Elevance Health Foundation – Behavioral Health Grant Program (2027)

Funding for Mental Health, Substance Use Disorder Treatment, Prevention, and Social Connection

The Elevance Health Foundation Behavioral Health Grant Program supports nonprofit organizations working to improve behavioral health outcomes, particularly for under-resourced communities. The Foundation is seeking programs that expand access to mental health and substance use disorder treatment, strengthen prevention and early intervention, and reduce loneliness and social isolation among people experiencing behavioral health challenges.

The next application cycle opens January 1, 2027, with proposals due January 31, 2027. Grant amounts are open, and awards may support programs for one to three years.

Organization: Elevance Health Foundation
Support Type: Behavioral health grants
Geographic Focus: National programs across the United States and local programs in priority states
Funding Amount: Open / varies by proposal
Grant Term: 1–3 years
Application Opens: January 1, 2027
Deadline: January 31, 2027

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About the Funder

Elevance Health Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Elevance Health. The Foundation invests in community-based organizations and initiatives addressing physical, behavioral, and social needs, with an emphasis on improving health outcomes for socially vulnerable and under-resourced populations.

Behavioral Health is one of the Foundation’s four primary grantmaking focus areas, alongside Maternal/Infant Health, Food as Medicine, and Community Resiliency & Disaster Relief.

The Foundation plans to continue its focus on substance use disorder while expanding its support for mental health initiatives.

What This Program Supports

Elevance Health Foundation is seeking programs and initiatives that address one or more of three primary behavioral health goals.

Expand Access to Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Treatment

Programs may work to increase the number of individuals receiving treatment services for:

• Mental health conditions
• Substance use disorders
• Both mental health and substance use disorders

Applicants should be prepared to demonstrate measurable increases in the number of people receiving appropriate treatment.

Prevention & Early Intervention

The Foundation is interested in strategies that identify behavioral health needs earlier and reduce the risks and harms associated with mental health conditions and substance use disorders.

This may include programs that expand:

• Mental health screenings
• Substance use disorder screenings
• Referral pathways
• Connections from screening to treatment
• Early intervention strategies

Programs should establish measurable outcomes demonstrating whether participants who screen positive are successfully connected with appropriate services.

Reduce Loneliness & Social Isolation

Programs may also address loneliness and social isolation among individuals experiencing mental health and/or substance use disorders.

The Foundation is particularly interested in measurable approaches that strengthen social connection and reduce feelings of isolation among the populations served.

Geographic Focus

Elevance Health Foundation will consider proposals from qualified organizations across the United States, with an emphasis on two types of programs:

National Programs

National initiatives should promote scalable and sustainable systemic change.

Local Programs

Local programs should implement relevant behavioral health interventions in the Foundation’s priority states:

• California
• Florida
• Georgia
• Indiana
• Missouri
• Nevada
• New York
• Ohio
• Texas
• Virginia

Organizations outside these priority states may still be relevant when proposing a national program, but local initiatives are specifically emphasized within the states listed above.

Priority Considerations

Elevance Health Foundation will give priority consideration to proposals that:

• Support whole-person health
• Address the health-related social needs of the people being served
• Include interventions that are culturally relevant to the target population
• Build trust through programming designed around the unique needs of participants
• Offer innovative and scalable solutions
• Generate measurable outcomes

Applicants should consider how their behavioral health strategy intersects with social factors affecting participants’ ability to access care and achieve sustainable health outcomes.

Eligibility

Applicants must provide proof of status as a registered 501(c)(3) charitable organization under one of the eligible Internal Revenue Code classifications identified by the Foundation.

