2023 Lead Poisoning Prevention Mini-Grants: Increasing Rural Community Capacity for Lead Poisoning Prevention
Eligibility Requirements and FAQs

THIS FUNDING OPPORTUNITY IS NOW CLOSED. 

To help communities build capacity and advance evidence-based efforts to prevent childhood lead poisoning, including through exposure to lead in paint, dust, soil, water, and consumer products, the National Center for Healthy Housing invites communities to apply for a bundled award of coaching and support over six months that includes on-call access to technical assistance from a network of national experts, opportunities to engage in peer learning, and a $50,000 grant.

Recognizing the significant, inequitable, and costly impact of childhood lead poisoning, many communities are taking action to address the issue through the removal of lead hazards from homes, especially before children are exposed, and through policy and systems change. Others want to take their first steps but may be unsure of how and where to start. The health and economic burden of lead exposure is considerable, especially for disproportionately impacted low-income communities and communities of color, and where there are persistent racial and economic disparities. Reducing childhood lead exposure means improving children’s health, reducing health disparities, and reducing strain on healthcare, educational, criminal justice, and other systems.

Eligibility for this grant opportunity is limited to organizations located in or serving communities in rural areas within states, U.S. territories, and freely associated states, as well as tribes or tribal areas. Applicants will be asked to self-define as serving one or more of these communities.

The purpose of the proposed work is to identify, spread, and grow successful policies and systems; support new communities to take action; and encourage communities to move up the ladder of engagement, taking actions that achieve cross-sector partnerships and put sustainable, systems-level policies and programs in place. Communities that are primed for change may use this support to mobilize more effectively to improve indoor environments or expand and sustain existing efforts.

Eligibility Requirements

Who is eligible?

• Local, regional, U.S. territorial, or state nonprofit and community-based organizations.
• Local, county, tribal, state, U.S. territorial, or freely associated state government agencies.

Organizations must be based in the United States. For-profit organizations are not eligible to apply.

Applicants will be asked to self-identify their proposal as being in the development or implementation phase, but this will not impact scoring or final selection.

Development phase: Communities should identify their proposal as being in the development phase if they need assistance in identifying or prioritizing promising strategies, convening stakeholders to spark collaboration and dialogue, and/or they are in the early stages of the proposed work (e.g., corresponding to a low to moderate level on the ladder of engagement described below).

Implementation phase: Communities should identify their proposal as being in the implementation phase if they have defined priorities (e.g., policy or practice) and objectives and/or they have some infrastructure in place to build on to achieve the proposed work (e.g., corresponding to a moderate or higher level on the ladder of engagement described below).

How many communities will be selected?
We anticipate that up to five communities will be selected. This competitive solicitation is being led by the National Center for Healthy Housing, but funding is made possible through a cooperative agreement with the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

What is the project period, and what are some of the key dates?
For the project timeline, see Table 1 below.

Table 1: Project Timeline

Date	Action
December 8, 2023	Applications are due no later than 11:59 p.m. ET.
Early January 2024	Applicants will be notified of their status, with up to five grantees being notified of their award.
January/February 2024	New grantees are assigned to core coaching team and complete intake coaching calls.
February 2024	Kickoff webinar for grantees.
February – July 2024	Monthly coaching calls with core team and other coaching activities as needed.
July 2024	Final reports are due to NCHH.
August 2024	Virtual grantee final convening.

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What are the benefits of being selected?
The selected communities will receive support to advance their local lead poisoning prevention efforts. These benefits include but may not be limited to the following:

• Coaching and support: Six months of technical assistance from the National Center for Healthy Housing and other national experts who will be invited based on the needs of the selected communities.
• Peer learning: Opportunities to interact with and learn from other communities tackling similar issues with shared goals to reduce childhood lead poisoning.
• Grant award: A $50,000 grant award to support project activities.

