Community Impact Grant Program Level Two: Accelerate is sponsored by Wisconsin Partnership Program (WPP). Supports larger organizations in Wisconsin to implement evidence-informed community partnership initiatives addressing social determinants of health.

Community Impact Grant Level Two: Accelerate - Wisconsin Partnership Program Community Impact Grant Level Two: Accelerate | Last updated: April 23, 2026 The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) is home to the Wisconsin Partnership Program (WPP), a grantmaking program within SMPH.

The Wisconsin Partnership Program is committed to improving health and advancing health equity through investments in community partnerships, education and research. A true embodiment of the Wisconsin Idea, WPP awards grants to innovative projects and initiatives that propel medical research, enhance health education and workforce development, support community health partnerships and advance health equity.

The work of WPP and its grantees touches all corners of the state, across a wide range of health challenges, communities, populations and geographic areas. The Wisconsin Partnership Program’s vision, mission and values as well as its goals and grantmaking strategies are described in the 2024–2029 Five-Year Plan .

Social determinants of health — including economic stability, social and community context, access to health services and health care, neighborhoods and the built environment and education access and quality — have a strong and well-documented impact on human health and well-being. The structures, policies, systems and environments that guide individual’s daily lives shape these determinants and thereby enhance or impede health.

As such, many of the complex health challenges are rooted in inequities that affect the health status of disproportionately affected populations.

Through the Community Impact Grant Program, the Wisconsin Partnership Program’s Oversight and Advisory Committee (OAC) supports evidence-informed, community partnership initiatives that address the social determinants of health to advance health equity in Wisconsin’s urban, rural and tribal communities.

These partnerships require substantial and authentic community leadership to make progress toward sustainability and must be supported by evaluation. Proposals must address health inequities and their root causes and be informed and implemented by those who are most affected by these inequities. In addition, proposals should focus on the services being delivered and the personnel providing those services.

Community partnerships strengthen our ability to successfully address and influence health and advance health equity. Funding Scope and Duration The Community Impact Grant Level Two: Accelerate awards are designed for larger organizations with annual expenses of more than $1,000,000. An academic partner is required.

Awards are for up to $500,000 for up to three years. There are no renewals allowed at the end of the initial award; however, organizations may apply for a new award during the annual competitive application process of their final year. The OAC anticipates allocating up to six Level Two: Accelerate awards during this grant cycle depending on the availability of funds.

In addition to the funding through this grant, the Partnership Program offers a Learning Collaborative that provides in-person and virtual learning and networking opportunities for grant recipients alongside their academic and community partners to maximize the impact of collective efforts to address health and health equity and to optimize sustained success. Participants learn from, engage and problem-solve with each other.

We believe that experiencing this work together — and looking for mutually beneficial opportunities — will increase the ultimate success and sustainability of these grants. Typically, WPP hosts four Learning Collaboratives each year. Grantees are expected to attend two Learning Collaborative events per grant year.

Expand All | Collapse All Community Lead Organization A Community Lead Organization is required and must be a Wisconsin-based organization within one or more of these categories: Nonprofit, IRS tax exempt, 501(c)(3) organization Nonprofit, IRS tax exempt, 501(c)(6) organization Nonprofit or public 4K-12 school or district Tribal*, state or local government entity *A tribal entity is eligible, but would need an Academic Partner from a separate eligible institution.

The tribal entity cannot serve as the Community Lead Organization on one project and as an Academic Partner on a different project during the same grant cycle. Please note, the Wisconsin Partnership Program does not allow its funds to be used for lobbying activities and does not allow recipient organizations to regrant funds.

Furthermore, WPP does not allow for patient care with the sole purpose of providing clinical services related to treatment or follow-up for specific health conditions, such as funded or reimbursable clinical services per the allowable and unallowable expenses information. The Community Lead Organization is responsible and accountable for leading and advancing the project as specified in the Memorandum of Understanding.

A named employee from the Community Lead Organization must serve in a project specific, non-administrative role and must commit at least 10 percent FTE directly to the project. This individual must be directly employed by the organization and paid through the organization’s payroll under its Employer Identification Number (EIN).

