Rural Health Grants

The Medica Foundation Rural Health Grants program provides funding for nonprofit, community-led solutions that address health equity in rural Minnesota communities, including culturally focused care. Funding is limited to Minnesota, with an additional geographic restriction requiring applicant organizations to be headquartered outside the seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area. The excluded metropolitan counties are Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington. The program is shifting to a two-year funding cycle, with individual grants awarded up to $20,000 over two years. Organizations receiving a Rural Health grant in 2026 will not be eligible to reapply in 2027 but may apply again in 2028. The program prioritizes proposals addressing identified rural health needs. Priority areas include dental health; domestic violence and sexual assault services and prevention; maternal and birth health; mental health and chemical health; primary care and sexual health for underserved communities; and services supporting the health of seniors so that they can remain independent in their homes. Within the eligible applicant pool, the Medica Foundation gives priority to free clinics and federally qualified or community clinics over larger health systems. Eligible applicants are nonprofit organizations that meet the program's geographic requirements. The organization must be headquartered outside Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington counties. The source does not provide additional nonprofit tax-status requirements, fiscal sponsorship provisions, or requirements for particular nonprofit classifications. Certain requests are specifically ineligible. The Foundation will not fund requests for events, sponsorships, seminars, museums, camps, or general health and wellness activities, including nutrition and exercise activities, through this grant opportunity. The Medica Foundation uses a one-step online application process for Rural Health Grants. Applications are accepted only during specific periods each year. For the 2026 cycle, applications are accepted from July 1 through August 28, 2026. The application deadline is August 28, 2026, and applications may be submitted until 11:59 p.m. that day. Because no time zone is stated, the deadline time is treated as Eastern Time for data-entry purposes. Applicants submit through the Foundation's online application system. The Foundation also provides online application instructions, a Sample Rural Health Application PDF, and application tips. Applicants who have already started an application can return to the online system and log in to continue their work. The supplied material does not state a separate letter of intent, concept paper, pre-proposal, notice of intent, or other pre-application gating requirement. It also does not provide detailed application questions or a formal scoring rubric. However, applicants can use the Foundation's stated priorities to guide proposal development, particularly the emphasis on community-led approaches to rural health equity, culturally focused care, the listed health priority areas, and the preference for free clinics and federally qualified or community clinics over larger health systems. Applicants should also avoid proposing activities expressly identified as ineligible. For the 2026 cycle, applications close on August 28, 2026, with grant award announcements expected in early December. Foundation staff will contact organizations selected for funding and send a grant agreement confirming the award details. Organizations whose projects are not selected will be notified by email and may contact the Foundation to discuss why their project was not funded. Questions about eligibility or a proposed grant may be directed to foundation@medica.com or 1-952-992-2060. The Foundation's mailing address is P.O. Box 9310, Mail Route CW104, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55440-9310. Because applications are described as being accepted during specific times each year, the opportunity is treated as recurring. Based on the July 2026 opening month, the next cycle is projected for July 2027, while the special two-year funding rule means 2026 grant recipients themselves cannot reapply until 2028.

Emphasize a nonprofit, community-led solution addressing health equity in rural Minnesota; demonstrate alignment with dental health, domestic violence and sexual assault services and prevention, maternal and birth health, mental health and chemical health, primary care and sexual health for underserved communities, or services helping seniors remain independent at home; culturally focused care is within scope; free clinics and federally qualified or community clinics receive priority over larger health systems; do not request funding for events, sponsorships, seminars, museums, camps, or general health and wellness activities including nutrition and exercise.