Grant Opportunities

Nourish From the Start Call for Applications

Voices for Healthy Kids works alongside advocates, communities, lawmakers, and funders to help every child thrive—starting where the need is greatest and with our youngest children. We’re accepting proposals for Nourish From the Start advocacy campaigns.

Strong starts begin with good nutrition. From pregnancy through a child’s first three years, healthy, affordable food supports brain and body development and shapes lifelong health. When families can’t reliably access nutritious options, the impacts can last for years. We can help ensure every expectant parent and young child gets the nourishment they need to thrive. If you are advancing policy solutions that strengthen nutrition programs and improve access to healthy food for babies and toddlers in your state, we invite you to apply—together we can deliver lasting change for families.

Nourish From the Start Policy Campaigns

We’re working to ensure families - especially those with children from prenatal to age three - can access healthy, affordable food. Funded campaigns will protect, strengthen, and/or expand Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) through state policy. Proposals must also include a federal advocacy component, lobbying and/or educating your state’s members of congress to help delay or reverse SNAP changes made through H.R. 1.

Please review the Nourish From the Start policy agenda for related policy options.

Eligible states: This opportunity is only open to the states listed below. We encourage collaborative applications, and we will fund no more than one grant per state.

• Arkansas

• Florida

• Illinois

• Kansas

• Mississippi

• North Carolina

• Pennsylvania

• South Dakota

• Texas

• West Virginia

Nourish From the Start Funding Details:

• Advocacy focus: Funded campaigns will advance state policy to protect, strengthen, and/or expand SNAP, WIC, and/or CACFP. Proposals must also include a federal advocacy component, lobbying and/or educating your state’s members of congress to help delay or reverse SNAP changes made through H.R. 1.

• Award details: $100,000 (includes non-lobbying and lobbying funds) will be awarded to one application in each eligible state: AR, FL, IL, KS, MS, NC, PA, SD, TX, WV.

• Collaboration: We encourage collaborative applications. Applications may be submitted by organizations with additional organizations as co-leads and/or with subgrants.

• Eligible costs: Campaign coordination and advocacy tactics (e.g., contract lobbyists, campaign consultants or staffing, grassroots mobilization, communications support).

• Deadline: Monday, June 1, 2026 – 5:00 p.m. PT

Application Process and Timeline:

1.        All interested, eligible applicants must submit an application in the online system.

2.        Applications will be reviewed and based on reviewer feedback, we may schedule a 20-minute call to ask additional questions. The calls will be held June 22-26, 2026.

Application Timeline

Join Our Live Information Session

Have questions about the grant opportunity or application process? We’re here to help!

During this info session, we will provide an overview of this funding opportunity and you can ask about application requirements, budget planning, navigating the grant management system and more.

To make the most of your time, we encourage all applicants to review the grant application instructions beforehand.

Info Session:

Friday, May 8, 2026 – 11 pm PT/12 pm MT/1pm CT/2 pm ET | Register Here

Application Templates

Use the Word/Excel templates below to draft your responses and review the questions. These templates are for drafting only—submit final applications through our online grant management portal.

• Policy Campaign Full Application in Word

• Budget Template in Excel

• Co-Lead/Subgrant Application Section in Word

Every child deserves what they need to thrive—no matter their background, family income, or ZIP code. That’s why we fund public policy campaigns that improve the health and wellbeing of  our youngest children and families, starting where the need is greatest.

What We Fund

We fund community-led public policy advocacy campaigns that align with our policy priorities. These campaigns focus on lasting policy change that improves children’s health and wellbeing. See full eligibility requirements.

Where We Invest

We prioritize communities experiencing the greatest needs. We invest in local leadership and long-term capacity to create lasting change. By trusting, supporting, and investing in these places, we help remove obstacles that prevent children and families from thriving.

Strengthening Local Capacity

Every community faces different realities—where they live, work, and learn, and how easily they can access health care and nutritious food. We partner with communities and tailor strategies to local needs.

Collaboration

Strong community connections make policy campaigns more inclusive, strategic, and effective. Competitive applications clearly show who you’re working with and how you’ll work together.

Not Your Typical Funder

We’re more than a funder. We work hand-in-hand with grantees through coaching, tools and training to strengthen advocacy and advance policy change. Our team shares best practices and connects you with resources and networks to amplify your impact. We view funding as a collaborative relationship, not a transaction.

What We DO NOT Fund

• Regional grants or multi-location funding

• Multi-issue proposals

• Technical assistance–only strategies

• Curriculum development or implementation

• Equipment, capital expenditures, or academic research

• Direct service programs (e.g., physical activity, nutrition, or other participant-based programs)

• Other non-advocacy purposes

All of our funded campaigns must pursue policy through legislation, regulation, or executive order but not through voluntary or programmatic success. These are public policy goals; therefore, public policy interventions are necessary. If you are selected to submit a full application, you will receive further instructions defining what we have determined are the minimum standards for our policy goals. 

Rapid Response Grant Opportunity

Rapid Response requests support critically timed needs of mature campaigns in push-for-passage mode (strategic time in final states of a policy passing) or to support a defensive campaign that would prevent a harmful policy from being passed. Funding is designed to support strategically targeted tactics such as grassroots organizing, coalition building, polling, and media relations of campaigns as the campaign is in its final stages. With limited funds available, we are not able to support operational costs or personnel for campaign management.

