Best Grants for Nonprofit Healthcare Programs in Illinois

The Residential Treatment for Pregnant and Postpartum Women program aims to deliver essential services to women facing substance use disorders. By offering comprehensive residential treatment options, the program supports both recovery and the well-being of mothers and their children. Funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, this initiative addresses the unique challenges of pregnant and postpartum women, ensuring they receive the care necessary for a successful recovery journey.

The Cancer Prevention and Control Programs aim to enhance cancer outcomes by funding partnerships among national, state, territorial, and tribal organizations. These initiatives focus on evidence-based strategies for cancer surveillance, prevention, and control, specifically targeting breast and cervical cancer screening for underserved populations. Through collaboration, the program seeks to improve clinical services and cancer survivorship, ultimately striving towards the vision of 'All People Free of Cancer' by leveraging resources and community involvement.

The CIF Capacity Builder Awards by Endeavor Health focus on enhancing community health through strategic investments. With over $38.5 million allocated to local partnerships, these awards aim to address critical areas like healthcare access, food insecurity, and workforce development. Designed for nonprofit organizations, the awards range from $100,000 to $500,000 annually for 1-2 years, fostering long-term community impact and advancing health equity in the service areas.

About

Being deeply connected to the community means more than providing access to excellent healthcare. It means understanding, and investing in, the health needs of our community.

Through our Community Investment Fund (CIF), Endeavor Health has awarded more than $38.5 million to 59 local partnerships dedicated to enhancing community health and wellbeing, advancing health equity and supporting local economic growth. Together, we’re committed to helping everyone in our communities be their best.

Award categories

Through the CIF, we will make meaningful and intentional investments through impact awards and capacity builder awards. These awards are intended to meaningfully advance the health of our community over time towards three bold aspirations through investments in five areas of focus.

We aspire to a future where:

• A person’s zip code does not determine how long they will live
• Hunger and homelessness in our communities are history
• The healthcare workforce is thriving and representative of the communities we serve

To help advance these aspirations, the CIF will invest in the following areas:

• Access to healthcare
• Behavioral health
• Food insecurity
• Housing insecurity
• Workforce development for careers in healthcare

Impact awards

• Designed for 5-year initiatives where organizations come together to drive measurable impact and longer-term change in the communities we serve by improving existing systems and innovation
• Emphasize strategic cross-sector and/or intra-sector partnerships between community-based organizations
• Uplift community members of greatest need
• Directly align with CIF areas of focus and meaningfully contribute to CIF goals
• Award amount: $1 million per year, up to 5 years

The FY 2027 Service Area Competition (SAC) funding aims to enhance health services in underserved communities across the U.S. by providing grants for comprehensive preventive and primary care. This initiative allows for a competitive selection of service areas, ensuring that health centers can effectively deliver high-quality healthcare. Additional service areas may be announced throughout the year to accommodate changes in service availability, supporting continuous care for those in need.

The Native Hawaiian Health Care Improvement Act Program provides funding to enhance the health status of Native Hawaiians through comprehensive health care services. This initiative supports one administrative award to Papa Ola Lokahi and five awards to certified Native Hawaiian Health Care Systems. The program aims to ensure tailored health promotion and disease prevention services within island communities, addressing specific regional health needs from fiscal years 2027 to 2031.

This grant aims to enhance national immunization programs in the Eastern Mediterranean Region by focusing on capacity building, disease control, and outbreak response. It seeks to eliminate vaccine-preventable diseases, reduce morbidity and mortality, and improve access for under-immunized populations. The initiative will promote sustainability through evidence-based decision-making and program evaluation, aligning with CDC goals to address public health threats and improve overall immunization impact in the region.

About the Emporia Community Foundation

Our Mission

To connect caring people with causes that build stronger communities within the Emporia area which includes Chase, Coffey, Greenwood, Lyon, Morris, Osage and Wabaunsee counties.

Team Schnak Strong Fund

The purpose of the Team Schnak Strong Fund is to provide funds to qualified individuals to cover expenses related to the treatment of childhood Type I Diabetes. Grant requests will be considered for children up to the age of 21. Full time students at Emporia State University or Flint Hills Technical College are eligible until the age of 24.

