamination issues on lands conveyed through the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Eligible applicants include federally recognized tribes, Alaska Native regional and village corporations, and nonprofit associations. The program emphasizes the importance of safeguarding health and subsistence resources impacted by hazardous substances.