• Funds may be requested up to $60,000 for a time period of weeks to a few months.

• Rapid Response grants are open to campaigns not currently or previously funded by Voices for Healthy Kids for the requested policy issue area.

• Campaigns must have exhausted all other resources available and establish that critical resources are needed for a final push to passage during the end stage of a legislative or regulatory campaign or a defensive campaign.

• Applicants must meet the organizational eligibility to apply.

Interested applicants need to contact voicesforhealthykids@heart.org to request a pre-screening call with a National Consultant. Please provide a brief description of the policy campaign, timeline and the issue area the campaign supports. Based on the pre-screening call, organizations may be invited to complete an application.

Finish Line Funding

Finish Line Funding supports short-term, critically timed requests during the final push-for-passage of policy. Voices for Healthy Kids provides the finish line funding opportunity to current grantees nearing the end of their grant or past grantees continuing their grant related work. Requests up to $50,000 with a duration of weeks to a few months will be considered. Applicants should discuss the need with their Policy Engagement Manager to determine eligibility and gain access to an application.

Application Templates

For applicant convenience, below is a list of Word (.doc) versions of our current grant application questions. Click on the links to download the template to review and work in before copy and pasting your application responses in the online form. These application templates are for draft work ONLY - any application submission must be on the application forms in our online grant management portal, which requires organizations to register.

• Policy Campaign Finish Line Funding Application Template (Coming Soon)

• Policy Campaign Rapid Response Application Template

• Policy Campaign Rapid Response Budget Template

All applications are submitted through the Voices for Healthy Kids online grant management system, and registration is required. Please follow these simple steps to register: 

• If you are a returning user to the system simply log into the Grant Management System. If you need to reset your password, please use "forgot my password," enter your email address, and submit. You will receive an email with a link to update your password. 
  

• If you are new to the Grant Management System, read the New to the Grants Management System instructions and click on "Create Account." You must register to access the application materials. If you do not receive an email to verify your account, check your junk folder. You must use the verification link in the email to gain access to the grant management system.

If you have any questions on the Voices for Healthy Kids Grant Opportunities, please contact Shannon Melluzzo, Manager, Advocacy Grants. 

Policy Change Grants (Policy Campaign, Preemption, Rapid Response and Targeted Campaigns):

Applications must be specific to an individual campaign for public policy change in a tribe, state or local geographic area supporting one Voices for Healthy Kids policy priorities.

Organization Eligibility

• To be eligible as a Lead, Co-Lead or Subgrant applicant organization, an organization must have tax-exempt status under the Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3) as a public charity or under section 501(c)(4); have a fiscal sponsor that is a section 501(c)(3) public charity or a section 501(c)(4) organization; or be a federally recognized Indian tribe or a subdivision of a tribe.

• We are unable to fund private foundations, non-functionally integrated Type III supporting organizations, or government agencies (including public schools, state universities, etc.).

• Grant requirements include the ability to conduct lobbying activities as defined by the Internal Revenue Code. Section 501(c)(3) public charities are able to lobby; however, if your organization is restricted or prohibited from conducting lobbying activities by your leadership/board of directors, you are not eligible for this grant.

• Consult your legal counsel for guidance on lobbying. In general, lobbying includes: communicating directly with legislators on specific legislation concerning your views on such legislation, or, communicating to the public on specific legislation concerning your views on legislation and asking them to take action.

• Voices for Healthy Kids values authentic community engagement and power-building strategies in all aspects of supported campaigns. Successful grant applications will be able to identify their organization's community-led and centered work.

Voices for Healthy Kids is currently funding the following organizations who are working to improve the health of children, families and communities through equitable policy change, with a specific focus on those experiencing systemic racism and historic oppression.

​Early Childhood Care and Education

• Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida, Inc. - Florida

Healthy, Accessible Food and Drinks

• Tennessee Justice Center - Tennessee

• West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition - West Virginia

Improve SNAP Administration

• American Academy of Pediatrics Georgia Chapter - Georgia

• Feeding Indiana's Hungry - Indiana

• Feeding Louisiana - Louisiana

• Feeding Texas - Texas

• Feeding the Gulf Coast - Mississippi

• Full Plates Potential - Maine

• Massachusetts Law Reform Institute - Massachusetts

• Mothering Justice - Michigan

• Voices for Children in Nebraska - Nebraska

• Womens Rights and Empowerment Network - South Carolina

Preemption

• Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families - Arkansas

• ChangeLab Solutions - California

• Community Justice Project, Inc. and Florida for All - Florida

• Every Texan - Texas

• Ohio Mayors Alliance Foundation - Ohio

Paid Family and Medical Leave

• Center for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment - South Dakota

• Kentucky Youth Advocates - Kentucky

• MS Black Women’s Roundtable - Mississippi

• Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness Foundation, Inc. - Oklahoma

• ThinkTennessee - Tennessee

• Utah Children - Utah

• Wyoming Women's Foundation – Wyoming

Innovative Policy Issues

• GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students and Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF) – Georgia

• Youth Development Institute and Hispanic Federation Puerto Rico – Puerto Rico

SNAP Funding Strategies

• Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families - Arkansas

• FEEDING Florida - Florida

Voices for Healthy Kids does not typically fund multiple campaigns focused on the same issue within the same geographic area. We value collaboration and coordination. If there is an organization listed above that is funded in the issue area and location that interests you, please contact us to be connected to the campaign.