The Community Lead Organization must have the fiscal and administrative capacity to oversee and manage the project. The Community Lead Organization must have expenses exceeding $1,000,000 annually and is required to provide a copy of their audited, reviewed or compiled financial statements, or a Form 990, issued less than 24 months prior to the Letter of Intent deadline.

A review is an attestation engagement designed to obtain only limited assurance that the financial statements are free of material misstatement. A compilation is a set of financial statements prepared by an external accountant in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Both a review and compilation engagement would include a complete set of financial statements and related notes to the financial statements. Financial statements are not a printout from QuickBooks, an Excel spreadsheet, or a Word document. A Form 990 (PDF) is a United States Internal Revenue Service form that provides the public with financial information about a nonprofit organization.

A Form 990-N will not fulfill this requirement. WPP believes in working directly with organizations actively engaging in their community. Therefore, a Community Lead Organization must be the implementing organization for the project.

Organizations serving as fiscal sponsors for an implementing organization will not be allowed.

A fiscal agent/sponsor is defined as an organization which meets at least one of three criteria: Lends credibility of its 501(c)3 or nonprofit status and/or organization capacity to a smaller project partner or a for profit entity Performs administrative functions for a project, typically for a fee Provides little to no programmatic oversight of the project and acts primarily as a passthrough Source: National Council of Nonprofits Community Lead Organizations with a Community Impact Grant award that is active beyond June 30, 2026 are not eligible to apply.

Community Lead Organizations are only eligible to apply once per Community Impact Grant cycle. A Community Lead Organization is ineligible to apply if they have had a grant terminated by WPP in the past 48 months or have received a formal notice of suspension from WPP in the past 48 months. Questions about your organization’s eligibility should be directed to the Wisconsin Partnership Program.

Go to Contact Information . Community-Academic Partnership Community-Academic partnerships are a key strategy of the Community Impact Grant Program. WPP values the exchange of ideas and knowledge amongst all partners, holding equally important high standards for excellence and rigor in expertise across all domains.

For Level Two: Accelerate grants, the initiative must include at least one Academic Partner with relevant expertise who has an established partnership with the Community Lead Organization. Evidence of prior productivity of this community-academic partnership will be considered as a particular strength. Academic Partners must have a paid appointment of 0.

5 FTE or higher in a faculty or staff position at the Universities of Wisconsin, UW–Madison Extension, Wisconsin Technical College System, or Wisconsin Tribal College. Academic Partners must submit documentation to verify appointment status at their institution. Academic Partners must have the ability to submit the project to their institutional review board (IRB) should the project be deemed human subjects research.

Academic Partners must contribute at least five percent annualized FTE to the project. Academic Partners may contribute in any way that is best suited for the project including but not limited to evaluation, program design and implementation, project leadership, or community service or learning. Submission and Review Dates Register for the information session May 12, 2026 at 4-4:30 p.

m. CDT Letters of Intent due May 28, 2026 at 5 p. m.

CDT Letters of Intent reviewed June-July 2026 Invite full application August 19, 2026 Full Application information session August 26, 2026 at 4-4:30 p. m. CDT Full applications due September 16, 2026 at 5 p.

m. CDT Full applications reviewed September-November 2026 Invite finalist video presentations November 20, 2026 Videos due to WPP December 14, 2026 Notify finalists of award decisions December 23, 2026 Earliest project start date February 1, 2027 Latest project start date August 1, 2027 *All projects must start within the earliest and latest dates (February 1, 2027–August 1, 2027).

Any necessary protocol approvals (review details on human subjects compliance) should also be obtained and shared with WPP. Review the terms and conditions for more information. Allowable and Unallowable Expenses Applicants must review WPP’s allowable and unallowable expenses policy when creating their proposal to ensure allowability of proposed grant activities.

These may include: Personnel expenses (i.e., salaries and benefits) Salary support for academic partners (if applicable) Consultant and contract services (e.g., training) Office supplies and participant incentives directly related to the scope of work Services that are not otherwise available or reimbursable Funds may not be used for: Patient care with the sole purpose of providing clinical services related to treatment or follow-up for specific health conditions, such as funded or reimbursable clinical services General overhead expenses (i.e., general administrative support, office space and cost-allocations for expenses not directly related to the project) Lobbying ( resources and policies ) Pre-award or proposal costs Capital expenditures costing $5,000 or more with a useful life of one year or more; exceptions may be made for capital expenditures if such equipment is crucial to the primary objectives of the project; Wisconsin Partnership Program pre-approval is required Projects outside the state of Wisconsin Non-Discrimination Guidelines for WPP-Funded Projects The Wisconsin Partnership Program, in partnership with the UW–Madison Office of Legal Affairs, developed guidelines to ensure that WPP-funded project activities comply with relevant non-discrimination laws and statutes.

