Last updated: October 8, 2026 

Federal grant funding is the backbone of the community health center model, but the landscape in 2026 is more complicated than in prior years. The programs worth tracking aren’t just the ones currently accepting applications. 

Three shifts should influence how you approach federal funding right now: 

  1. Funding is stable but short-authorized. The 2026 Consolidated Appropriations Act modestly increased health center funding to $4.6B for FY 2026, along with $350M for the National Health Service Corps and $225M for Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education. But Community Health Center Fund authorization runs only through December 2026, the second consecutive short-term cycle. Build FY 2027 budgets against more than one scenario. 
  2. Review priorities have shifted. The FY 2026 Health Center Program Service Area Competition explicitly ties funding to alignment with Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) priorities: chronic disease prevention and management, nutrition, reducing overreliance on medication, and environmental health. Applications that lead with health equity and social determinants language, which scored well in prior cycles, are now being evaluated through a different lens. This is the single most actionable thing on this page: The same project can score differently depending on how it’s framed. 

Related resources: Rural Health Transformation Program funding is federal, but it is administered by states with their own application processes and timelines. We track those separately on our RHTP blog. For foundation, state, and regional opportunities, see our Non-Federal Grants blog. 

How to use this page: Check the “Last updated” date above. Federal deadlines shift and agencies occasionally amend or extend notices; always confirm against the linked notice of funding opportunity before building an application timeline.

Open now: The FY 2027 Service Area Competition (HRSA-27-005, April 1, 2027 starts) is accepting applications. The Grants.gov deadline is October 19, 2026, and the HRSA EHBs deadline is November 18, 2026. The next SAC deadlines begin December 30, 2026; see the full calendar below. 

Open Federal Funding Opportunities

These programs are currently accepting applications. Confirm deadlines against the linked notice of funding opportunity before building your timeline.

HRSA-27-005 Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) Service Area Competition (SAC) 

Project start date: April 1, 2027 

Deadline: Grants.gov October 19, 2026, 11:59 p.m. ET | HRSA EHBs November 18, 2026 

Description: The FY 2027 Health Center Program Service Area Competition (SAC) funding improves the health of medically underserved communities and populations by providing grants to support the delivery of comprehensive, high-quality preventive and primary health care services in the United States and its territories. For each SAC Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), service areas available for competition are announced in the Service Area Announcement Table (SAAT). HRSA may also announce additional service areas during the year through a Service Area Competition-Additional Area (SAC-AA) if an awarded health center cannot continue to provide services in its funded service area. 

Eligibility: A Health Center Program (H80) award is funded under section 330(e) of the Public Health Service Act. You can apply if you propose to serve a service area listed in the SAAT and meet the NOFO’s other eligibility criteria. You can apply as a: 

  • Competing Continuation applicant if you are a current H80 award recipient applying to continue serving your current service area. 
  • Competing Supplement applicant if you are a current H80 award recipient who will serve an announced service area by adding one or more new, full-time, permanent service delivery sites. 
  • New applicant if you are not currently funded through the Health Center Program and are applying to serve a service area listed in the SAAT. Health Center Program Look-Alikes must apply as new applicants; if awarded, you will become a funded health center (H80). 

Award Amount: Up to 63 awards ranging from $650,000 to $10,116,100; total funding $267,773,700 

Recurring Federal Funding Programs to Plan For

Upcoming FY 2027 Service Area Competition Notices (Anticipated) 

HRSA is releasing the FY 2027 SAC in several notices, organized by project start date. Anticipated deadlines: 

  • January 1 & February 1 starts (HRSA-27-006 / HRSA-27-007): Grants.gov December 30, 2026 | HRSA EHBs February 1, 2027 
  • March 1 start (HRSA-27-008): Grants.gov January 8, 2027 | HRSA EHBs February 8, 2027 
  • August 1 start (HRSA-27-009): Grants.gov January 8, 2027 | HRSA EHBs February 8, 2027 

Project period extensions: Health centers previously scheduled to compete in January, February, or March 2027 will receive project period extensions. January and February starts are extended through June 30, 2027, and March starts through July 31, 2027. The extensions are not automatic: HRSA will send instructions on what to submit to secure the extension and when your next application will be due. 

Eligibility: Current Health Center Program (H80) award recipients competing to continue serving their service area, plus new applicants (including Look-Alikes) proposing to serve a service area listed in each notice’s Service Area Announcement Table. Line 26 of your most recent H80 Notice of Award tells you which notice applies to you. 

These programs are not currently accepting applications or are open only to specific cohorts. They are listed because they recur on predictable cycles and represent the largest and most reliable federal funding available to health centers. Winning organizations typically begin preparing between cycles. 

HRSA-27-069 Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Part C Capacity Development Program (Forecasted)

Estimated Post Date: January 15, 2027

Description: The purpose of the program is to strengthen the capacity of community-based organizations to improve health outcomes and reduce HIV transmission, especially for people not yet in regular HIV care. The activities fall under two categories: HIV Care Innovation and Infrastructure Development.

