Healthy Communities Initiative

The Healthy Communities Initiative is an annual grant opportunity of the Pallottine Foundation of Buckhannon that supports nonprofit organizations administering health-related programming and projects that strengthen nonprofit organizational capacity. The initiative is intended to address the behavioral, emotional, physical, social, and spiritual needs of communities while also helping nonprofit organizations improve their ability to operate effectively through stronger finances, leadership, infrastructure, and internal capacity. The 2027 Healthy Communities Initiative opened on August 26, 2026, and provides a one-year grant period with awards of up to $20,000. Funding may support health and wellness, capacity building, spiritual and pastoral care, food insecurity, substance use disorder, and tobacco use prevention and cessation activities. The initiative accommodates both programmatic and capacity-building projects, and an application may request support for multiple projects and may contain components from any of the Foundation's focus areas. Organizations may submit only one application during a grant cycle. The Foundation may award partial funding in order to accommodate as many deserving requests as possible. Expenses that are not typically funded include academic scholarships, capital items over $2,500, endowments, general operating costs, indirect costs, individuals, playground equipment and vehicles, and retroactive funding. The Foundation may consider or exclude expenses on a case-by-case basis. The 2027 initiative provides two application pathways based on the size and nature of the request. The Simplified Pathway applies to requests under $5,000 and is described as a good fit for first-time applicants, emerging nonprofits, organizations with nontraditional financial statements, and organizations requesting support for basic needs, capacity building, or small-scale programming. The Standard Pathway applies to requests between $5,001 and $20,000 and is most appropriate for established nonprofits able to provide traditional organizational financial statements. The Foundation also encourages applicants with more detailed programming and capacity-building projects to use the Standard Pathway. Applicants should first review the Foundation's eligibility guidelines and determine whether their proposed project aligns with an identified focus area. The Foundation recognizes that organizations may begin impactful work before obtaining formal nonprofit status. An organization without its own nonprofit designation may apply through an eligible fiscal sponsor when both the fiscal sponsor and the sponsored organization and project align with the Foundation's mission and eligibility requirements. The fiscal sponsor must be an IRC 501(c)(3) organization that agrees to receive and manage the grant funds on behalf of the sponsored organization. Organizations planning to use a fiscal sponsor are instructed to contact a member of the Foundation's program team before beginning an application. Applicants are instructed to review the application questions before applying. The application requests financial information as well as detailed organization and project overviews. The Foundation does not require applicants to use a specific project budget form. It provides a sample project budget and project budget template as optional resources, while allowing applicants to submit a project budget in their preferred format. Applications must be completed and submitted through the Foundation's grant management system; applications submitted in another format will not be accepted. Applicants uncertain whether their organization already has an account, or those with grant management system questions, may contact grants@pfwv.org or call 304-397-5955. Applications must be submitted by 8 p.m. on the applicable deadline date, and late applications will not be accepted. The provided source does not state the calendar date of that final deadline. After the application period closes, Foundation staff will review applications and may request additional information or conduct a site visit. Following staff review, the Foundation's Board of Trustees makes funding decisions, and applicants are notified by email. The initiative operates annually, and funded awards have a one-year grant period. Potential applicants are encouraged to contact Program Officer Ashley Payne before or during the application process to discuss project ideas, share information, and ask questions. Ashley Payne can be reached at apayne@pfwv.org or 304-397-5955. The Foundation's general grant system contact is grants@pfwv.org at the same telephone number.

Select the pathway that fits the request amount and organizational financial capacity; review eligibility requirements and focus-area alignment before preparing the application; organizations planning to use a fiscal sponsor should contact the program team before beginning; applicants are encouraged to contact Ashley Payne before or during the process to discuss project ideas and questions; submit through the Foundation's grant management system by September 30, 2026 because late applications and other submission formats are not accepted