The Voices for Healthy Kids Policy Campaign Grant supports efforts to increase children’s health equity through legislation, regulations, executive orders, or ballot initiatives.

Short form applications are due by March 25, 2024 at 5 PM PT. For those invited to submit, full applications will be due by May 28, 2024 at 5 PM PT.

Eligibility

This grant is open to:

• 501(c)3 and 501(c)4 nonprofit organizations
• Organizations with a 501(c)3 or 501(c)4 nonprofit as fiscal sponsor
• Federally recognized Native American tribes and tribal subdivisions

Organizations must be able to engage in lobbying activities.

Preference will be given to groups led by people from communities statistically impacted by health disparities, including Black, Latinx, and Native American individuals.

Funding Priorities

Funding for Early Care and Education Access

Applications under this funding area must include at least one of the following priorities:

• Targeted outreach and recruitment of licensed early care and education programs and technical assistance for programs seeking licensure.
• Assisting childcare facilities with funding for capital improvements that encourage healthy eating and physical activity
• Increasing subsidy reimbursements for childcare facilities meeting healthy eating and physical activity standards

Early Head Start/Head Start Appropriations

Projects under this funding area should focus on securing financial support for Head Start and Early Head Start for eligible children and/or children from families living above current income threshholds.

Paid Family and Medical Leave

Projects under this funding area should focus on campaigns to enact state level policies on paid family and medical leave for public and/or private sector employees.

Healthy School Meals Expansion

Projects under this funding area should focus on campaigns to enact state level policies to expand access to free school meals, including universal free meals, free breakfast or lunch, and covering the cost of reduced price meals.

Sugary Drink Tax and Investment

Projects under this funding area should focus on community-level campaigns to enact excise taxes on sugary drinks and use the revenue to provide health services in communities experiency inequity. Communities must be involved at every step from the decision to pursue the tax to the implementation of the program to allocation of revenue.

SNAP Access and Expanded Benefits

Projects under this funding area should focus on policies that increase participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by:

• Adopting broad-based categorical eligibility OR
• Policies detailed in the USDA SNAP State Options report

SNAP Incentives and Produce Prescription Programs

Projects under this funding area should focus on policies that increase access to fruits and vegetables through SNAP incentives and produce prescriptions programs.

Water Access in Schools and Communities

Projects under this funding area should focus on campaigns to ensure that new and renovated schools have water bottle filling stations.

Innovative Policy Issue

Other innovative approaches to decreasing health inequity for children up to age 3, such as maternal health policy and family income supports.