Eligibility for participation in WPP-funded project activities cannot be restricted based on race, ethnicity, gender or other legally protected identity characteristics. Applicants invited by OAC to submit a full application are required to complete a non-discrimination attestation.

Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools The Wisconsin Partnership Program recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) tools can assist applicants in drafting, editing, and receiving structured feedback to improve the quality and clarity of their grant applications. However, applicants are strongly discouraged from using AI tools to generate the substantive content for their proposals.

To ensure originality, creativity and fairness, all narrative sections, goals, objectives and activities should reflect the applicant’s own ideas. To ensure fair review, and to protect applicant’s proprietary information, reviewers are prohibited from use of AI tools for their critiques of assigned applications. Letter of Intent Guidelines Letter of Intent (LOI) Submission Deadline: May 28, 2026 at 5 p.

m. CST . The Letter of Intent is required and is available in Fluxx.

All applicants are required to have a Fluxx account to access and submit the LOI. Important Information for New Fluxx Users : New Fluxx users must register for a Fluxx account by completing the Community Organization Registration Form under Create your Profile . Once reviewed by our team, which typically takes one business day, new users will receive an email with their username and instructions to set their password.

New Fluxx users should register by May 26, 2026 as there is no guarantee that new registrations past this date will be processed before the 5 p. m. CST May 28, 2026 LOI deadline.

Applicants who fail to register by this deadline may not be able to submit an LOI. Once logged in to Fluxx, click the green “Start Your Community Impact Grant Level Two: Accelerate LOI” button to start your Letter of Intent. Email wpp@hslc.

wisc. edu with questions regarding Fluxx. In addition to providing general information about the project, the Letter of Intent includes many key components: Expand All | Collapse All Letter of Intent Upload the Letter of Intent as a PDF with a maximum of two single-spaced pages with 11-point font and 1-inch margins providing concise responses to each section in this order and using these section headers.

An additional page may be included for references and/or citations and will not count towards the two-page limit.

Goal Statement: State the overarching goal of the initiative and describe the potential impact on health and health equity, including the number of individuals to be reached by this project Primary Social Determinant of Health: Indicate the primary social determinant of health the proposed initiative will address and describe the health challenge motivating you to take action Impacted Communities: Identify the communities whose health and well-being will be most impacted by the proposed work and describe how the proposed work incorporates the perspectives and experiences of those most impacted by health inequities Sustainability and Scalability: Describe your initiative’s goals for sharing information and building sustainability within your impacted population and/or community, as well as scalability to other communities throughout the state of Wisconsin (if applicable) Grant Activities and Timeline with Milestones: Describe the major activities you propose under this grant along with the time frame for each activity and the anticipated outcomes Community-Academic Partnership: Community Lead Organization: Describe the Community Lead Organization’s role in leading and carrying out the proposed project, as well as experience in addressing the social determinant of health and health inequities and what makes this organization ideal to lead the proposed initiative Identify the named employee (i.e., not a consultant) and any other key project personnel and describe their roles on the project Describe the role(s) of any academic partner(s) on the proposed project and any experiences the Community Lead Organization and its partners have had working with them in the past If this is a new partnership, describe why this work is important to both parties to move forward and what level of commitment the academic partner(s) will provide Partners: Provide a bulleted list of the partner organizations engaged in this work (examples include health systems, government, private sector, local philanthropy, nonprofits, faith-based organizations) and how they will contribute to this initiative, if applicable Other sources of funds (if applicable): If the Wisconsin Partnership Program is one of multiple sources of funds to support the proposed initiative, describe specific activities that will be supported directly by the Wisconsin Partnership Program Also, describe how WPP funds expand the project as our funds cannot be used to supplant other sources of funds for the project (review WPP’s non-supplanting policy for more information) Budget Justification The Letter of Intent budget justification details anticipated expenditures, including by expense type (salary and fringe benefits, travel, services, supplies and other expenses), to support the overarching goal and activities of the project.

