Veteran Suicide Prevention Program Expression of Interest for Funding Opportunity

Veteran Suicide Prevention Program Expression of Interest for Funding Opportunity is sponsored by CDC Foundation. This opportunity focuses on building the capacity of veteran-serving organizations (VSOs) to evaluate suicide prevention programs.

# Building Community-Based Organization Capacity to Evaluate Veteran Suicide Prevention Programs Interested organizations must submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to help determine their eligibility, organizational capacity, and readiness to apply for and receive Veteran Suicide Prevention Evaluation (VSPE) grant funding.

Only organizations who submit an EOI, who meet the eligibility criteria, and whose responses align with the VSPE program priorities will be invited to submit a full application.

Expression of Interest Issue Date: Thursday, September 17, 2026 Expression of Interest Due Date: Thursday, October 1, 2026, 5 PM EST Invitations to submit Full Proposal: Thursday, October 8, 2026 For those invited to submit a full proposal, please note the following important dates. Question Submissions Due : Tuesday, October 13, 2026, 5 PM EST Please submit all questions to vspevaluation@cdcfoundation. org.

All questions must be submitted by 10/13/26 to be answered during the Pre-bidders conference.

Pre-Bidders Conference : Thursday, October 15, 2026, 12 PM EST Full Proposal Due Date: Monday, October 26, 2026, 5 PM EST Applicants are requested to reserve the following dates for Post-submission Interviews : Wednesday, October 28 through Friday, October 30, 2026 # Summary of Funding Opportunity This opportunity, Building CBO Capacity to Evaluate Veteran Suicide Prevention Programs, through CDC Foundation was awarded by a federal grant to work on the Veteran Suicide Prevention Evaluation Capacity Building Project in partnership with the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (Injury Center) and Safe States Alliance.

The goal of the project is to build the capacity of veteran-serving organizations (VSOs) to evaluate suicide prevention strategies from the CDC’s Suicide Prevention Resource for Action (Prevention Resource). This award will support up to four (4) VSOs in completing a process evaluation of an existing program aligned with the Prevention Resource.

All awarded VSOs will be provided with funding (up to $75,000) and individualized and intensive evaluation technical assistance to determine alignment of program to the Prevention Resource and plan the evaluation. 1.

Summary of Informa �on Expression of Interest (EOI) Interested organizations must submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to help determine their eligibility, organizational capacity, and readiness to apply for and receive VSPE grant funding. Only organizations who submit an EOI, who meet the eligibility criteria, and whose responses align with the VSPE program priorities will be invited to submit a full application.

EOI Responses can be made on the solicitation dashboard page found here by Thursday, October 1, EOI Release Date Thursday, September 17, 2026 EOI Due Date Thursday, October 1, 2026, 5:00 PM EST EOI/RFP Contact Information VSPEvaluation@cdcfoundation.

org Invitations to submit Full Proposal Thursday, October 8, 2026 Thursday, October 15, at 12:00 PM EST Monday, October 26, 2026, 5:00 PM EST Applicant Interviews Applicants are requested to reserve the following dates for Post-submission Interviews: Wednesday, October 28 through Friday, October 30, 2026 Questions Regarding this EOI/RFP Please submit all questions to vspevaluation@cdcfoundation. org .

All responses for questions submitted prior to and during the RFP Bidder’s call will be included in the RFP supplement. Following supplement release, CDC Foundation will only answer questions related to RFP submission and not RFP content.

Funding Source Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Notice of Award No.: 5 NU38PW000028-03 Anticipated Performance Term The anticipated subaward start date is no later than November 2, 2026 and the award will continue through July 31, 2027. All subawards and subsequent continuations are contingent on the availability of funds, successful performance of contractual subaward terms and continued need for services.

Anticipated Funding and Payment Structure The CDC Foundation intends to fund up to four (4) VSOs for awards up to $75,000 per grantee. Awards will result in deliverable based agreements.

Minimum Applicant Eligibility Requirements At a minimum, applicants must meet the following requirements: • Have not previously received a VSPE grant award • Be a non-profit tax -exempt organiza�on under sec�on 501(c)(3) or • Be in existence for a minimum of at least (2) two years. • Have a primary focus on provision of direct services or programming to veteran and military communi�es.