What is the coaching and support, and are there related grantee expectations?
Coaching and support will be provided to grantees remotely over the duration of the project period (February–July 2024) to enable grantee access to on-demand and structured feedback, mentoring, and advice from national experts. Grantees will also have the opportunity to learn from peer communities, and to share their own successes and challenges. Grantee expectations and learning opportunities may include but are not limited to participation in the following activities:

• A project kickoff webinar;
• Monthly coaching calls with applicable national partners;
• Access to additional funding to support training or professional development opportunities, such as attendance at a relevant national conference;
• Submission of final project reporting documentation; and
• Optional participation in other activities as needed (e.g., additional topic-specific, capacity building webinars [e.g., legal levers, financing, training/workforce, data integration, data to drive/evaluate success, health equity, or cross-sector partnerships] or coaching calls with peer mentors).

The coaching and support will be customized to community needs, interests, and capacity. For example, coaches can help communities identify or enhance the types of strategies they are interested in pursuing (e.g., improved housing codes and/or local policies, data sharing initiatives, advocacy efforts, partnership with the healthcare, energy, and other sectors, developing new or innovative financing, workforce development), and then NCHH will work with communities to assess opportunities and develop paths to action. (Note: An example of outcomes from a previous grantee cohort in one of NCHH’s longer responsive, technical support initiatives can be seen here.) Coaches from ASTHO will also be able to support grantees with any coordination/outreach to the state environmental health contacts in their jurisdictions.

Can a community submit more than one application?
A community may submit more than one application; however, only one application will be selected. Each application will be reviewed and evaluated independently.

What types of activities can be supported?

Funding should be used to build capacity within a community and help communities achieve policy, practice, or systems change to reduce childhood lead exposure. Policy, program, and systems change is going to look different in every community based on the specific community’s needs, assets, and challenges. Generally speaking, we are talking about actions that support innovation, collaboration, and transformation to set the stage for sustainable, long-term impact.

For this funding opportunity, activities should focus on strengthening community capacity to implement targeted, population-based interventions (e.g., primary prevention, identification, and removal of lead hazards). NCHH coaches will reference a “ladder of engagement” framework to support grantees in building capacity to transform initial interest and sporadic action into sustained engagement and increased impact. The examples in the table below illustrate this concept. Given the relatively short project period (six months), communities may not achieve systems change during the project period, but should still articulate a plan and commitment to laying the groundwork for systems change and/or putting new policies, services or programs in place. Coaches will assess each community’s baseline level of engagement and track activities and movement up the ladder of engagement.

Table 2: Ladder of Engagement Framework for Proposed Work

Level and Description	Example Activity**
Low: Learning level, one-time, or limited-impact actions.	Problem definition (e.g., identification of sources and settings representing the greatest risk such as housing, lead-based paint, dust, water, fishing weights, consumer products [spices and toys], contaminated soil, and shooting ranges); asset identification (e.g., identifying the potential key decision-makers and policy and financing levers); convening of local tax assessor and department of public health to begin dialogue on systems to collect housing quality data; convening of healthcare payers, public health, and housing partners; scholarship to visit peer learning community or attend a conference.
Moderate: Commitment to ongoing action, identification of next steps.	Formation of a lead coalition representing multiple sectors, sources, tribal and community leaders, and settings to develop a shared agenda based on shared values and beliefs and take steps toward implementing that agenda; meetings/convenings with key decision-makers to change mindsets around lead poisoning prevention; citizen science efforts to engage community members; develop partnership agreements to share health and housing data between healthcare systems and housing providers.
High: Ongoing interventions and services and adoption of best practices, such as cross-sector partnerships.	Mature coalition pursues implementation of agreed-upon strategic priorities; multidisciplinary team achieves programmatic or practice changes, such as integrated programming with housing and health services or ministries of health; workforce training or capacity building program initiated.
Exceptional: Sustained systems change.	Adoption of over 80% of the National Healthy Housing Standard (NHHS); adoption of proactive code enforcement for lead; passage of a bond to pay for replacement of lead service lines; adoption of policies to enforce renovation, repair, and painting rules; adoption of requirements to protect tenants from eviction or displacement as a result of childhood lead poisoning; creation of a home repair tax credit with health criteria; creation of policies to reduce the risk of lead exposure in consumer products, such as spices, dishware, and toys.

