Health Equity Fund - Demonstration Projects

The Greater Washington Community Foundation administers the Health Equity Fund Demonstration Projects to advance innovative models aimed at improving economic mobility and building community wealth for the most marginalized populations in Washington, DC. The Fund seeks to create equitable health outcomes by addressing the root causes of health disparities through systemic and collaborative approaches. It recognizes that achieving health equity extends beyond clinical interventions and demands confronting the social and structural determinants of health shaped by generations of policies and practices. This grant opportunity supports demonstration projects that provide proof of concept and evaluate scalability potential. Eligible projects must be developed and executed by at least two partner organizations that have 501(c)(3) public charity status or operate under a qualified fiscal sponsor. These partnerships must be rooted in racial equity and community engagement and demonstrate a history of impact and representation reflective of the populations they serve. All work must be based in and primarily conducted within Washington, DC. Applicants must submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) online. The LOI process opened on October 2, 2023, and will remain open until March 31, 2026, or until all funds have been allocated. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. The process includes multiple stages: initial LOI review, potential interview, submission of financial and impact documents, and final presentation to the Health Equity Committee. If selected, the partners must submit a signed Memorandum of Understanding, budget documents, audited financial statements or IRS 990s, and a Zip Code-Level Impact Attachment. The application consists of several parts, including background information on each partner organization, a project narrative detailing the proposed intervention, its anticipated outcomes, methods of measurement, sustainability plan, and how the project addresses economic mobility or community wealth building. Funding requests should reflect the actual financial needs of the project and specify how the funds will be divided among partners. Attachments such as demographic breakdowns of staff and board members, and funding usage plans are required. Interested organizations are encouraged to refer to the detailed LOI guidelines and use the Community Foundation’s online application portal for submission. All proposals must be submitted in PDF format and must meet formatting requirements to be considered. For programmatic inquiries, applicants should contact Isabel Spake at [email protected]. For technical assistance with the application portal, contact Carmen Rosa at [email protected].