MGH Community Health Impact Funds Background:

In 2022, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) began construction on a state-of-the-art clinical building in Boston—the Phillip and Susan Ragon Building. This capital expenditure provided the largest ever Determination of Need (DoN) in Massachusetts history to date, resulting in a $62M dollar investment in the communities that Mass General Brigham serves. Learn more about the Community Health Impact Funds.

The MGH Community Advisory Board (CAB), guided by the community driven 2022-23 Community Health Needs Assessment and Community Health Implementation Plan, determined four priorities along with strategies to address them—housing, economic/financial stability and mobility, mental/behavioral health, and food/nutrition security. 

We are now excited to announce a $3M dollar funding opportunity for organizations working on economic stability and mobility.

Poverty and economic stability directly affect the social determinants of health (SDOH)--those social and economic factors that have an enormous impact on a person’s health and wellbeing. Strategies that improve access to employment and education are crucial for reducing poverty, improving overall health status, and enhancing the quality of life for individuals and communities. 

An allocation committee composed of community leaders with sector expertise was formed in March of 2026. The committee was tasked to review the results of the 2025 Community Health Needs Assessment, and determine if the strategies developed in 2023 were still relevant to current community conditions. The committee's conclusions were that while the previous strategies had strong foundations, revisions were needed to better respond to increasing economic instability, barriers to access, and gaps in job quality. The strategies should evolve toward a more integrated, sharper targeting, outcomes-driven approach that centers long-term mobility and equity.

Economic Stability and Mobility strategies approved for the 2026 funding opportunity include: 

A) Innovative Workforce Development 

Adopt innovative workforce development strategies that provide good jobs, have employer partnerships & demonstrate systems change. We are looking for proposals that address one or more of the following:

1. Create or expand apprenticeships, paid internships, and workplace learning aligned with high-demand, high-wage sectors or that include pathways that lead to higher wages.

2. Improve job quality (wages, benefits, advancement pathways)

3. Build public-private partnerships with clear employer commitments.

4. Pilot or scale systems-change approaches (policy, sector coordination, new funding models-employer co-investment).

Priority Focus Areas choices:

• Care economy (childcare, eldercare, healthcare support roles)
• Non- traditional: financial services, accounting, legal, other
• Small business support and technology/AI adaptation
• Credential recognition and workforce inclusion.

"Innovative" may include new, adapted, expanded, or scaled approaches.

B) Invest in Multilingual Workforce

Provide opportunities that advance long-term economic mobility through end-to-end career pathway models that move individuals, with or without foreign professional experience, into living-wage careers with clear advancement opportunities. We are looking for proposals that:

1. Provide integrated training models (English + technical skills); high touch career navigation and coaching such as:

   a) 6+ months of career coaching

   b) Personalized career and education plans

   c) Regular one-one coaching sessions (weekly or biweekly)

  d) Goal setting, progress monitoring, and accountability support, career exploration tied to labor market opportunities and participant interests.

2.  Align training with high-demand, high-wage sectors: (healthcare, skilled trades, tech, other)

3.  Offer industry-recognized credentials.

4. Demonstrate strong employer partnerships.

Priority Populations:

• Immigrants and multilingual workers
• Individuals without postsecondary credentials or with credentials not recognized in the U.S.A.
• Youth and early–career workers
• Workers in low-wage or unstable jobs
• Single-parent caregivers

Funding Description

This funding opportunity seeks to support community-driven approaches that strengthen pathways to economic mobility, improve the quality and accessibility of employment opportunities, and address systemic barriers that prevent individuals and families from achieving long-term economic stability.

Applicants may propose projects addressing one or both of the funding strategies described above. The allocation committee recognizes that organizations vary in size, capacity, expertise, and role within the broader economic mobility ecosystem. Accordingly, this opportunity includes two levels of funding: Transformational Grants for larger-scale efforts addressing one or integrating both strategies, and Supplementary Grants for focused investments advancing one strategy.