** NOTE: The examples in Table 2 are a small sample of potential outcomes that illustrate each of these levels. They are not intended to present a fully comprehensive list of potential activities or represent the pinnacle of sustained systems change. Reviewers are not looking for applications containing only these specific outcomes.

Priority will be given to applicants who articulate plans to advance policy and system changes. Implementation phase applicants will likely be in the moderate or higher levels of the above ladder of engagement, whereas developing phase applicants will likely be at the low to moderate levels; NCHH anticipates funding applicants in both phases.

Communities may apply to use funding for an initiative that is already underway if they can demonstrate how the additional funding will substantially enhance the impact or reach of the work.

Funding may NOT be used to support attempts to influence legislation through direct or grassroots lobbying. For example, funds cannot be used for signage that endorses pending legislation or an elected official.   

Also, funding is not intended to support standalone awareness or outreach and education activities or the direct costs of lead hazard control, remediation, or abatement. However, instances of these activities that are linked to policy, practice, or systems change, with a justification of how the activities further project goals, may be included as part of a proposal. 

Note that the awards will be granted in two installments: an initial $40,000 upon contract execution and $10,000 upon receipt of final reporting requirements (anticipated July/August 2024) after six months of technical assistance

What outcomes will the successful applicant be expected to demonstrate?

Given the relatively short project period (six months), communities will be expected to articulate at least one long-term goal and measure progress towards that goal (or those goals) through multiple short-term outcomes, even if the end goal is not expected to be reached during the project period. A limited number of examples of both long-term goals and accompanying short-term outcomes that might be realized during the project period are included below. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list, and reviewers are not looking for applications containing only these specific goals/outcomes.

Table 3: Examples of Long-Term Goals and Short-Term Outcomes

Potential Long-Term Goals	Potential Short-Term Outcomes
Long-term goal: Stronger partnerships or partnerships with new groups or sectors (e.g., as measured by new agreements, collaborative initiatives).	Short-term outcomes: Signing an MOU with partners, organizing a joint press event, holding the first meeting of a new coalition.
Long-term goal: New, higher-quality or more accessible data that can help target remediation, increase community engagement, or drive policy and systems change.	Short-term outcomes: Inventorying available data, creating a data-sharing agreement between partners.
Long-term goal: Increased involvement or leadership by affected residents.	Short-term outcomes: Forming new partnerships with local CBOs and other groups with strong ties in the community (e.g. faith-based organizations), holding focus groups or surveying/interviewing residents.
Long-term goal: Increase in policymaker, practitioner, and/or advocates who have evidence-based information for decision-making or mindset shifts among these groups.	Short-term outcomes: Creating talking points about the impact of lead poisoning on the community, meeting with policymakers about policy options, conducting a cost-benefit analysis of proposed policies.
Long-term goal: New or additional funding or financing with a particular focus on under-resourced communities.	Short-term outcome: Applying for a new funding source.
Long-term goal: Increased capacity to seek further funding and/or expand services (e.g., through preparation to apply for a HUD lead hazard control grant).	Short-term outcomes: Identifying partners to collaborate on future funding applications, drafting a concept paper to outline the vision for expanded services.
Long-term goal: Removed barriers to eligibility for services and streamlining of access to funding across programs.	Short-term outcomes: Inventorying current services available in the community and each program’s eligibility requirements, creating agreements for streamlined eligibility or referrals between partners.
Long-term goal: Increased workforce capacity to carry out remediation work.	Short-term outcomes: Interviewing program staff/workforce to identify barriers and gaps, identifying sources of training, creating a plan to provide training.
Long-term goal: New or improved policies, services, or programs with a particular focus on under-resourced communities.	Short-term outcomes: Evaluating current programs or services, identifying new funding sources, analyzing local housing codes or other policies.
Long-term goal: Increase in equitable access to services or programs.	Short-term outcomes: Evaluating existing program data (understanding who is currently accessing services, and who isn’t), working with community members to understand barriers to services.