• Have established rela�onships with veteran popula�ons. • Be headquartered in the United States or territories. • Have a Unique En�ty ID (UEI) issued by SAM.

gov (see Get Started with Registra�on and the Unique En�ty ID for addi�onal informa�on on • Be in good financial standing and have sustainable opera�ons. • Be able to allocate approximately 15 to 20 hours a week of staff �me to support the evalua�on ac�vi�es of this project.

Staff �me can consist of mul�ple roles but must be listed in this proposal as part of the project team and have relevant data coll ec�on and analysis or suicide preven�on • Propose to develop and implement a process evalua�on related to approved suicide preven�on programming from the Preven�on Resource. • Be familiar and posi�oned to collect and analyze data over �me that will be used for evalua�on purposes.

* If the applicant is a subsidiary or affiliate of another organization, the relationship must be disclosed in the organizational experience and capacity section of the application.

• Completed Expression of Interest Form • Completed Program Learning and Improvement Assessment • Internal Revenue Service 501(c)(3) Determina�on Leter • A copy of your organiza�on's annual budget • Most recent audited Annual Financial Statement: if total expenditures associated with federal funding exceed $750,000 a year, a Single Audit Report is required (Note: If one is not available, upload a copy of your most recent annual report) • Audited Balance Sheet and Income Statement (preferably most current year, 2025, or no older year than 2024) AND/OR a completed & signed IRS 990 Tax Form (preferably most current year, 2025, or no older than year 2024).

*An IRS 990-n is not sufficient* Requirements for Vendor Approval and Pre-Award Risk Assessment Awarded applicants will be required to undergo a Vendor Approval process AND a Pre-Award Risk Assessment. Required Information for each include: • DUNS Number - To request a DUNS number, visit htps://www. dnb.

com/duns -number/get-a-duns. html • SAM Unique En�ty Iden�fier Number (UEI) • Organiza�on Address, Phone Number, and Website • Organiza�on Mission and Year established # 2.

CDC Founda�on Overview The CDC Foundation helps the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) save and improve lives by unleashing the power of collaboration between CDC, philanthropies, corporations, organizations, and individuals to protect the health, safety, and security of America and the world.

The CDC Foundation is the go-to nonprofit authorized by Congress to mobilize philanthropic partners and private-sector resources to support CDC’s critical health protection mission. Since 1995, the CDC Foundation has raised over $1.

2 billion and launched more than 1,200 programs impacting a variety of health threats from chronic disease conditions including cardiovascular disease and cancer to infectious diseases like rotavirus and HIV, to emergency responses, including COVID-19 and Ebola. The CDC Foundation managed hundreds of programs in the United States and in more than 140 countries last year.

Over the past eight years, the CDC Foundation has administered grants to 24 veteran serving organizations (VSOs) to build their capacity to evaluate veteran suicide prevention programs.

Through this program, participating organizations have built capacity to (1) plan and implement formative, process and outcome evaluations of their suicide prevention programming; (2) understand the contextual and cultural factors impacting implementation of veteran suicide prevention programs; (3) engage in opportunities to share evaluation findings, including lessons learned; and (4) contribute to the development of veteran specific evaluation resources including the VSPE Program Evaluation Toolkit .

The VSPE Program Evaluation Toolkit is designed in partnership with the CDC to support VSOs in developing and implementing evaluation plans for upstream suicide prevention programs. More information on our work building capacity to prevent veteran suicide and the Veteran Suicide Prevention: Evaluation Demonstration (VSPE) Project can be found here: https://www. cdcfoundation.

org/programs/building-capacity-prevent-veteran-suicide . Suicide Prevention in Veteran and Military Communities Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Over 48,000 people died by suicide in 2024.

1 In 2023, suicide was the 12 th leading cause of death for veterans and the second-leading cause of death for veterans under age 45. In 2023, there were 6,398 veteran suicide deaths. 2 Suicide is a complex health issue stemming from multiple risk factors.