Grant Structure

Applicants may request funding through one of two grant categories

Transformational Grants — Up to $500,000

Applicants proposing a comprehensive initiative that meaningfully addresses one strategy or integrates both Economic Stability and Mobility strategies may request up to $500,000. Transformational Grants are intended for initiatives with the potential to create significant and sustained impact beyond a single program or service. Competitive proposals addressing both strategies should demonstrate how the two strategies reinforce one another and may include strong cross-sector partnerships, employer engagement, infrastructure development, systems or policy change, scalable models, or other approaches capable of producing longer-term community impact. Simply including separate activities related to both strategies will not, on its own, qualify a proposal for a Combined Transformational Grant level. Applicants should articulate a coherent approach demonstrating how the strategies work together to advance economic mobility.

Supplementary Grants — Up to $300,000

Applicants proposing to address one of the two strategies may request up to $300,000.

Supplementary Grants are intended to strengthen, expand, enhance, or introduce focused approaches that respond to an identified community or workforce need and contribute to the goals of the selected strategy.

Funding Parameters

A total of $3 million is available through this funding opportunity

For either grant category:

• The total amount requested may not exceed 50% of the applicant organization’s annual operating budget.
• Applicants may propose a grant period of one, two, or three years, depending on the scope and needs of the proposed work.
• Applicants should propose a funding amount and grant period that are reasonable and proportionate to the scope, population served, anticipated outcomes, and organizational capacity.
• Applicants requesting multi-year funding should describe anticipated activities, milestones, and use of funds across the proposed grant period.
• Indirect costs up to 20%.
• The maximum award represents the total grant amount across the full grant period, not an annual award.

Funding at a Glance

The number of grants awarded within each category is not predetermined. The final distribution of the $3 million funding pool will depend on the number, quality, funding levels, and overall mix of Transformational and Supplementary Grant proposals received.

The allocation committee and MGB reserve the right to award an amount that differs from the amount requested in order to maximize the impact and strategic distribution of available funding. This funding is intended to be flexible covering for operational costs, new or existing staff and with no in-kind required. The funding is for upstream projects, meaning improving/updating the operational infrastructure and policies that prevent underrepresented groups from working or investing in their communities. 

Who may apply 

Given this is Determination of Needs Funding triggered by the Massachusetts General Hospital, all investments need to serve the catchment area of the hospital, which is: All neighborhoods of Boston, the City of Chelsea, the City of Revere and the Town of Winthrop (Suffolk County).

Eligible applicants may include:

• Community-based nonprofit organizations of Suffolk County
• Massachusetts-based workforce development centers serving Suffolk County. 
• Educational and academic institutions serving Suffolk County
• Municipalities and other eligible public entities serving Suffolk County- Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop

Partnerships and collaborative approaches are encouraged when they meaningfully strengthen the proposed work. Applicants should clearly identify the roles and responsibilities of participating partners. 

Per Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) regulations, organizations within the DoN applicant’s (Mass General Brigham) health system cannot apply for funds designed to address needs of the community at large. If a community organization plans to engage with an entity within the MGB system as a project partner, funds cannot be given to MGB entities and the community organization must be the operator of the project.

Application Process

Applicants must complete and submit this Letter of Intent (LOI) form through the SurveyMonkey Apply portal. The Allocation Committee will review the LOI and, if selected, applicants will receive an invitation to provide a full proposal. LOI forms must be submitted through the SurveyMonkey Apply portal no later than 6 pm on Wednesday, October 21, 2026.

Timeline and Important Dates and Deadlines

Questions?

There are several ways to learn more about the LOI process, eligibility, application process, and other questions and concerns. We encourage applicants to:

• Review the FAQs.
• Submit a specific question by emailing srchiang@mgh.harvard.edu. 
• Register for one of the informational Forums here. It will be offered, on Zoom, on two dates: 
  • Friday, October 2 from 10 a.m.-12p.m. Register here
  • Tuesday, October 6, from 12-2 p.m. Register here