If applicable, the budget justification should include anticipated expenditures of equipment, software, contractors, and consultants along with related rationale. If you intend to subcontract for services, describe the services and why they cannot be performed by the Community Lead Organization.

The Letter of Intent budget justification must be uploaded as a PDF not exceeding one single-spaced page with one-inch margins and a minimum 11-point font. Please refer to WPP’s allowable and unallowable expenses policy . Note: Applicants invited by the OAC to submit a full application will be required to provide a detailed budget and budget justification.

Revisions to the Letter of Intent budget justification are acceptable at the full application stage. IRS Determination Letter Upload the IRS determination letter of tax-exempt status or other relevant documentation for the Community Lead Organization. The determination letter must cite the Community Lead Organization by name.

Financial Statements Upload the Community Lead Organization’s audited, reviewed or compiled financial statements or a Form 990 issued less than 24 months prior to the Letter of Intent deadline. A Form 990-N will not fulfill this requirement. The annual expense threshold will be reviewed using the most recently reported fiscal year of the Organization.

(Please review important information under the Eligibility section for a description of the acceptable documentation.) Designation of Confidential and Proprietary Information The Wisconsin Partnership Program is required to operate in accordance with Wisconsin’s public records and open meetings laws.

Indicate whether the Letter of Intent includes proprietary and/or confidential information, and using the form provided, identify and request confidentiality for any trade secrets or proprietary information.

Letter of Intent Review Process and Criteria Expand All | Collapse All Review Process Technical review: Wisconsin Partnership Program staff will review each Letter of Intent to ensure that all requirements are met and that proposed activities and expenditures are in compliance with WPP’s allowable and unallowable expenditures policy. This includes review of eligibility of the Community Lead Organization and Academic Partner.

Letters of Intent that do not comply with the submission or eligibility requirements will not be reviewed and the applicant organization will be notified. WPP administration has sole discretion for determining eligibility.

Content review: Wisconsin Partnership Program staff will work with community and academic reviewers with relevant expertise to review the content of each Letter of Intent to determine if it warrants further development as a full application. This review is based on the Letter of Intent review criteria. Reviewers are prohibited from using artificial intelligence (AI) tools for their critiques.

De-identified reviewer comments will be shared with all Community Lead Organizations who have Letters of Intent reviewed during this process. OAC review: The results of the content review will be presented to the Oversight and Advisory Committee (OAC). The OAC will decide which applicants to invite for full applications.

The Community Lead Organization will be notified per the submission and review dates whether the organization is being invited to submit a full application. OAC’s decisions are final and cannot be appealed. Note: Applicants must maintain the integrity of the review process by not contacting reviewers or OAC board members directly or indirectly to influence the outcome of the review.

Review Criteria Letters of Intent will be reviewed based on: Illustrates an alignment with the goals of this funding program and addresses one or more social determinants of health (20%) Describes feasible project goal and provides specific grant activities and realistic project milestones to accomplish goals (20%) Community Lead Organization is strongly positioned to lead the proposed initiative in partnership with the impacted community and organizations that serve the community (20%) Provides strong evidence that the proposal is driven by the perspectives and experiences of those most impacted by the health inequities in the community (20%) Provides specific goals to demonstrate effective information sharing and pursuit of sustainability (20%) Proposals will not be reviewed based on grammar, punctuation, spelling or informal language.

Full Application Guidelines Only applicants invited by the OAC may submit a full application. The Community Lead Organization and Academic Partner(s) will receive a link to the full application in the invitation. Full applications are due by 5 p.

m. CST on September 16, 2026. In addition to providing general information about the project, the full application includes these components: Expand All | Collapse All Executive Summary The executive summary, which is limited to one single-spaced page PDF with one-inch margins and a minimum 11-point font, is a succinct and accurate description of the initiative when separated from other application materials.

The summary should include the goals of the initiative; significance of the health equity issue(s) and social determinant(s) of health being addressed; the involvement of the impacted communities and anticipated number of individuals to be reached by the initiative; the sustainability efforts to be undertaken; and the community-academic partnership to advance the proposed work.