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During the project period, communities will be developing implementation plans and taking initial actions to progress toward having these long-term goals in place.

How will communities be selected?
This is a competitive grant award. Applicants will be evaluated based on need, clarity of plan, readiness, potential impact, community partnerships, commitment to equity and justice, and potential for sustained change. Applications must demonstrate and will be scored on the following:

• Demonstrated need as evidenced by available data, including lived experience and qualitative data (up to 5 points).
• Clear outcomes for the work and a thoughtful plan for achieving them (up to 5 points).
• Potential for policy and systems change (up to 5 points).
• A demonstrated commitment to advancing equity and justice (up to 5 points).
• A strong, effective plan for meaningfully involving multisector stakeholders, including community members and community-based organizations, private sector interests, policymakers, and other relevant agencies and groups (up to 5 points).

We will seek to produce a geographically balanced cohort. Proposals will be reviewed primarily using the criteria listed above.

Applications will likely be reviewed by a selection committee comprised of staff from the National Center for Healthy Housing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, and a former NCHH mini-grant and/or technical assistance recipient using the criteria articulated above.

What information do I need to apply?
NCHH accepts grant applications ONLY through online submission; it does NOT accept the application in PDF format. Applicants can preview all application questions here (PDF copy of full application).

NCHH recommends preparation of the application responses in advance of online entry, as the online application must be completed and submitted entirely in one session. We recommend saving the PDF copy of the full application (available here) to work offline with your team to pre-determine answer selections and/or draft responses for questions as appropriate. Developing full-text responses in a Word document for the open response sections of the application will allow you to draft, edit, and save your responses as needed, as well as check character counts, before copying/pasting your final responses into the application on the SurveyMonkey platform. NCHH also recommends printing a copy of the completed application before submitting it.

If you anticipate that you will NOT be able to submit your application via SurveyMonkey, please contact sgoodwin@nchh.org no later than December 6, 2023, and we will provide you with a way to send us an application as a Word document.

When are applications due?
Applications may be submitted on a rolling basis but are due no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday, December 8, 2023.

When will the grants be announced?
We anticipate that the successful applicants will be notified in early January.

Where can I get more information?
Contact Sarah Goodwin (sgoodwin@nchh.org) or Ashely Williams (awilliams@nchh.org) for more information. Answers to other submitted questions will also be posted on that webpage. All questions must be received by Friday November 24, 2023.

Complete the funding opportunity interest form to be notified of new developments (e.g., newly posted FAQs) for this grant opportunity.

Frequently Asked Questions 

When will the grant award be announced?
The award announcement is scheduled for early January 2024.

Do I need to submit a letter of intent?
No. If you are interested in applying for this grant opportunity, you can fill out this form to let us know. This will help ensure that you are updated on any news about the opportunity and any changes to the FAQs. This is an optional step and is not required to apply for the grant.

Can I just send you my application as a PDF?
No, the grant submission is online only. We cannot accept your application in PDF format. You can fill out the application here: https://bit.ly/LPPRCsm23. There’s a button at the bottom of that SurveyMonkey page to begin your application.

If you anticipate that you will NOT be able to submit your application on SurveyMonkey, please contact sgoodwin@nchh.org no later than December 6, 2023, and we will provide you with a way to send us an application as a Word document.

I’m having trouble filling in the survey boxes. What should I do?
For issues with SurveyMonkey, review the help page for taking surveys. Most issues seem to be related to a network or firewall that may block some SurveyMonkey domains. You can add SurveyMonkey domains and subdomains to your whitelist so that they aren’t blocked.

