Grantmaking Process
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.
Initial inquiry
The earliest stage of the Health Fund grantmaking process involves an inquiry by a potential applicant to a member of our program staff. Whether the potential applicant is responding to a request for proposals (RFP) or is presenting an original project related to the Health Fund's strategic focus, the first step is to communicate with a program officer.
The program officer will consider the proposed project and how it may fit with our current funding strategies. If the proposed project, in the program officer's judgment, may fit our strategic focus and has the potential to be funded, a preliminary proposal will be invited. A declination by the program officer should not be considered a judgment of the merits of the proposed project. To achieve the greatest effectiveness with its available resources, the Health Fund is concentrating its efforts in three focus areas.
Preliminary proposal
If the program officer invites a preliminary proposal, application instructions will be provided. In most cases, applicants will receive authorization to use our online preliminary proposal system. Want to view a sample of our online application form? Click here to see it.
If a special form or different method of application is required, the program officer will provide instructions on how to proceed.
In-person presentations before the Programming and Evaluation Committee or Board are not allowed. Trustees should not be contacted about proposals on an individual basis by applicants.
Application deadlines and funding cycles
Please refer to the specific RFP or instructions from a program officer for application deadlines, funding decision dates, and funding start dates. These deadlines override our normal deadlines in the event of a conflict.
Programming and Evaluation Committee action
In considering a preliminary proposal, the Committee may take any of several possible actions, including:
- recommending to the full Board for funding
- approving the grant (within the Committee's designated authority)
- deferring the proposal and requesting additional information
- declining the proposal
Board of Trustees action
Most Health Fund grants rely on acceptance by the Board of Trustees for final approval and funding. Programming and Evaluation Committee recommendations are presented to the full Board, which then makes the final funding determination in most cases.
Final steps
If the grant project receives final funding approval, a contract referred to as "Conditions of Grant" will be drawn up by Health Fund staff. This is the legal document defining the grant, including any special conditions or evaluation requirements. The Conditions of Grant will be sent to the project director or primary responsible party to be signed and returned to the Health Fund.
Once the Health Fund has received the signed Conditions of Grant and any required attachments, funding will proceed according to the schedule outlined in that document.
Exceptions to general case
The above is an overview of the normal Health Fund grantmaking process. However, conditions specific to particular RFPs may override the general grantmaking process where those conditions have been outlined in the Board action establishing the RFP.
In certain cases, grants within the strategic fields of work may be processed on an invitational basis. The grantmaking process in each invitational case will be determined based on the source of authorization to invite the proposal (Board, P&E Committee, etc.)
Provision of denial reasons
The Health Fund will provide reasons for denial of all proposals generated through the inquiry or invitational process. RFPs are considered competitive in nature and reasons for denial are not generally given, but may be provided in the judgment of program staff.