Last updated: July 22, 2026
Non-federal funding has become increasingly important to community health centers than it was two years ago, and the numbers tell the story. Federal health center funding is essentially flat and authorized only through December 2026. Medicaid coverage losses are beginning to increase the volume of uninsured patients. The gap between the two has to close somewhere.
Foundation, regional, and corporate funders won’t replace Section 330 dollars, and no one should plan as though they will. But they do two things federal grants generally cannot. They fund flexibly—community programming, capacity building, pilot work, equipment—where federal awards come tightly restricted. And they move on their own timelines, which means opportunity exists in months when no federal competition is open.
Related resources: For federal opportunities, see our Federal Grants blog. Rural Health Transformation Program dollars are federally sourced but distributed by states through competitive processes that function much like foundation funding—those are tracked separately on our Rural Health Transformation Program 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.
Current Non-Federal Grant Opportunities for FQHC & Community Health Providers
This page tracks current opportunities relevant to health centers and safety net providers, organized by whether the funder gives nationally or within a defined region. Deadlines and priorities change, so confirm against the funder’s own materials before building an application timeline.
National Funders
These funders accept applications without geographic restriction.
The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation: Rolling
Deadline: Rolling
Funds: Social enterprises that directly serve or impact children and youth from urban, low-income communities, across education, health, and family economic stability, including livelihoods and financial inclusion.
Eligibility: For-profit and nonprofit organizations.
Award: More than $50,000
Fit note: The urban low-income focus makes this a poor match for rural health centers but a strong one for urban FQHCs with pediatric, school-based, or family economic stability programming. The rolling deadline means this can be pursued when capacity allows rather than against a clock.
TD Bank Capacity Building Grant: Open
Deadline: Rolling, with the next review date September 5, 2026
Funds: Strengthening organizational capacity and increasing community impact, organized around three areas the funder describes as tactics, talent, and tools.
Eligibility: 501(c)(3) organizations.
Award: $25,000–$150,000
Fit note: Capacity-building money is unusually valuable because it funds the infrastructure most grants won’t—systems, staff development, planning. If you have been deferring an internal investment because no federal grant would cover it, this is the category that might.
The Bolger Foundation: Open
Deadline: September 1, 2026
Funds: Charitable organizations serving their communities, with focus areas including health and mental health, underserved populations, community, education, and conservation.
Eligibility: 501(c)(3) organizations.
Award: $10,000–$250,000
Fit note: Broad priorities and a wide award range. The health and underserved-population focus areas map directly onto the health center mission, which makes this worth a look even though the funder is not health-specific.
Regional Funders
These funders restrict eligibility to defined states or regions. Check the geography first.
Cancer Screening Improvement Initiative, South Carolina: Closing soon
Deadline: July 31, 2026. Notifications to clinics in August 2026.
Funds: Improving cancer screening rates in South Carolina rural clinics. Supports quality-improvement work, including strengthening policies and procedures, closing the referral loop, and tracking outcomes. Year one of a three-year program.
Eligibility: Rural clinics in South Carolina. SCORH aims to work with 15 clinics statewide in year one.
Funder: South Carolina Office of Rural Health, funded by the BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation.
How to apply: Form submission, application survey. Submit questions to grants@scorh.net.
Fit note: This is a cohort model rather than a standalone grant, so the value includes the learning collaborative alongside the funding. Being in the first cohort of a three-year program also positions an organization for years two and three.
2026 Rural Enhancement Grant, South Carolina: Closing soon
Deadline: July 31, 2026. Notifications August 2026; payment by end of September 2026.
Funds: Practice improvements for rural providers, including computers and IT, software and risk assessment tools, portable medical devices such as remote patient monitoring and vital signs equipment, continuing education and training, environmental safety items including compliant vaccine refrigerators and exam tables, and quality improvement activities such as PCMH accreditation or Lean Six Sigma training.
Eligibility: Rural providers in South Carolina.
Funder: South Carolina Office of Rural Health, in partnership with the SC Center for Rural and Primary Healthcare.