How long should the responses to the applications questions be?
Each question has a character limit indicated in the grant application. You’re free to write as much or as little as you need, up to the character limit. For help visualizing roughly how long those character limits are in words/paragraphs, you can see this sample text.

Question 20 asks to describe how we would use the $50,000. We have reviewed the types of activities the funding can support. In our response, are you asking us to summarize the cost of the proposed activities and not to submit a detailed line-item budget?
Yes. Please summarize the cost of the activity(ies) and how you will use the grant. Reference budget categories such as labor, indirect costs, and other direct costs for materials, space rental, trainings/trainers, software, or other items as appropriate to your proposed activities. The budget does not need to be itemized but should be detailed enough to demonstrate that the costs are reasonable and justified.

Can any of the grant funds be used toward staff salaries for an event or activity?
Yes, funding can be allocated for staff salaries to support eligible grant activities.

What are the terms and conditions for the grant award?
The selected recipients of this grant opportunity will receive a subrecipient agreement from NCHH. You can review NCHH’s standard terms and conditions here. The final agreement for recipients may include additional provisions

How will the applications be reviewed and scored? Will the reviewers read and score the entire application, or will the reviewers only score certain questions and not look at other questions? Furthermore, should we refer to information in an answer to another question or repeat information when needed for each question?
Applications will be reviewed and scored in their entirety. This means that each individual reviewer will read and score the full submission of every application that they evaluate. Further, each application will be reviewed by multiple individuals. Feel free to refer to another question in one of your answers if you wish to avoid redundancy.

Is there an advantage to identifying our proposal in one specific “phase” over the other? How does an applicant know which of the two application “phases” they should identify?
There is no advantage to self-identifying in one phase over the other. This opportunity was designed to (1) encourage applicants from all levels of engagement in their community’s lead poisoning prevention work and (2) provide a level basis by which to evaluate what may be widely different levels of existing and/or potential capacity. NCHH anticipates funding successful applicants from both phases.

Applicants should consider applying in the “development phase” if they need assistance in identifying or prioritizing promising strategies and/or they are in the early stages of the proposed work (e.g., corresponding to a “low” to “moderate” level on the ladder of engagement). Alternately, applicants who have defined priorities and objectives and/or they have some infrastructure in place to build on to achieve the proposed work (e.g., corresponding to a “moderate” or higher level on the ladder of engagement) would likely consider applying in the “implementation phase.”

Are applicants expected to commit to progress through the entire “Ladder of Engagement Framework” during the grant period?
No, applicants are not expected to demonstrate progress to the “exceptional” level of sustained systems change during the grant period, but they are expected to demonstrate that funding will be used to build capacity within a community and help communities move up the ladder of engagement in their lead poisoning prevention work with a strong emphasis on policy/systems change. Communities may not achieve policy/systems change during the project period, but no matter where they are starting on the ladder of engagement, they will be articulating a plan and commitment to laying the groundwork for systems change and/or putting new policies, services, or programs in place.

REVISED (November 20) How are the grantees expected to demonstrate progress or success in the status updates? 
Grantees are expected to demonstrate progress or success through two reports. Grantees will receive a reporting template and work with their coaching teams to complete reports at the beginning and end of the project period. This template is designed to help grantees demonstrate progress over the course of the award period and show how funding was used to build capacity within their community with a strong emphasis on policy/systems change. Communities that are earlier on in the process are not required to achieve full implementation or may not achieve full systems change during the project period but should still demonstrate a plan and commitment to laying the groundwork for future work. Reports typically have three parts:

• Part 1: Reporting on one or more metric related to one or more goal areas defined by the grantee. In this section, grantees will define their own goals and metrics, including a baseline and target for each as part of the first report. For an idea of the types of long-term goals and short-term outcomes that grantees could outline in the application and report on during the grant, see Table 3 above. In the second and final report, grantees will simply update a column with their progress toward that goal.
• Part 2: Self-rating of grantee capacity (these are checkboxes similar to question 12 on the application). Grantees will do this as part of both reports.
• Part 3: A brief narrative section. For the initial application, grantees may elect to take language from their grant application to describe their planned work. For the final report, grantees are asked to report on progress noting any successes, barriers encountered, and solutions deployed. This can be as short as a couple of paragraphs or longer as determined by the grantee.

