Gateway Grants
Through intentional partnerships and collaborations, Gateway Wellness Foundation invests in programs, initiatives, and organizations that promise to improve the health and well-being of residents in Burke, McDowell, Polk, and Rutherford Counties.
Our mission is to address the social determinants of health in western North Carolina. One way we do this is by providing funding to organizations whose work aligns with our mission.
Gateway’s 2026 Grant Cycle:
OPEN NOW
Deadline to apply: Monday, August 31 by midnight
We look forward to receiving your application. Scroll down for more information on how to apply.
Award notifications will be made by October 2026.
Questions? Contact Sarah Morse at [email protected].
2026 Gateway Grant Opportunities
This year, Gateway Wellness Foundation has three distinct grant opportunities for which you may apply:
Urgent Needs Grants
Bridging Health Grants
Healthy Communities Grants
Eligible applicants: 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations; government, quasi and non-governmental entities; faith-based organizations; and K-12 schools, colleges and universities. Eligible projects must serve Burke, McDowell, Polk and/or Rutherford Counties in western NC.
Grant Opportunities Snapshot: A Comparison Chart
Grant Opportunity Details
URGENT NEEDS GRANTS
We recognize that organizations will always have needs that are immediate, short-term, and/or limited in scope or scale. Our Urgent Needs Grant opportunity is designed to meet these needs by providing flexible funding for project- or program-based work.
Eligible projects will address one or more of the social determinants of health described on our What We Fund page, and we expect projects to be completed in one year (or less).
Most awards made in this category will be under $10,000.
This year, we ask that you situate your request within the Socio-Ecological Model of spheres of influence on human behavior. Urgent Needs projects will typically focus on impacting the individual and/or interpersonal spheres of influence:
- Individual: A person’s biological and personal history, such as age, income, knowledge, attitudes, skills, and behaviors.
- Interpersonal: Close relationships that shape identity, such as family, friends, partners, and peers.
Click here for more information on the Socio-Ecological Model.
Examples of Urgent Needs Grants include, but are not limited to, one-time capital or equipment requests, pilot projects, and programmatic support (e.g. food or clothing purchases, supplies, outreach and marketing materials, etc.).
BRIDGING HEALTH GRANTS
Healthy people and places depend on healthy organizations to provide their programs and services consistently and effectively. The Bridging Health Grant opportunity is intended to support organizations in sustaining their work from year to year and to provide resources for organizations to undertake organizational health improvements.
Applicant organizations should be mission-aligned with Gateway by working to improve one or more of the social determinants of health described on our What We Fund page. We expect grant activities to be completed in about a year.
Most awards made in this category will be under $20,000.
This year, we ask that you situate your request within the Socio-Ecological Model of spheres of influence on human behavior. Bridging Health work will generally focus on impacting the interpersonal and/or institutional spheres of influence:
- Interpersonal: Close relationships that shape identity, such as family, friends, partners, and peers.
- Institutional: The institutions people interact with daily, including workplaces, schools, and churches.
Click here for more information on the Socio-Ecological Model.
Examples of Bridging Health Grants include, but are not limited to, capacity-building efforts, strategic planning, board/staff/funding development initiatives, filling gaps in programming or other direct costs, staffing, general operating expenses, etc.
HEALTHY COMMUNITIES GRANTS
Gateway Wellness Foundation exists to improve the health and wellbeing of people and communities in Burke, McDowell, Polk, and Rutherford Counties in western North Carolina. One important way that health and wellbeing is measured in each of these counties is through their Community Health Assessments (CHA) – linked below. Every four years, the State of North Carolina requires all local health departments to conduct a community health assessment. This assessment is a process that allows the members of the community and various stakeholders to gain a better understanding of the health needs and concerns of the community.
In the latest round of CHAs published for Gateway’s service area, every county listed Mental Health and Substance Use in their top three county health priorities. We are using the term “Behavioral Health” to encompass these two issue areas. Therefore, the Healthy Communities Grant opportunity invites applicants to submit proposals focused on addressing opportunities and/or challenges in the behavioral health landscape across one or more of Gateway’s counties, including mental health and/or substance use prevention and treatment.
Proposed initiatives may occur over a two-year timeframe and should be aligned with the relevant Community Health Assessment(s).
The suggested request amount ranges from $20,000 – $40,000 per year. Awards of more than $50,000 per year (or $100,000 total) would be rare. The amount of funds awarded to successful applicants will be determined based on the scope, scale, and potential impact of the proposed project.
NOTE: Gateway commits to providing funding for awarded projects for two years, with the first monetary disbursement occurring in late 2026 and the second in 2027, contingent on receiving required grantee communications and reporting.
This year, we ask that you situate your request within the Socio-Ecological Model of spheres of influence on human behavior. Work in this category should aim to have an impact on the institutional, community, and/or policy spheres of influence:
- Institutional: The institutions people interact with daily, including workplaces, schools, and churches.
- Community: Broad social networks and physical environments, such as neighborhoods, local economies, and built infrastructure.
- Policy/Societal: Overarching factors like national laws, cultural beliefs, economic systems, and health policies.
Click here for more information on the Socio-Ecological Model.
Healthy Communities Grants should strive to affect structural or systemic change, with outcomes that promise to improve the health of a broader population. Collaboration and partnerships are strongly encouraged. While matching funds are not strictly required, initiatives that leverage other funding or resources will be reviewed favorably.
Click here for a PDF list of the application questions.
Community Health Assessments (CHA)
Application Process
We advise you read all the information on this page before beginning your application.
∗ Click the orange button or icon below to access the online application form.
∗ Applications and attachments must be submitted via the online form.
∗ The application form allows you to select which of the three grant opportunities you are applying for. You may select only one grant opportunity per form submission.
∗ The online application form must be completed in one sitting. It does not allow the user to save a partially completed application and return later to finish it.
∗ We recommend you prepare your application and attachments in advance and return to this page when you are ready to submit everything. You may copy/paste information from a separate document into the online form.
NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
REQUIRED ATTACHMENTS
Every application must include two attachments:
1. Project Budget. A downloadable copy of the Project Budget template is provided for your use: Project Budget template. NOTE: The file linked here is not editable directly. To use the template, first download and save your own local copy. You will then be able to edit and attach your local file.
2. Other Funders. There is not a template or required format for this attachment, but it should be no more than 2 pages long. Please follow the instructions on the application form to compile a list of recent contributors to your organization.
GRANT CYCLE TIMELINE
- Thursday, July 2: Application Window OPENS
- Monday, August 31: Application window CLOSES (at midnight)
- October: Gateway will send initial award notifications to all applicants via email
- December: All awards will be disbursed by the end of the year.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
To be eligible for funding, the organization must:
- Be one of the following: 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization; government, quasi or non-governmental entity; faith-based organization; or K-12 school, college or university; and
- Serve the residents of Burke, McDowell, Polk, and/or Rutherford Counties, North Carolina.
- Individuals
- Political purposes, including lobbying
- Out-of-area projects
- Grants prohibited by IRS regulations
Questions? Please contact Sarah Morse, Director of Programs & Grants: [email protected].