To reduce lives lost to suicide, an upstream public health approach to suicide prevention across the United States is needed. An upstream public health approach addresses the range of risk and protective factors at the individual, relationship, community, and societal levels through the implementation of programs, practices, and policies with the best available evidence. There is no single cause of suicide.

Suicide is a complex interaction of multiple factors and requires approaches that maximize protective factors and minimize risk factors. The Prevention Resource describes what works to prevent suicide, including upstream strategies, approaches, programs, policies, or practices (SAPPPs).

To ensure that VSPE funded recipients are implementing and evaluating evidence-based strategies for suicide prevention, applicants must ensure that their program they identify for evaluation aligns with one of the programs, policies, or practices listed in the Prevention Resource. Appendix A contains a selected list of suicide prevention programs, > 1 Suicide Data and Statistics. CDC Suicide Prevention.

Retrieved on September 14, 2026, from: > https://www. cdc. gov/suicide/data/index.

html . > 2 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention. (2025).

2025 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report. Retrieved on September 14, 2026, from: > https://www. mentalhealth.

va. gov/docs/data-sheets/2025/2025_Annual_Report_Part_2_508. pdf.

policies, or practices for reference but a complete list can be found here: https://www. cdc. gov/suicide/resources/prevention.

html . VSOs are well positioned to support a public health approach because of their strong connections to veteran populations. Many VSOs across the U.S. are already successfully taking a public health approach to suicide prevention and implementing programs that address the unique needs of veterans and military families, providing several examples to inspire action and learn from.

However, there is limited evidence around which programs are successful and how best to adapt the programs to meet the needs of veterans and military families. Evaluating suicide prevention programs implemented by VSOs will help build this evidence.

This funding opportunity, building on the VSPE Project, is designed to help VSOs build their capacity to evaluate suicide prevention programs, policies, or practices from the Prevention Resource. As part of your application, you will be asked to identify which of the suicide prevention programs, policies, or practices from the Prevention Resource aligns with your proposed program of focus.

Program evalua�on is essen�al to understand and make the case that suicide preven�on efforts are needed in your community. Evalua�on is a systema�c way to design and implement programs, policies, and prac�ces to address veteran suicide in your commun ity. For programs that are already in place, evalua�on can help demonstrate if and to what extent programs are func�oning as intended.

Addi�onally, findings from evalua�on can help effec�vely communicate progress and impact of the veteran suicide prev en�on programs. At its core, evalua�on is about learning and using available informa�on to make necessary improvements to the program.

All awarded VSOs will be provided with individualized evaluation technical assistance, subject matter expertise in suicide prevention, in-person/on-site support, group training on program evaluation, access to community of practice sessions with fellow VSOs and access to additional tools and resources.

Please note that the scope of the work below details activities and deliverables for the eight (8) months of the award and may be subject to change within the performance period. As evaluation is an iterative process, the program of focus and deliverables may change over the performance period.

All awarded VSOs will participate in the following activities/deliverables: • Atend 1 Project Kick -Off Call • Par�cipate in 1 Individualized Introduc�on Call • Par�cipate in at least 1 site visit • Par�cipate in at least 4 educa�onal webinars • Par�cipate in at least 4 monthly TA calls • Present on lessons learned through VPSE project period • Par�cipate in at least 1 reverse site visit • Complete all of the required deliverables In addition, the CDC Foundation technical advisors will work with the funded VSOs individually to determine the set of deliverables to be completed based on the program of focus for evaluation.

The final list of deliverables that the funded VSO will complete may include a combination of the following: • Partner engagement plan • Evaluation question development • Description of evaluation methods • Analysis of evaluation data The focus of this funding opportunity is on program evaluation, not on research.

The evaluation capacity building approach will focus on the technical aspects of evaluation – planning, methodology, implementation of evaluation methods and utilization of evaluation findings in program design, refinement and sustainability. Please note applications focused on research projects will be deemed ineligible for this award. # 5.

Applica�on Informa�on and Timeline Applicants should follow the instructions set forth below in the preparation and submission of their proposal to the CDC Foundation. The CDC Foundation will not be responsible for any proposal that does not follow the instructions in this Expression of Interest (EOI), and may, at its discretion, reject any such non-compliant or incomplete proposal.

