The VNA Foundation awards grants to support nonprofit organizations that provide home- and community-based health services to medically underserved populations in Cook County.
Donor Name: VNA Foundation
State: Illinois
County: Cook County (IL), DuPage County (IL), Kane County (IL), Lake County (IL), McHenry County (IL), Will County (IL)
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 09/18/2025
Size of the Grant: Less than $1000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
The majority of grants are made to organizations serving Cook County. Organizations in the surrounding collar counties (Lake, McHenry, DuPage, Kane and Will) are also eligible for funding, if serving HRSA-designated medically underserved populations in Health Workforce Shortage Areas.
The VNA Foundation will consider funding program, operating, and capital grants, including salaries that support core staff. As the successor organization to the Visiting Nurse Association of Chicago, they appreciate programs in which care is provided by nurses; however they consider funding programs utili zing any appropriate staffing structure.
Access To Healthcare and Preventive Health
- Programs that promote access to care through community-based health care
- Preventive education and outreach that includes linkages to health services
- Health services that integrate healthy food access
- Health + housing services that focus on health improvement and housing stability
- Timely health policy education and advancement
- Programs that improve chronic diseases as part of a broader care plan (not specific diseases)
Priority populations & Organizations:
- Individuals experiencing homelessness
- Families or communities living below the poverty threshold
Mental Health and Support Services
- Efforts focused on early intervention and treatment
- Programs implementing trauma-informed care
- Support of the health and well-being of survivors of violence
- Initiatives that seek to end cycles of interpersonal or family violence
- Catalytic opportunities to improve systems and services
Priority Populations & Organizations
- Survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and other acts of gender-based violence
- Children and youth
- Communities with behavioral health workforce shortages
- Individuals experiencing homelessness
Maternal And Reproductive Health
- Health and wellness services for birthing individuals and their families
- Health services that provide birthing individuals choices on reproductive health
- Education and outreach to address health disparities in maternal and reproductive health
- Workforce training and development initiatives
- Collaborative and catalytic efforts that work towards timely systems change
Priority Populations & Organizations:
- Black women and birthing people, a population with high maternal mortality and morbidity rates
- BIPOC-led community-based organizations
- Organizations that provide a full range of reproductive options, including abortion care
- Organizations with a smaller budget size
Technical Assistance and Organizational Resiliency
- Initiatives to enhance the organization’s capacity to deliver on its mission; for example, staff development, technology upgrades, and sustainability efforts
- Initiatives that focus on staff retention
- Innovative approaches to improving health outcomes through systems coordination and collaboration
Funding Information
Generally, only grant requests of $40,000 or more will be considered, unless smaller grants are required due to organization size or other identifiable factors. They prefer that the requested grant amounts be rounded to the nearest $500.
Eligibility Criteria
All grants requests must:
- Have measurable goals and objectives.
- Benefit the medically underserved, uninsured populations, and/or Medicaid recipients.
- Be submitted by an organization exempt from income tax under sec. 501 (c)(3), and designated as a public charity under section 509(a)(1) or 509(a)(2), of the Internal Revenue Code. VNA Foundation does not provide grants to section 509(a)(3) “supporting organizations.” As of fall 2024, VNA Foundation also does not fund large hospital or university systems.
For more information,visit VNA Foundation.