Narrative The narrative, which is limited to five single-spaced pages as a PDF with one-inch margins and a minimum 11-point font, must include these sections. An additional page may be included for references and/or citations and will not count towards the five-page limit. Please list the section headers in bold so that each section is easily identified in the narrative.

Goal Statement: Describe your initiative’s goals — clearly identify the significance of the health equity issue(s) and any existing evidence or experience you are using to support your proposed approach Primary Social Determinant of Health: Identify how your approach has the potential to impact social determinants of health and potentially transform approaches to address these issues in your community and beyond Community Voice: Describe the communities whose health and well-being will be most impacted by the proposed work and how these communities contribute to the initiative as leaders or shapers of the work Primary Activities and Timeline with Milestones: List the goals of the initiative — for each goal, describe the activities and specific measurable milestones for each project year and the anticipated outcomes by the end of the project (The annual milestones will be used to assess progress toward the specific goals if selected for funding) Also indicate how many people this project is anticipated to reach/impact Evaluation and Learning: Wisconsin Partnership Program grantees funded through this grant program are expected to have an evaluation plan designed to aid in understanding the impact of the proposed project; in this section of the narrative, please address how you plan to evaluate this project What types of questions do you hope to answer through evaluation?

How and when will you collect data (i.e., surveys, interviews, etc.)? What kinds of data will you collect to answer these questions? How will you show an impact on human health?

How will you incorporate your participants’ feedback or voice for project improvement?

Sustainability and Scalability: Describe your initiative’s goals for sharing information and building sustainability within your impacted population and/or community, as well as scalability to other communities throughout the state of Wisconsin (if applicable) Organizational Capacity and Partnerships: Community Lead Organization: Given the administrative and fiscal demands that oversight of a WPP grant imposes on an organization, such as compliance with non-supplanting, submission of financial and progress reports, participation in Learning Collaboratives, collaboration with the WPP evaluator, submission of audited statements, etc. (For more information, please review WPP Terms and Conditions ) — describe the Community Lead Organization’s role in leading and carrying out the project and its organizational capacity to manage administrative and fiscal responsibilities associated with this proposed initiative Identify the named employee (i.e., not a consultant) and any other key project personnel and describe their roles on the project Describe the role(s) of your academic partner(s) on the proposed project and any experiences the Community Lead Organization and its partners have had working with them in the past If this is a new partnership, describe why this work is important to both parties to move forward and what level of commitment the academic partner(s) will provide Partners: Provide a bulleted list of the partner organizations engaged in this work and how they will contribute to the initiative Other sources of funds (if applicable): If the Wisconsin Partnership Program is one of multiple sources of funds to support the proposed initiative, describe specific activities that will be supported directly by the Wisconsin Partnership Program Also, describe how WPP funds expand the project as our funds cannot be used to supplant other sources of funds for the project Resubmission Statement — For Former and Past WPP Grantees and Past WPP Applicants (If Applicable) A resubmission statement is required if the application: Expands on current or prior work done during a WPP grant that was funded during the previous 36 months Provide the year of the WPP grant Provide a description of how the current application is substantially different from the previous WPP project or, if not substantially different, what efforts have been taken to secure additional funding sources to continue the work Is from an organization that applied for a WPP grant for a similar project within the last 36 months but was not funded Provide the year of the WPP grant application and what stage the application reached Provide a description of how the current application is improved upon from the previous WPP proposed project based on the feedback received from the previous application Responses are limited to no more than 200 words.

All eligibility requirements apply for past WPP grantees and past WPP applicants. Letters of Commitment Letters of commitment are required from the Academic Partner(s) and from each of the Partners listed under “Organizational Capacity and Partnerships” in the full application narrative. These letters should show evidence of the collaboration and describe how they or their organizations will be involved in the initiative.

The letters must be combined and uploaded as a single PDF. There is no page limit for letters of commitment. Template-based letters are discouraged.

The Community Lead Organization does not need to submit a letter of commitment. Letters of Support Applicants must include letters of support from individuals or groups to demonstrate support for the project. Letters from community members and others who have received support from your work are also welcome and encouraged.

