What We Fund

Grant application/proposal rules

Grantmaking is the Health Fund's primary means of achieving its mission, and we see each grant as an opportunity to move toward the goal of healthy Kansans. Each organization which approaches us about funding a project to improve health in Kansas represents a potential mutual opportunity for good, and we welcome your ideas.

We do, however, have a few specific rules regarding our grants and the application process.

Kansas, USA only - the Health Fund only funds projects to benefit the health of Kansas residents. The Health Fund does not fund projects in other U.S. states or foreign nations.
Contact us before beginning a grant application - if your organization is interested in a Health Fund grant, call or email us to discuss your ideas with our program staff. Our staff will be happy to help determine if the project is a potential candidate for funding and provide guidance and insight into our grantmaking process. If a potential for funding exists, you will receive authorization and instructions for completing a simple online grant application.
No unsolicited/uninvited proposals or applications - as stated above, contact us before beginning an application or proposal. The Health Fund cannot accept unsolicited and unauthorized applications, which will be automatically rejected without consideration.
Strategic focus areas - the Health Fund has focused its efforts on a select group of funding areas to achieve greater impact with limited resources. Our grants are limited to projects addressing one or more of those areas. Current focus areas are: access to professional health care, oral health, and healthy nutrition and exercise.

Background - Making Strategic Choices

During the Health Fund's first 16 years, grants have been awarded to establish programs in a wide spectrum of health-related areas -- providing medical care for the uninsured, hospice services in both rural and urban settings, intergenerational programming, quality early education and child care, mentoring, a statewide telepsychiatry network, congregational health ministries, and prevention measures to improve oral health. These are but a few examples illustrating the expansive scope of what we've been able to support.

After extensive research and painstaking strategic planning, it has become evident the Health Fund can be significantly more effective by focusing our efforts. Rather than doing a little bit of good in lots of different areas, we will concentrate our resources on making differences in more clearly defined aspects of Kansans' health.

This new approach should allow the Health Fund to make much greater strides in continuing the health care tradition of the United Methodist Church while helping us not to dilute our efforts by spreading our resources too thinly.

Funding purposes

In addition to special opportunities available to United Methodist churches and related agencies, the Health Fund is targeting three areas for funding:

These three program areas are discussed in more detail here. Projects outside these areas are not considered for funding at this time.

Grants are awarded to health care projects proposed by eligible organizations to respond to needs and build on assets of local, regional, and state situations. These grants have one or more of the following purposes:

Develop new or expanded, sustainable program resources to provide quality services
Change the delivery system to meet demands, improve access/quality, or reduce cost
Test innovative ideas for improved service delivery
Offer public education for improvement of individual and community health care
Provide group opportunities for health care providers to improve critical skills
Develop technical expertise, collaborations, and similar supports for improvement and change in health care service delivery and education

Grant guidelines

The general rules applicable to all grant decisions are as follows:

Recipients. Grants are not awarded to individuals or for individual medical, dental, or other personal care treatment. Grants can be awarded only to 501(c)(3) organizations or governmental entities, except upon special approval of the Board of Trustees and approval of legal counsel. Contracts for services may be approved with for-profit groups for reasonable compensation.
Kansas only. Grants shall be made only for support of projects which provide services or benefits to persons or organizations in the State of Kansas. The Health Fund does not fund projects in foreign nations or other U.S. states.
No uninvited/unauthorized applications or proposals. The Health Fund will automatically reject without consideration any proposals or applications which were not authorized or invited in advance by a Health Fund program officer.
Kansas West. The Health Fund has a preference for grants doing work within the boundaries of the Kansas West United Methodist Conference*. The Health Fund will particularly seek opportunities for grants in that region and will require, as reasonably possible, location of events and fair allocation of project work within that region when there is a project of statewide reach.
United Methodist. The Health Fund seeks to utilize partnerships with local churches, agencies, institutions and Kansas judicatory structures in fulfilling its work. From time to time, the Health Fund will target opportunities for program work to those United Methodist groups, including some preference in RFPs and similar grantmaking programs for United Methodist relationships. Preference does not mean that a project proposal of poor quality by a United Methodist group will be approved but may mean that some approaches such as set-asides and targeting will be utilized to insure participation by United Methodist groups offering equivalent quality.
Strategic focus areas. The Health Fund has focused its efforts on a select group of funding areas to achieve greater impact with limited resources. Our grants are limited to projects addressing one or more of those areas.
Capital projects and endowments. Generally, capital projects and endowments are not funded. This is particularly true when there are large capital campaigns or projects where Health Fund monies would represent a "donation" to an effort. There may be cases where small capital campaigns can complete an operating project of particular strategic interest to the Health Fund and these will be considered.
On-going operating grants. The Health Fund is a "special needs" funder and does not provide regular operating expenses of on-going projects.
Maximum grant term and renewals. No grant shall be made for a term of longer than five years. The total term (base period and renewal) may extend beyond five years.
Indirect costs. Grants may not include more than 10% for indirect costs.
Alcohol prohibition. Grants may not be used for the purchase of alcoholic beverages.

*The United Methodist Church in Kansas is organized as a Kansas East and Kansas West Conference. References to Kansas West refer to the 68 counties in the western two-thirds of the state within the West Conference; the balance of 37 counties comprises Kansas East. Groups unsure of their location within those boundaries can request assistance from the Health Fund office.