Eligible organizations include qualifying public charities under:

• 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) – Organizations receiving substantial support from governmental units or the general public
• 509(a)(2) – Organizations meeting applicable public-support requirements through contributions, fees, and receipts related to their exempt purposes
• 509(a)(3) – Eligible supporting organizations classified as Type I, Type II, or Type III functionally integrated

Applicants must also be able to:

• Clearly define program measures and accountability standards
• Establish key milestones
• Track long-term program outcomes
• Demonstrate program effectiveness
• Measure sustainable change

Funding Amounts

💰 Grant Range: Open

Elevance Health Foundation does not establish a standard minimum or maximum grant request for this opportunity.

Funding levels are determined based on factors including the demonstrated need and the applicant’s proposed approach.

Grant requests should primarily cover costs directly related to implementing the proposed program. Funding may also include costs associated with:

• Measurement
• Evaluation
• Reporting

Grant Term

📅 Grant Period: 1–3 years

Awards may be structured in 12-month increments, depending on program needs.

This makes the opportunity potentially well suited for organizations seeking support for initiatives that require multiple years to demonstrate measurable behavioral health outcomes.

Measurement & Reporting Requirements

Grantees will be required to submit semi-annual reports documenting progress toward the metrics established for the funded program.

Depending on the project’s goals, measurements may include:

• Increased numbers of individuals receiving mental health and/or substance use disorder treatment
• Increased rates of behavioral health screening
• Increased percentages of individuals who screen positive and attend at least one treatment appointment
• Reduced feelings of loneliness and social isolation among individuals experiencing mental health and/or substance use disorders

Organizations should have the capacity to collect, analyze, and report meaningful outcome data.

Timeline & Review

📅 Applications Open: January 1, 2027
📅 Application Deadline: January 31, 2027
📅 Grant Term: 1–3 years
📅 Review Period: Approximately 4–6 months

Elevance Health Foundation may contact applicants for additional information during the review process and will notify organizations once a funding decision has been made.

Application / Request Process

Organizations interested in applying should first review the Behavioral Health Request for Proposal and ensure that their proposed initiative aligns with at least one of the Foundation’s behavioral health goals.

Competitive applicants should clearly demonstrate:

• The behavioral health need being addressed
• The population that will be served
• How the proposed intervention will increase access, strengthen prevention, or reduce social isolation
• How health-related social needs are incorporated into the program
• Why the intervention is appropriate and culturally relevant for the population
• Specific measurable outcomes
• How progress and longer-term impact will be tracked
• The potential for sustainable or scalable impact

Applications will be available through the Elevance Health Foundation grantseeker website when the 2027 cycle opens.

Apply / Learn More

➡️ https://elevancehealth.foundation/for-grantseekers

Behavioral Health RFP:
➡️ https://elevancehealth.foundation/custom_assets/images/pdf/EHF-Behavioral-Health-RFP-10-25.pdf

Why This Opportunity Is a Good Fit

This opportunity is particularly well suited for nonprofits that:

• Provide mental health or substance use disorder services
• Help individuals connect with behavioral health treatment
• Conduct mental health or substance use disorder screenings
• Develop prevention and early-intervention programs
• Address loneliness and social isolation as part of behavioral health programming
• Serve socially vulnerable or under-resourced communities
• Integrate behavioral health with health-related social needs
• Have strong measurement and evaluation capabilities
• Can demonstrate measurable outcomes and long-term impact
• Operate nationally or deliver local programming in one of Elevance Health Foundation’s priority states

The open grant range and potential one- to three-year funding period make this an especially noteworthy opportunity for established behavioral health organizations that can demonstrate measurable impact and have the infrastructure to track outcomes over time.

Corporate Grants Guide Notes

Review Type: Competitive RFP
Funding Amount: Open / varies
Grant Term: 1–3 years
Applications Open: January 1, 2027
Deadline: January 31, 2027
Review Period: Approximately 4–6 months
Geographic Focus: National programs across the U.S.; local programs prioritized in CA, FL, GA, IN, MO, NV, NY, OH, TX, and VA
Best Suited For: Nonprofits providing measurable mental health, substance use disorder, prevention, screening, treatment-access, or social-connection programs