The letters must be combined and uploaded as a single PDF. Do not submit more than 10 letters of support, however there is no page limit for letters of support. If letters of support are provided in a language other than English, please include the original letter of support as well as a translated version.

Letters of support can be handwritten. Template-based letters are strongly discouraged. Project Budget The project budget should clearly indicate how the grant funds will be spent.

Applicants must use the required budget template. Requests should be made by expense type (salary and fringe benefits, services, travel, supplies, etc.) and should provide sufficient detail for individuals unfamiliar with the project.

Expenditures must: Be fully justified, reasonable and clearly related to the project’s goals Reflect the activities listed in the proposal Explain the sources and amounts of any cash match or cost sharing funds Be allowable, reasonable and allocable in accordance with WPP cost principles Review allowable and unallowable expenses for further information.

Budget Justification The budget justification describes in detail the major budget line items: salary and fringe benefits, travel, services, and supplies and other expenses. The justification should provide specific information about why an expense is necessary to achieve the project’s goals and activities. It must also describe the roles and responsibilities of the project’s key personnel, even if uncompensated.

The budget justification must be uploaded as a PDF with one-inch margins and a minimum 11-point font. Note: Applicants invited by the OAC to submit a full application will be required to provide a detailed budget and budget justification. Revisions to the Letter of Intent budget justification are acceptable at the full application stage.

Non-Supplanting Questionnaire The Non-Supplanting Questionnaire must be completed by responding to the questions and providing explanations as necessary. The Non-Supplanting Questionnaire must be signed by the Community Lead Organization and Academic Partner. Refer to the supplanting review process for more information on supplanting.

Non-Discrimination Attestation Before signing the required non-discrimination attestation (form provided*), review the Non-Discrimination Guidelines for WPP-Funded Projects. Developed in collaboration with the UW–Madison Office of Legal Affairs, these guidelines ensure that all WPP-funded project activities comply with applicable non-discrimination laws and statutes. A signed non-discrimination attestation is required.

Upload the signed attestation as a PDF. *A non-discrimination attestation specific to sovereign tribal nations is available upon request. Human Subjects Compliance All approved projects involving human subjects in research must be reviewed and approved or deemed exempt by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of record for the academic partner before the research begins.

Respond to the related question in the application. Funded applicants are required to complete a questionnaire to determine whether an IRB review is required for the proposed initiative. Designation of Confidential and Proprietary Information The Wisconsin Partnership Program is required to operate in accordance with Wisconsin’s public records and open meetings laws.

Indicate whether the full application includes proprietary and/or confidential information, and using the form provided, identify and request confidentiality for any trade secrets or proprietary information.

Full Application Review Process and Criteria Expand All | Collapse All Review Process and Funding Decisions Technical review: Wisconsin Partnership Program staff will review each full application to ensure that all requirements are met and that proposed activities and expenditures are in compliance with WPP’s allowable and unallowable expenditures policy.

Applications that do not comply with the submission requirements will not be reviewed and the applicant organization and academic partner will be notified. Content review: A panel of academic and community reviewers with relevant expertise will review assigned applications based on the full application review criteria. Reviewers are prohibited from using artificial intelligence (AI) tools for their critiques.

Each full application will be reviewed by three reviewers. The review panel will share their scores, comments and feedback amongst each other, allowing for diverse opinions. This information will be shared with the Oversight and Advisory Committee (OAC), along with the de-identified reviewer comments.

OAC review: The results of the content review will be presented to the OAC. The OAC will decide on invitations for the finalist live Zoom presentation stage. Note: Applicants must maintain the integrity of the review process by not contacting reviewers or OAC board members directly or indirectly to influence the outcome of the review.

Applicants will be informed on whether they have advanced to the finalist stage. Applicants will receive the de-identified reviewer comments. If applicants move to the finalist stage, they will be asked to prepare a pre-recorded video presentation with slides, including a high-level summary of their proposal and a response to the reviewer comments.

The presentation length will be approximately 5 minutes, with the specific time provided in the presentation guidelines. Finalists must use PowerPoint, Canva, or other presentation slides in this presentation. If preferred, a Zoom meeting may be scheduled with a WPP Program Officer prior to the video submission deadline to record the presentation.

Presentations should be in English or have English transcription available. The finalist Level Two applicants selected by OAC will attend the December 16, 2026