Endowment For Health Inc.

Endowment for Health operates as a highly engaged, relationship-first funder with a sharp geographic mandate: every grant must benefit New Hampshire residents, and recipients must hold 501(c)(3) status or be a municipality. This is not a foundation that processes blind review cycles at arms length — staff actively encourage prospective applicants to call (603) 228-2448 and speak with program staff before submitting anything. The pre-application conversation is standard practice, not a formality.

The foundation organizes its work around four strategic pillars: children's behavioral health, health equity for racial and ethnic minorities, healthy aging, and health policy capacity-building. Within those pillars, it strongly favors organizations doing systems-level work — backbone infrastructure support, collective impact convenings, policy advocacy, and communications infrastructure — rather than discrete project delivery alone. Look at the grantee roster: Health Strategies of New Hampshire has received 57 grants totaling $1.65 million over time, and New Futures has collected $2.4 million across 15 grants. These are long-term partnerships with NH's leading health policy organizations, not transactional grants.

First-time applicants should understand that EFH operates two distinct mechanisms. Opportunity Grants are rolling — submit by the last day of any month and receive a decision within approximately six weeks. These are typically smaller, faster-turnaround awards. Program Grants are more structured, requiring a narrative, workplan, and outcome metrics that align with the Endowment's proprietary Measurement Framework. The foundation provides templates for both.

The equity lens is non-negotiable. Grant criteria explicitly require work that advances health equity for people experiencing barriers due to income, age, race, ethnicity, disability, geography, or sexual orientation. Proposals that name specific underserved communities in NH, cite local health disparity data, and articulate how structural conditions drive those disparities will resonate. Civic engagement and community power-building emerged as explicit 2024 priorities, signaling that the Endowment views shifts in structural power as core to its health mission.

Organizations new to EFH should expect a cultivation period before receiving a substantial grant. The foundation's repeat-grantee patterns — UNH received 22 separate grants, averaging $114,000 per award — signal a clear preference for deepening relationships over one-time transactions. Start with an Opportunity Grant to establish a track record.

Endowment for Health has grown its annual grantmaking steadily over the past decade, from $3.36 million in 2013 to $5.8 million distributed across 90 grants to 61 organizations in the 12-month cycle covered by the foundation's most recent press release. In 2024, the foundation awarded $4.6 million across 65 grants to 44 organizations — year-to-year variability tracks investment returns on a $106.5 million endowment whose income fluctuates between $2.6 million (2019) and $13.8 million (2021).

Grant sizes vary considerably. Historical data shows a median award of $25,000, with an average of $47,463 and a range of $2,000 to $270,000. The most recent press release reflects an average of $64,000 per grant — an upward shift consistent with a larger pool of high-confidence repeat grantees. The foundation also issues one-time operating awards at scale: in the most recent cycle, it distributed $50,000 each to 21 community health centers and mental health centers, representing more than $1 million in a single targeted initiative.

Analyzing the cumulative grantee database (289 grants totaling $13 million across tracked history), 84% of grants went to NH-based organizations (243 of 289). Massachusetts received 20 grants (7%), primarily for organizations with NH program components. Maine accounted for 4 grants, and Minnesota for 8 — the latter reflecting national-scope racial equity partners such as Marnita's Table Inc. ($600,000, 8 grants).

Three organizations account for nearly half of all tracked cumulative giving: University of New Hampshire ($2.5M, 22 grants), New Futures ($2.4M, 15 grants), and Health Strategies of NH ($1.65M, 57 grants). The next tier includes NAMI-NH ($533,403), NH Legal Assistance ($510,000), NH Center for Justice & Equity ($400,000), and NH Public Health Association ($369,434). Smaller grants of $20,000–$60,000 are common for emerging organizations or pilot projects. The foundation also funds media infrastructure: NH Public Radio received $105,000 across 4 grants, and the Nackey Loeb School of Communication received $86,513 — unusual in the health philanthropy space and worth noting for communications-focused applicants.

The five foundations matched to Endowment for Health by asset size ($106–107M) share financial scale but not mission focus. Each is a general philanthropy vehicle without EFH's explicit state-level health equity mandate or its open, publicly accessible application process.