Past grantees have shared that the reporting is generally not burdensome, and NCHH staff is available to work with awarded communities in developing goals/metrics and with questions about reporting.

What do you mean by “policy/systems change”?
Policy, program, and systems change is going to look different in every community based on each community’s specific needs, assets, and challenges. We are generally describing actions that support innovation, collaboration, and transformation to set the stage for sustainable, long-term impact at the community, state, and/or federal level(s).

Examples of strategies communities often explore to achieve this level of change include but are not limited to the following examples of improved or increased:

• Housing codes and/or local policies
• Data-sharing initiatives
• Advocacy efforts
• Cross-sector partnership (healthcare, energy, and other sectors)
• Alternative financing mechanisms
• Training and workforce development
• Programs and services
• Funding to find and fix exposures
• Local power building/investing in local stakeholders
• Community awareness and involvement
• Reduction in barriers to accessing funding and services

Examples of specific activities we might work on together to advance community strategy(ies) include but are not limited to the following:

• Inventorying available data
• Analyzing housing codes
• Holding a convening
• Building connections with relevant stakeholders
• Developing a business case
• Evaluating a program or service
• Organizing a press event
• Visiting peer communities
• Assessing local needs and opportunities
• Interviewing/surveying relevant stakeholders
• Investigating local policies
• Providing local mini-grants
• Drafting a concept paper to outline the vision
• Meeting with local decision-makers
• Creating an action-oriented awareness campaign
• Analyzing and streamlining eligibility requirements
• Creating new access points to services
• Conducting a cost/benefit analysis
• Applying for a new funding source

Can we submit letters of support from other partners? 
We do not encourage applicants to include letters of support; however, you may indicate that they’re available upon request in your application if you would like the review committee to know that they exist. 

The RFP does not outline what the population parameters are or what is considered a “rural” community. Can you clarify?
This grant opportunity is limited to rural and/or tribal communities, including those in U.S. territories. Applicants may self-define as a rural community and provide information about their community size, makeup, and the potential impact of the work in questions 3, 5, and 8. The intention of this opportunity is focused on groups who show involvement in policy and systems change and are grounded in the communities they serve.

Are national organizations eligible for this grant opportunity?
The purpose of this RFP is to support community level work. National organizations are not specifically ineligible, but all applications should demonstrate how the proposed work will support impact at the community level.

Are state-level organizations and governmental entities eligible for this grant opportunity?
Yes, state-level nonprofit organizations and governmental entities are eligible for this grant opportunity. Note that all applications should demonstrate how the proposed work will support impact at the community level and in local communities that fit the criteria for the grant opportunity (rural communities, tribes and tribal areas).

Our organization is not eligible for this specific opportunity, but we are very interested in this type of support. Are you aware of any other opportunities that we should know about?
At this time, NCHH does not have any other open grant opportunities related related specifically to lead poisoning prevention; however, many of our partners periodically offer grant and/or technical assistance awards that could be of interest to you.

We strongly suggest that you visit the websites of some of our key partners, such as the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, the Green & Healthy Homes Initiative, and the National Association of County Health Officials to learn more about possible initiatives. We also suggest that you visit https://nchh.org/build-the-movement/listservs/ to join two listservs (Leadnet and Healthyhomesnet) sponsored by NCHH that sometimes have postings related to potential funding and support opportunities offered by both NCHH and many of our partners.