The CDC Foundation is committed to providing accessibility for people with disabilities and is working towards making our materials more accessible. If this document presents accessibility challenges, please email vspevaluation@cdcfoundation. org .

5. 1 Expression of Interest (EOI) Interested applicants are required to complete the Expression of Interest Submission Form on the EOI/RFP Dashboard by Thursday, October 1, 2026, 5:00 PM EST . A system-generated notification of receipt of the application will appear on the screen upon submission.

However, applicants must request a copy of their response before submission. Google Chrome and Firefox are recommended internet browsers for submitting this form. Please note that there is no option to save your work on the online form.

Expression of Interest Required Information The following required information should be entered directly into fields on the online Expression of Interest Submission Form: The following required information should be inputted directly into fields on the online application: 1. Legal Organization Name 3. Street Address 4.

City, State, Zip Code+4 (XXXXX-XXXX) 8. Federal Tax Identification (ID) Number/Employer Identification Number (EIN) 9. Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number 10.

SAM Unique Entity ID (UEI) 11. Business Classifications 13. Eligibility Criteria: a.

Confirmation of federal tax-exempt status [tax-exempt under IRS code 501(c)(3) or under an IRS code other than 501(c)(3)] b. Confirmation of being headquartered in US or US territories c. Confirmation of being in good financial standing/having sustainable operations d.

Confirmation of being in existence for at least 2 years e. Confirmation of the organization’s primary focus on provision of direct services or programming that supports veteran and military communities. f.

Confirmation that the organization has not previously received a VSPE grant award 14. Primary Point of Contact Name 15. Primary Point of Contact Phone Number 16.

Primary Point of Contact Email 17. Financial Point of Contact Name 18. Financial Point of Contact Phone Number 19.

Financial Point of Contact Email 20. Authorized Official Point of Contact Name 21. Authorized Official Point of Contact Phone Number 22.

Authorized Official Point of Contact Email 24. Audited Balance Sheet and Income Statement (preferably most current year, 2025, or no older year than 2024) AND/OR a completed and signed IRS 990 Tax Form (preferably most current year, 2025, or no older than year 2024). *An IRS 990-n is not sufficient* 25.

Internal Revenue Service 501(c)(3) Determination Letter 26. A copy of your organization's annual budget 27. Most recent audited Annual Financial Statement: if total expenditures associated with federal funding exceed $750,000 a year, a Single Audit Report is required (Note: If one is not available, upload a copy of your most recent annual report) 5.

2 Program Learning and Improvement Assessment Interested applicants are required to complete the Program Learning and Improvement Assessment EOI/RFP Dashboard by Thursday, October 1, 2026, 5:00 PM EST . The goal of this assessment is to learn more about the processes relevant to evaluation that your organization currently has in place.

We do not expect your organization to have everything in place or to meet every item in this assessment. Every organization is at a different stage, and some practices may not yet be possible or appropriate for your organization. You DO NOT need prior experience with program evaluation to complete this assessment.

We encourage you to answer each question honestly and openly so the assessment can provide an accurate picture of your organization’s current strengths, needs, and opportunities for growth. For technical support with the assessment, please reach out to vspevaluation@cdcfoundation. org .

The timeline below is subject to change at the sole discretion of the CDC Foundation: September 17, 2026 Expression of Interest released October 1, 2026 Expression of Interest deadline October 8, 2026 Invitation for Full Application October 15, 2026 at 12:00 noon EST Pre-Bidders Call October 26, 2026 at 5:00 p. m.

EST Proposal submission deadline Week of October 26, 2026 Applicant interviews – (Recommended attendees include: Evaluation lead, programmatic lead, leadership representative) November 2, 2026 (no later than) Expected notification of awards # 7.

Selec�on Process and Review Criteria Completed and eligible Expressions of Interest submitted by the 5:00pm EST deadline on October 1, 2026 will be evaluated to determine eligibility and readiness. # 8. Communica�on During E OI/RFP Period All questions regarding EOI/RFP content must be submitted via email (vspevaluation@cdcfoundation.

org ). The CDC Foundation will not provide feedback to applicants not selected.