2025 Special Projects Fund

No. Proposals that focus on one of the Foundation’s strategic priority areas are ineligible for funding through the Special Projects Fund Request for Proposals (RFP). We encourage you to sign up for NYHealth e-mail alerts to receive notification about future Primary Care; Healthy Food, Healthy Lives; and Veterans’ Health funding opportunities.

Typically, no. Special Projects Fund grants are generally one-time, nonrenewable funding opportunities. There are only a few exceptions. In rare cases an organization may be eligible for an additional grant if the funding request is for a distinct, subsequent phase of a successful Special Projects Fund-supported project.

Yes. However, please note that if you submit the same exact project, there is a high likelihood that it will be declined again.

No. Please be in touch with Foundation staff via e-mail at specialprojectsfund@nyhealthfoundation.org to discuss your application and get feedback on eligibility to reapply for the next cycle.

Yes. However, if an organization submits multiple LOIs for consideration, only one project would be eligible to be invited to submit a full proposal. We encourage applicants to identify the project that is the highest priority for your organization and most aligned with the RFP criteria.

No. We do not consider health education and awareness campaigns for a Special Projects Fund grant.

It depends. Demonstration projects or pilots with evidence-based interventions in New York are eligible for consideration. Data analysis projects will also be considered in cases where an analytical topic is timely, actionable, focused on a New York-specific issue, and supportive of policy or systems change. NYHealth does not support medical, biomedical, or clinical research.

Applicants are encouraged to e-mail specialprojectsfund@nyhealthfoundation.org with specific questions about project eligibility.

View a list of our past Special Projects Fund recipients here.

If you do not see an exact match, select the next best option and elaborate on your project topic in the Project Narrative section. You can select the check box at the bottom of the prompt to indicate that you are providing additional project details in the Project Narrative section.

The timeframe of projects funded by the Special Projects Fund varies, but typically projects are 12 to 36 months. Please note that the duration must be commensurate with project activities.

Projects will be assessed for the appropriateness of budget to the proposed scope of work and timeline. The amount of funds requested must be commensurate with the work proposed. Special Projects Fund grants are typically in the $200,000 range or below. Funding requests can range from $50,000 to a maximum of $300,000.

• Lobbying
• Capital expenses (e.g., construction/renovation, furniture, vehicles, health care equipment)
  • Materials and supplies (e.g., tablets for patients) may be eligible under some circumstances if they are directly related to project activities, but costs cannot account for a major portion of the total budget.
• General operations/core support or projects that involve funding of existing ongoing services undertaken by an organization.
  • The term “general operating support” or “core support” refers to unrestricted grants for a nonprofit organization’s overall mission, rather than for specific projects or programs. These include costs associated with running an organization like rent, IT services, recouping revenue losses, or baseline operating costs. These costs should be included in NYHealth’s allowable 15% overhead amount.

No. NYHealth awards program-specific funds. General operating requests are not eligible for a Special Projects Fund grant.

Special Projects Fund awards are one-time, nonrenewable funding opportunities supporting specific projects that address important and emerging health care and public health issues.

The term “general operating support” or “core support” refers to unrestricted grants for a nonprofit organization’s overall mission, rather than for specific projects or programs. These include costs associated with running an organization like rent, IT services, recouping revenue losses, or baseline operating costs. These costs should be included in NYHealth’s allowable 15% overhead amount.

Yes, NYHealth allows a 15% maximum administrative overhead.

Only applicants invited to submit a full proposal will gain access to the full proposal application via e-mail.

All LOIs are reviewed by Foundation staff. The staff decide which applicants will move into the next stage and selected applicants receive an invitation to submit a full proposal for review. Proposals are evaluated by staff and a panel of community leaders from across the State with a wide range of experience and expertise. Selected proposals are forwarded to NYHealth’s Board of Directors, which makes the final funding decision.

Early submission does not provide an advantage; however, we do encourage reaching out to Foundation staff at specialprojectsfund@nyhealthfoundation.org early in the process should you have programmatic questions.

Very important. Because the Special Projects Fund is intended to be a one-time grant opportunity, it is critical to explain your organization’s plan to continue the project after the grant period concludes. This is particularly important if you propose to hire staff to conduct this project. It is not sufficient to state that you would seek additional grants from other funders. Please refer to this NYHealth-supported sustainability toolkit for helpful resources and tools.

Most successful grant proposals to NYHealth include an evaluation plan to assess whether the project has achieved its stated goals and to measure its impact. There is no exact blueprint for a program evaluation; different applicants will have various ways of measuring the success and outcomes of their proposed project. Please refer to these guidelines for helpful resources and tools to design and implement a program evaluation.

Notifications will be sent to applicants approximately 12 to 15 weeks after the full application deadline.

Fund disbursement is specific to each grant. If awarded funding, grantees will receive a formal disbursement timeline after notification that the grant has been approved by NYHealth’s Board of Directors.

Approximately 8 to 12 organizations are funded annually through our Special Projects Fund RFP process. The number of grants funded varies each round, as budget request amounts are different for each proposal.

Yes. Please e-mail specialprojectsfund@nyhealthfoundation.org with any programmatic questions. We encourage you to be specific in your questions so we can offer helpful feedback. Please note, because of the large number of applicants, questions asked very close to the due date may not be answered in time.

No. Because of the large number of applicants, we cannot give extensions to any applicants. We recommend you submit the application at least several hours before the 1:00 p.m. deadline so you can reach out to the Grants Management department at gm@nyhealthfoundation.org if you are having technical difficulties.

If you have questions or difficulties using the grantee portal, please check out our portal resource to help troubleshoot common issues.