Eligibility: City or township governments, State governments, Special district governments, County governments, Federally recognized Native American tribal governments, Other Native American tribal organizations, Nonprofits non-higher education without 501(c)(3), Nonprofits non-higher education with 501(c)(3), Private institutions of higher education, Public and state institutions of higher education, Small businesses, For-profit organizations other than small businesses

Award Amount: $150,000

HRSA-27-013 Native Hawaiian Health Care Improvement Act Program (Forecasted)

Estimated Post Date: January 26, 2027

Description: This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) announces the opportunity to apply for funding under the Native Hawaiian Health Care Improvement Act (NHHCIA) program. The purpose of these Native Hawaiian Health Care Improvement Act (NHHCIA) awards is to provide Native Hawaiian health care programs with resources to raise the health status of Native Hawaiians to the highest possible health level. This NOFO supports funding the following:

    • One award to Papa Ola Lokahi (POL) for administrative purposes as authorized under sections 6(a)(2) and 7 of the NHHCIA (42 U.S.C. sections 11705(a)(2) and 11706). 
    • Five awards for qualified entities as authorized under sections 6(a)(1), 6(b)-(g), and 8(a)-(g) of the NHHCIA (42 U.S.C. sections 11705(a)(1), 11705(b)-(g), and 11707(a)-(g)). Per statute, a qualified entity is a Native Hawaiian Health Care System (NHHCS) that has been recognized and certified by POL as qualified to provide comprehensive health promotion, disease prevention, and primary health services tailored to the needs of the communities they serve. 

Eligibility: Per sections 6(a) and 7(a) of the Native Hawaiian Health Care Improvement Act, this is a limited competition program notice. To be eligible for administrative funding under this program, you must be Papa Ola Lokahi (POL). To be eligible for services funding under this program, you must be a Native Hawaiian Health Care System (NHHCS) that has been recognized and certified by POL as qualified to provide comprehensive health promotion, disease prevention, and primary health services within specific regions (island communities) of the state.

Award Amount: $2,530,712 – $10,000,000

HRSA-27-017 Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) Program (Forecasted) 

Status: Not yet posted. The forecasted post date (July 31, 2026) and application due date (September 29, 2026) have both passed. Awards are still expected June 1, 2027, with a July 1, 2027 project start. Existing recipients should monitor Grants.gov closely, as the application window may be short once the NOFO posts. 

Description: The THCGME Program provides maintenance funding to support the training of residents in existing HRSA-supported primary care residency programs in community-based ambulatory patient care centers. These programs prepare residents to provide high-quality care, particularly in rural and medically vulnerable communities. 

Eligibility: Limited to existing HRSA THCGME program payment recipients that continue to meet program requirements. Applicants must be community-based ambulatory patient care centers that operate an accredited primary care residency program, directly or through a graduate medical education (GME) consortium, in one or more of the following: Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine-Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Psychiatry, General Dentistry, Pediatric Dentistry, or Geriatrics. 

Award Amount: Approximately 12 awards ranging from $320,000 to $2,880,000; total funding $20,960,000 

Before You Apply

A few things that consistently separate successful federal applications from unsuccessful ones in the current environment: 

  • Reframe before you rewrite. Applications built around health equity and social determinants language should be re-examined against MAHA priorities. The underlying work often already qualifies, including chronic disease management, nutrition, prevention, and substance use services, but your narrative and outcome measures should explicitly connect the proposed work to those priorities.
  • Confirm the funding pathway. Check whether the program you are targeting is a direct federal competition or administered through your state. This is the most common mistake we see. 
  • Verify your SAC cohort now. HRSA is releasing the FY 2027 SAC in several notices by project start date, with Grants.gov deadlines running from October 19, 2026 to January 8, 2027. Line 26 of your most recent H80 Notice of Award tells you which applies to you. If your project period was set to end in January, February, or March 2027, watch for HRSA’s extension instructions; the extension is not automatic. 
  • Account for system lag. With the EHB-to-GrantSolutions migration underway, alongside HRSA staffing reductions, processing delays are a realistic risk. Train backup staff, submit early, and keep screenshots and copies of every submission. 
  • Prepare between cycles. For every program on this page currently marked as between cycles, the work that wins the next round—needs data, outcome metrics, partner commitments, budget narratives—can be done now. This is where grant support tends to pay for itself, well before a notice posts. 

How VMG Health Can Help

Federal grant competitions reward organizations that were prepared before the notice posted. By the time a NOFO appears, the work that wins it either exists or it doesn’t. 

Our grant writing services team provides full-cycle support for healthcare organizations: identifying which opportunities are worth pursuing, aligning proposals with current federal review priorities, and producing applications that hold up under merit review. For health centers weighing bigger structural questions, like Look-Alike designation, service expansion, or whether a given opportunity fits the organization at all, our community health optimization and FQHC development team supports exactly those decisions. 

If you are trying to decide where to focus this cycle, reach out to our team and we can talk it through.