Must we have 501(c)(3) status to apply for a mini-grant?
No. Government, education, public housing, nonprofit, and tribal organizations may apply as long as they are based in the United States. If it’s not possible to have a fiscal agent with 501(c)(3) status (e.g., an organization with 501[c][3] status that can pass through the funds to the organization without 501[c][3] status), other organizations that aren’t for-profit are also welcome to apply but will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. We will not grant funds to individuals or for-profit organizations.

Is the $50,000 grant structured as an award or will disbursement involve a cost reimbursement process?
The $50,000 grant will be structured as an award and will not involve a cost reimbursement process. As currently proposed, the awards will be granted in two installments: an initial $40,000 upon contract execution and $10,000 upon receipt of final reporting requirements (expected July/August 2024) after six months of technical assistance.

While a detailed line-item budget is not necessary per Question 20, we are asked to present a general description/estimate of how the $50,000 grant funding will be used. Will it be possible to submit budget amendments or modification requests for approval during the project period as the work progresses?
Yes. Although we expect that applicants will submit a budget that reflects as accurately as possible the support needed to advance the activities presented in their application, we also recognize that situations may arise where a reasonable modification to the proposed budget may be necessary at some time during the project period. Discussions of such modifications with awarded grantees will be held on a case-by-case basis as applicable.

Could these grant funds be used to cover the cost of testing for lead hazards or the cost of lead hazard control, remediation, or abatement?
While these are not specifically prohibited activities, as outlined in the application, priority will be given to applicants who articulate plans to advance policy and system change; justification should be included on how proposed activities meet those ends (such as if conducting remediation on a home will serve as a demonstration to obtain or prepare for a larger funding opportunity or sustained program.)

NEW (November 20) What is the grant term?
The grant period is six months (February-July 2024). Given the short timeframe, applications describing activities that will take longer than six months will also be considered, but applicants should be prepared to demonstrate progress within the six-month timeframe. Also, when budgeting for the work, note that applicants do not need to provide proof that the budget has been expended by the end of the grant period.

NEW (November 20) Will this be offered more than once? We’re wondering whether it’s a recurring grant and about sustainability.
Future opportunities will be contingent upon available funding, but we are not currently planning to offer this opportunity again. Additionally, this funding can be used to either initiate new activities or support ongoing or existing activities but is not intended to be a long-term funding source. To be notified of other funding announcements from NCHH in the future, sign up for our general funding announcement listserv.

NEW (November 20) We’re considering becoming a licensed activity firm and having one of our nurses get certified as an Elevated Blood Lead Investigator. Would this grant pay for any activities like this?
Yes, training/licensing costs would be eligible grant activities.

NEW (November 20) Would providing food at meetings or public events related to the grant activities be an eligible expense?
Food is an eligible grant expense when used to feed employees, partners, or the public at public events related to the approved grant.

NEW (November 20) What are the allowable and unallowable expenses?
Funding may NOT be used to support attempts to influence legislation through direct or grassroots lobbying. For example, funds cannot be used for signage that endorses pending legislation or an elected official.

Also, funding is not intended to support standalone awareness or outreach and education activities or the direct costs of lead hazard control, remediation, or abatement. However, instances of these activities that are linked to policy, practice, or systems change, with a justification of how the activities further project goals, may be included as part of a proposal.

NEW (November 20) Would an eligible grantee be eligible for the mini-grants to identify the issue of lead in the soil around homes (outdoors)?
Yes, grant activities focused on lead in soil would be eligible.

NEW (November 20) Would a government-supported Master Gardeners organization be an eligible grantee?
NCHH won’t comment on eligibility of specific organizations, but the following types of organizations are eligible:

• Local, regional, U.S. territorial, or state nonprofit and community-based organizations with and without a 501(c)3 status.
• Local, county, tribal, state, U.S. territorial, or freely associated state government agencies.

Organizations falling into one of the above categories that are located in or serving a community in a rural area or tribe, tribal area, or tribal community and whose proposed work will fall within the supported activities under this grant opportunity are encouraged to apply. .

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Latest page update: December 10, 2023.