The Health Equity Fund supports organizations working to ensure all Missourians have a fair and just opportunity to live their healthiest lives by changing systems that create barriers to health.
Donor Name: Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH)
State: Missouri
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 07/26/2025
Size of the Grant: $500,000 to $1 million
Grant Duration: 3 Years
Details:
Formerly the Opportunity Fund, the Health Equity Fund, invests in bold, community-driven work that addresses the root causes of health inequities.
MFH will fund costs necessary to meet the objectives of a project as outlined in a request for application, contracted service, or program related investment proposal.
The following expenses are allowable subject to the limitations stated:
- Benefits and Payroll Taxes: For each employee supported with Foundation funds, benefits and payroll taxes may ONLY be requested for:
- employer portion of federal, state, and local taxes
- health, life, and disability insurance related only to the Foundation funded employee(s)
- retirement (only 401(k), 403(b), or pension)
- Indirect Expense: Indirect expenses are shared among projects and/or functions. Examples include executive management, accounting, grants management, human resources or administrative and other support services, phones, occupancy, insurance, utilities, and facility maintenance.
Funding Information
The range they typically see is $50,000-$1 million, and it is very unlikely for Health Equity Fund to support a proposal requesting over $1.5 million.
Grant Period
The Health Equity Fund generally supports short-term proposals up to three years in length.
Eligibility Criteria
MFH uses three funding mechanisms to implement the strategy and accomplish the mission:
- Grants, which primarily benefit the grantee by furthering their own exempt purposes and programs. The project must primarily benefit the MFH service area and the organization must be in good standing with the State of Missouri and abide by MFH’s Non-Discrimination Policy. The following types of organizations are eligible to seek grant funding from MFH:
- Organizations granted tax-exempt status under provisions of Sections 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Service Code
- State or local government agencies, including educational institutions, and branches of the federal government serving Missouri
- Coalitions, collaboratives, or groups using a fiscal sponsor
- Contracted services, which primarily benefit MFH’s grantees or strategy directly. Common examples of contracts for services involve hiring consultants to provide technical assistance to grantees or evaluation of a MFH programmatic strategy. Individuals, nonprofit organizations, and corporations are eligible to respond to a Request for Contracted Service Proposals.
- Program Related Investments, which consist primarily of low-interest rate loans to seed formation or growth of an organization or program which demonstrates mission and values alignment with MFH. Nonprofit organizations and for-profit organizations are eligible.
Ineligibility
MFH will not fund the following types of expenses and activities:
- Basic biomedical research or research on drug therapies or devices
- Lobbying
- Existing operational deficits or programs projected to create a deficit
- Fundraising campaigns for the purpose of construction, endowment building or establishing emergency or other types of reserves
- Programs that promote specific religious beliefs or proselytize
- Programs fully funded from other sources.
For more information, visit MFH.