What distinguishes Endowment for Health from its asset-size peers is both mission clarity and access. While the four comparable foundations either do not accept unsolicited applications or provide no public-facing guidance, EFH maintains an active online grant portal, publishes application resources and templates, and explicitly invites prospective grantees to call staff before applying. EFH also operates at a higher giving-to-assets ratio than most private foundations — distributing roughly 5.5% of assets annually against the 5% minimum legal requirement — making it a high-impact foundation relative to its endowment size. For NH-focused health organizations, EFH is essentially in a class of its own: no other single-state private foundation in New Hampshire operates at this scale with an open, health-specific funding mandate.

The Endowment's most significant recent announcement confirmed $5.8 million distributed across 90 grants to 61 organizations in the 12-month period leading into 2025 — the largest annual total in tracked history. The distribution included more than $1 million in one-time $50,000 operating grants to 21 community health centers and community mental health centers across New Hampshire, a targeted initiative designed to bolster frontline care infrastructure at a time of healthcare workforce strain.

Individual grants awarded in early 2025 included support for a Care Navigator position (awarded January 24, 2025), funding for the #CouchConversations behavioral health awareness initiative (January 15, 2025), and a grant covering staffing, travel, and training workshop expenses (January 30, 2025), illustrating the practical, operations-supportive character of the Opportunity Grant mechanism.

In 2024, the foundation awarded $4.6 million across 65 grants to 44 organizations, with staff publicly naming civic engagement and community power-building as key priorities for that cycle — a notable thematic addition to the foundation's four legacy pillars. This reflects growing investment in organizations such as Granite State Organizing Project ($120,000 cumulative) and NH Center for Justice & Equity ($400,000 across 2 grants).

Leadership has remained stable: Yvonne Goldsberry has served as President for multiple consecutive years at $224,949 compensation (most recent filing), with Melina Hill Walker as Program Director ($139,609) and Susan Fulton as CFO ($128,890–$151,201). Board leadership has included Michael Ostrowski as Chair, Ned Helms and Maria Padin in vice chair roles. No major leadership transitions or program eliminations have been announced publicly as of early 2026.

The single most important step before applying to Endowment for Health is a phone call to (603) 228-2448. Staff explicitly encourage prospective applicants to contact program staff — reach out to Andie Hession or Melina Hill Walker — to discuss ideas before drafting anything. This conversation accomplishes two things: it screens for strategic fit before you invest significant time in a full proposal, and it begins the relationship-building that characterizes EFH's long-term grantee partnerships. Organizations that skip this step and apply cold are at a measurable disadvantage.

Timing strategy depends on grant type. For Opportunity Grants, the application is genuinely rolling: submit by the last day of any calendar month and expect a written decision within approximately six weeks. This makes Opportunity Grants well-suited for time-sensitive operational needs or pilot projects. For Program Grants, confirm the current review cycle timeline with staff before submitting — these are more structured and may involve site visits or multi-stage review.

The Measurement Framework is not optional for Program Grants. EFH uses a structured outcomes system, and proposals that map activities to measurable results using the foundation's own templates will be taken more seriously than those with narrative-only goals. Download and use their templates from the resources page at endowmentforhealth.org — do not invent your own format.

The equity lens must be explicit and NH-specific, not generic. Name which New Hampshire populations face health barriers — by income, race, ethnicity, age, disability, geography, or sexual orientation — and cite specific NH health disparity data. Generic references to 'underserved populations' are insufficient. The foundation has funded work on racial equity, immigrant health, behavioral health among youth, and elder isolation specifically because applicants named those populations precisely.

Collaboration and systems change are valued over stand-alone programming. Review the grantee list: EFH funds backbone organizations, policy advocates, legal aid, media, and communications infrastructure — not just clinical providers. If your project convenes stakeholders, shifts policy, or builds field capacity, name that explicitly. If you partner with other NH organizations, document the partnership clearly.

Finally, match your ask to your organizational track record. New organizations should target Opportunity Grants in the $25,000–$50,000 range to establish credibility. Larger Program Grants ($100,000–$270,000) are typically earned through multi-year relationships with the foundation.