Award: Up to $5,000 per organization
How to apply: Form submission: application survey.
Fit note: Small award, but the application is a short form rather than a full proposal, and the eligible uses are unusually practical. The effort-to-award ratio here is better than the dollar figure suggests.
The Duke Endowment, Health Care Program Grants, North Carolina and South Carolina: Open
Deadline: Pre-application November 15, 2026. Full application, if invited, December 15, 2026.
Funds: Improving access to care for vulnerable populations, maternal and infant health, mental health services with an emphasis on pediatric care, oral health access, population health, and healthcare workforce.
Eligibility: Priority organizations in North and South Carolina, including nonprofit hospitals, academic health centers, Area Health Education Centers, select organizations in counties without an eligible hospital, and nonprofit inpatient facilities.
Award: Not specified
Fit note: Note the two-stage process—pre-applications open roughly six weeks before the full application deadline, and applicants whose pre-applications align with current priorities may be invited to submit in the same cycle. Eligibility is narrower than most on this page, so confirm your organization type qualifies before investing time.
Arkansas Community Foundation, Giving Tree Grants, Arkansas: Open
Deadline: August 15, 2026
Funds: A broad range of projects addressing local needs. Funding priorities vary by county.
Eligibility: Any 501(c)(3) public charity, school, hospital, or government agency in participating counties.
Award: Not specified
More information: Giving Tree Grants · local affiliates
Fit note: Because priorities are set county by county, the affiliate page matters more than the main program page. Check your county’s current focus before writing; this is one where a generic application is unlikely to land.
Medica Foundation Rural Health Grants, Minnesota: Open
Deadline: August 28, 2026
Funds: Community-led health needs in rural Minnesota. Priority areas are mental and chemical health, domestic violence and sexual assault services and prevention, maternal and birth health, dental health, primary care and sexual health for underserved communities, and services supporting seniors’ independence at home.
Eligibility: 501(c)(3) charitable organizations, public and governmental agencies, and tribal nations located in and serving rural Minnesota.
Award: $20,000 over two years
Fit note: Only free clinics and federally qualified health centers receive priority. That is unusual and worth acting on. Most foundations treat FQHCs as one eligible applicant type among many. For a rural Minnesota health center, this is the strongest-aligned opportunity on this page.
Looking in the Delta region? The Delta Regional Authority Community Infrastructure Fund is open through August 24, 2026, with awards of $250,000–$1,000,000 across Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee. Because the DRA is a federal-state partnership agency, we track it on our Federal Grants page.
Before You Apply
Non-federal funders behave differently from federal agencies, and applications that succeed federally often fail here for predictable reasons.
- Check geography first. More than half the opportunities on this page are geographically bounded. This is the fastest disqualifier and the cheapest one to check.
- Read the funder, not just the notice. Foundations fund relationships and fit more than federal agencies do. Reviewing a funder’s recent grantee list tells you more about your odds than the eligibility criteria will.
- Match the ask to the funder’s range. Requesting $150,000 from a foundation whose typical award is $20,000 signals you didn’t do the reading.
- Use rolling deadlines strategically. The Dell Foundation and TD Bank accept applications on a rolling basis. These are the opportunities to pursue in the gaps between federal cycles, when your grants capacity is otherwise idle.
- Pursue what federal money won’t cover. Capacity building, equipment, facility work, pilot programs, and community programming are where non-federal dollars are worth the most, precisely because restricted federal awards leave those gaps.
How VMG Health Can Help
Non-federal funding is more fragmented than federal funding; there is no Grants.gov for foundations, priorities shift without notice, and fit matters as much as merit. Finding the right funder is often harder than writing the proposal.
Our grant writing services team provides full-cycle support for healthcare organizations, from identifying which funders align with your programs through developing competitive proposals. For health centers thinking about how grant funding fits a broader revenue strategy, our community health optimization and FQHC development team works on those decisions.
If you are trying to decide which of these opportunities fits your organization, reach out to our team and we can talk it through.