About the Emporia Community Foundation

Our Mission

To connect caring people with causes that build stronger communities within the Emporia area which includes Chase, Coffey, Greenwood, Lyon, Morris, Osage and Wabaunsee counties.

Sadie Jones Fund

The original focus of the Sadie Jones Fund was to provide for vision and hearing needs for individual children in Lyon and Chase counties. While the purpose has expanded, individual children are still eligible to receive assistance.

About the Emporia Community Foundation

Our Mission

To connect caring people with causes that build stronger communities within the Emporia area which includes Chase, Coffey, Greenwood, Lyon, Morris, Osage and Wabaunsee counties.

Pink Gravel Fund

The purpose of the Pink Gravel Fund is to provide funds to qualified individuals to cover expenses related to the treatment and recovery of breast cancer. 

About the Emporia Community Foundation

Our Mission

To connect caring people with causes that build stronger communities within the Emporia area which includes Chase, Coffey, Greenwood, Lyon, Morris, Osage and Wabaunsee counties.

Never Let Go Fund

The purpose of the Never Let Go Fund is to provide funds to qualified individuals to cover expenses related to the treatment of childhood cancer. Grant requests will be considered for children under the age of 18.

About the Emporia Community Foundation

Our Mission

To connect caring people with causes that build stronger communities within the Emporia area which includes Chase, Coffey, Greenwood, Lyon, Morris, Osage and Wabaunsee counties.

Choose How You Respond Fund (in memory of Dr. Bryan Douglas) 

The purpose of the Choose How You Respond Fund is to provide funds to qualified individuals to cover expenses related to the treatment of cancer.

About the Emporia Community Foundation

Our Mission

To connect caring people with causes that build stronger communities within the Emporia area which includes Chase, Coffey, Greenwood, Lyon, Morris, Osage and Wabaunsee counties.

Addie's "Grace" Fund

The purpose of Addie's "Grace" Fund is to provide help to children with life threatening illnesses and support to their families. Grant requests will be considered for children under the age of 18.

The National Breastfeeding Support Initiative aims to enhance maternity care quality by engaging diverse partners and providing training to healthcare organizations. It focuses on implementing evidence-based practices to support breastfeeding, ensuring safe and effective maternity care in hospitals across the U.S. and territories. By fostering collaboration and utilizing data for quality improvement, the initiative seeks to create a sustainable impact on maternal and infant health.

The Alzheimer's Disease Programs Initiative (ADPI) aims to foster the development of dementia-capable community health worker programs within the National Aging Network. This initiative, supported by the US HHS: Administration for Community Living (ACL), seeks to enhance dementia screening, reduce barriers to care, and improve access to essential services for individuals with dementia and their caregivers. By integrating community health workers into aging services, the program aspires to elevate the quality of life for those affected.

The LAST MILE program, initiated by the NIAID, aims to enhance the implementation and effectiveness of HIV prevention and treatment strategies through real-world effectiveness trials. By fostering collaborations and focusing on diverse populations, this initiative seeks to translate clinical findings into practical applications. The program supports research across various disciplines, aligning with the NIH's mission to improve HIV/AIDS outcomes and address associated comorbidities. This multifaceted approach promises to bridge the gap between clinical trials and community-based interventions.

Blowitz-Ridgeway Foundation

In the 1950s, Chicago attorney Milroy R. Blowitz and his friend, Dr. Steinman, a psychiatrist, had a dream to build a psychiatric hospital for children in Chicago’s inner city. That dream came true when Ridgeway Hospital opened its doors on Ridgeway Avenue in 1962 as a 99-bed, not-for-profit hospital focusing on the psychiatric treatment of children and adolescents.

In 1984, the Ridgeway Hospital was sold and proceeds from that sale were used to establish The Blowitz-Ridgeway Foundation, named to honor Milroy Blowitz, and the hospital he helped start. In the spirit of the Ridgeway Hospital’s original mission, the Foundation’s primary funding goal was to support non-profit agencies that provided medical, psychiatric, and psychological care to economically disadvantaged children and adolescents. The Foundation began awarding grants in 1985. 

