Rural Community Health Support Program

The Rural Community Health Support Program is a forecasted federal funding opportunity administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The opportunity is identified as HRSA-26-083 and will be funded through a cooperative agreement mechanism under Assistance Listing 93.912, Rural Healthcare Services Programs. The program is intended to strengthen rural health systems by supporting the development, coordination, and delivery of nationally available technical assistance for organizations and stakeholders serving rural populations. HRSA is expected to issue one award under this opportunity for fiscal year 2026, with an estimated total program funding amount of $4,500,000. The primary purpose of the Rural Community Health Support Program is to improve and expand access to quality healthcare services in rural communities across the United States. The program emphasizes support for community-based organizations and rural health stakeholders that work directly with underserved rural populations. Through this cooperative agreement, the selected recipient will be responsible for developing and coordinating technical assistance resources that can be accessed nationally. The technical assistance is expected to help rural organizations improve healthcare delivery systems, strengthen operational capacity, and expand healthcare access in geographically isolated and medically underserved communities. Funding under this opportunity may be used to support technical assistance activities, coordination of national rural health support efforts, program development, stakeholder engagement, and capacity-building initiatives that improve rural healthcare infrastructure and service delivery. The forecast notice does not specify any cost sharing or matching requirement, and the opportunity explicitly states that no matching requirement applies. The estimated award amount for the single cooperative agreement is $4,500,000. The notice does not identify any specific funding restrictions, indirect cost limitations, or subaward caps in the forecast announcement. Additional details regarding allowable costs and project requirements are expected to be provided once the official notice of funding opportunity is released. Eligibility for this opportunity is broad and inclusive. Eligible applicants include public housing authorities, Indian housing authorities, county governments, city or township governments, state governments, special district governments, independent school districts, nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status, public and private institutions of higher education, small businesses, for-profit organizations other than small businesses, Native American tribal governments, and Native American tribal organizations. The announcement further clarifies that all domestic public or private nonprofit and for-profit entities, including faith-based organizations, community-based organizations, tribes, and tribal organizations, may apply. Because the eligibility language does not impose state-specific restrictions and references nationally available technical assistance activities, the opportunity is considered nationwide in scope. The forecast timeline indicates that the opportunity is expected to be posted on May 20, 2026, with applications due on June 24, 2026. Electronically submitted applications must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the application deadline date. The estimated award date is August 1, 2026, and the estimated project start date is September 1, 2026. As of the analysis date, the opportunity remains in forecast status because the estimated application opening date has not yet occurred. The announcement does not identify any required letters of intent, concept papers, or pre-application phases. Likewise, no recurring funding cycle language is included in the forecast notice, so the opportunity is treated as a nonrecurring federal competition at this time. The application process is expected to occur through standard federal electronic submission systems associated with HRSA and Grants.gov opportunities. Although the forecast notice does not yet include detailed application instructions, applicants will likely be required to submit standard federal forms, organizational information, project narratives, budget documents, and supporting attachments once the full notice is released. The cooperative agreement structure also indicates that HRSA will likely maintain substantial programmatic involvement throughout the project period. Questions regarding the opportunity may be directed to Michele Gibson at the Health Resources and Services Administration by phone at 301.443.7320 or by email at mgibson@hrsa.gov. The current forecast notice does not include a direct PDF notice link or a published full funding announcement document.

Emphasize experience supporting rural healthcare stakeholders community-based organizations and nationwide technical assistance delivery models focused on improving access to quality rural healthcare.