The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts has opened applications for its annual Activation Fund grants program, offering up to $125,000 to local organizations working to meet community health needs.
Now in its 26th year, The Health Foundation’s Activation Fund grants help fund advance capacity and efficacy goals to support sustained viability. Having already awarded a total of $13 million in lifetime funding, the organization typically offers grants ranging between $50,000 and $125,000, according to a Monday press release from the foundation.
The one-time grants are typically limited to a 12-month duration for projects expected to have impacts beyond that timeframe, according to The Health Foundation’s website.
Additionally, applications will be evaluated on benchmarks, including evidence of need/alignment with community priorities, organizational capacity, goal clarity, and project impacts on marginalized groups.
“Over the years, we have seen how strategic one-time investments can transform the capacity of organizations and achieve sustained health impacts,” Amie Shei, president and CEO of The Health Foundation, said in the release. “The Activation Fund allows us to support innovations and improvements beyond organizations’ regular activities to activate greater change and improve health in Central Massachusetts.”
Applications for the foundation’s 2026 Activation Fund grants are due by 5 p.m. on March 1.
In 2025, The Health Foundation’s Activation Fund grants totaled $990,000. Ten organizations received funding, including $125,000 to AIDS Project Worcester, $105,000 to Worcester State Foundation, and $75,000 to Girls Inc. of Worcester.
With $88.25 million in assets as of Dec. 31, 2024, the Worcester-based Health Foundation is the seventh-largest grantmaking foundation in Central Massachusetts when ranked by data collected by WBJ’s research department.
In fiscal 2023, The Health Foundation generated $4.96 million in revenue, according to nonprofit financial tracker GuideStar.
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare, manufacturing, and higher education industries.