Our Mission: To significantly improve the lives and well-being of Chicago-area residents who are uninsured, underinsured, or low-income by increasing access to high-quality, comprehensive healthcare and safe, affordable housing.

Blowitz-Ridgeway Health Care Grant

The Blowitz-Ridgeway Foundation’s funding focus is supporting organizations that improve the health of uninsured, underinsured, and low-income metropolitan Chicago residents and their communities. We fund organizations that strive to increase access to community-based preventive and primary health services, such as medical, dental, vision, mental health, and case management.

The Foundation prioritizes small and mid-sized healthcare organizations where we can have the greatest impact.

The BJA FY 2026 Adult Treatment Court Program aims to enhance Adult Treatment Court operations, focusing on preventing overdoses and reducing substance use among high-risk adults in the criminal justice system. The program integrates judicial supervision, substance use disorder treatment, and recovery support services to improve outcomes for participants. This funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice highlights the commitment to public safety and addressing critical issues like the opioid crisis.

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is launching a funding opportunity to establish a research network focused on rapid-acting psychotropic interventional drugs (RAPIDs), including ketamine and psilocybin. This initiative seeks to generate real-world evidence on the effectiveness and safety of these treatments for serious mental illnesses. By addressing critical questions around their implementation in clinical practice, the NIMH aims to facilitate the safe integration of RAPIDs into healthcare, ultimately improving mental health outcomes.

The Cancer Prevention and Control Programs aim to eliminate cancer through collaborative efforts among state, territorial, and tribal organizations. Funded by the CDC, this program supports initiatives such as breast and cervical cancer screening, cancer control planning, and cancer surveillance. By fostering partnerships and community involvement, the program seeks to improve health outcomes and achieve the mission of 'All People Free of Cancer.' This comprehensive approach ensures that resources are effectively coordinated to address the cancer burden in communities.

Seeding Research, Networking, and Capacity Building at Minority-Serving Institutions

Introduction & Purpose

RWJF is committed to ensuring everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. To achieve this goal, we support research that examines the historical and systemic factors that cause health inequities. Some of those determinants are poverty, discrimination, and limited access to quality education, housing, safe environments, and healthcare. As attacks on data and academic freedom and ongoing funding cuts to federal health equity research and programs continue, philanthropy’s work to achieve fair and equitable health, including a more equitable research funding ecosystem, is more important than ever. While philanthropic support for Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) has increased in recent years, there is more to be done to rectify historical disparities in funding. 

This call for proposals (CFP) provides support to health equity research centers at MSIs to strengthen research infrastructure and capacity-building. Capacity-building will help develop staff, skills, culture, resources, and systems that enable research to happen effectively. Specific work that RWJF may fund under this CFP includes specific skill or methodology training; faculty release time; support for research assistants, advisors, and project staffing; mentoring, professional development and collaboration, and more.

Through this CFP, RWJF will expand its efforts to transform deeply rooted beliefs about which data and research methods are valued, whose perspectives are prioritized, and which populations deserve resources. By supporting the infrastructure and capacity-building needs of MSIs, this opportunity strengthens their ability to generate critical evidence and to cultivate transformative, actionable solutions toward health equity. 

RWJF believes in health equity research that is grounded in systems thinking; supports and disseminates evidence identifying and implementing structural solutions to racial and health inequities. This CFP seeks mission-aligned institutions to participate in cohort-style peer learning to advance their ability to engage in health equity research and apply for competitive funding opportunities in the future.

Although no single philanthropy can fill the gap left by federal funding cuts, this CFP demonstrates strong support for research, historically underrepresented researchers, and research centers that are positioned to pave the way toward a future where health is not a privilege, but a right.

The Native Public Health Resilience (NPHR) program is a new funding opportunity aimed at supporting Tribes and Tribal Organizations in delivering essential public health services. Sponsored by the Indian Health Service, this initiative seeks to bolster public health infrastructure and resilience within tribal communities, ensuring they have the necessary resources to address health challenges effectively. Eligible applicants will receive financial assistance to enhance their public health capabilities and improve community health outcomes.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is continuing its support for the NeuroNEXT initiative, which focuses on conducting clinical trials and biomarker validation studies for neurological disorders. This infrastructure aims to foster innovation and enhance the development of effective neurotherapeutics for both adult and pediatric populations. While applications for network clinical research sites are not currently being solicited, this notice allows potential applicants to prepare collaborative and responsive applications.

The Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN) aims to enhance diagnostic excellence through multiple clinical Networks of Diagnostic Excellence (NODEs). These NODEs will operate as regional networks, leveraging partnerships with various healthcare facilities to provide participant-centered evaluations for complex conditions. They will also engage in research and training to improve diagnostic tools and strategies. This initiative encourages collaboration and aims to improve the overall experience and access for participants in need of specialized care.

The Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN) Clinical and Data Coordinating Center aims to enhance diagnosis and research for individuals with undiagnosed diseases. This initiative focuses on engagement, education, and innovative diagnostic approaches. The center will oversee recruitment, participant support, and data management while fostering collaboration among various stakeholders. NINDS seeks proposals demonstrating the necessary infrastructure and partnerships to ensure effective implementation of the UDN's mission and transfer successful diagnostic methods into mainstream healthcare.

Innovations in Low-Cost and Simplified Pathogen Sequencing Workflows

Catalyzing Innovation through Partnerships

At its core, Grand Challenges catalyzes bold innovation through partnership - bringing together funders, researchers, implementers, and public health leaders to solve complex global challenges. This multi-partner initiative reflects the Grand Challenges ethos, leveraging complementary expertise and investments to accelerate accessible genomic sequencing solutions for low- and middle-income Countries.

About this Challenge

This Grand Challenge is co-funded by the Gates Foundation, and the Temasek Foundation, and will be managed by the United Nations Foundation. This Grand Challenge is implemented in collaboration with a network of global and regional partners, including International Pathogen Surveillance Network (IPSN), hosted by the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence, the Africa Pathogen Genomics Initiative (Africa PGI), and the Asia Pathogen Genomics Initiative (Asia PGI) as regional technical and public-health partners. This RFP aims to accelerate the development of affordable, scalable, and operationally simple sequencing solutions, enabling routine use of genomics for public health in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Award Structure and Funding Level

To accommodate different stages of innovation maturity, this RFP supports a tiered award structure, with funding levels and expectations aligned to the readiness and scope of the proposed work. Indicative award categories are:

For more mature concepts aimed at workflow refinement, performance optimization, and generation of proof-of-concept and validation data in relevant public-health use cases in LMICs.

Innovations in Low-Cost and Simplified Pathogen Sequencing Workflows

Catalyzing Innovation through Partnerships

At its core, Grand Challenges catalyzes bold innovation through partnership - bringing together funders, researchers, implementers, and public health leaders to solve complex global challenges. This multi-partner initiative reflects the Grand Challenges ethos, leveraging complementary expertise and investments to accelerate accessible genomic sequencing solutions for low- and middle-income Countries.

About this Challenge

This Grand Challenge is co-funded by the Gates Foundation, and the Temasek Foundation, and will be managed by the United Nations Foundation. This Grand Challenge is implemented in collaboration with a network of global and regional partners, including International Pathogen Surveillance Network (IPSN), hosted by the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence, the Africa Pathogen Genomics Initiative (Africa PGI), and the Asia Pathogen Genomics Initiative (Asia PGI) as regional technical and public-health partners. This RFP aims to accelerate the development of affordable, scalable, and operationally simple sequencing solutions, enabling routine use of genomics for public health in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Award Structure and Funding Level

To accommodate different stages of innovation maturity, this RFP supports a tiered award structure, with funding levels and expectations aligned to the readiness and scope of the proposed work. Indicative award categories are:

For concepts with preliminary feasibility evidence that are ready to advance from prototype toward an integrated workflow—optimizing performance, broadening assay or pathogen coverage, and generating more robust cost-reduction and performance data.