Wisconsin Partnership Program Community Capacity Grants

Wisconsin Partnership Program Community Capacity Grants is a grant from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health that funds community organizations building capacity to address health equity and social determinants of health in Wisconsin. Updated in February 2026, the program supports nonprofits, tribal nations, and community groups working on upstream factors affecting community health.

Eligible applicants are Wisconsin-based organizations with demonstrated community roots and a focus on reducing health disparities among underserved populations. Awards support organizational development, collaborative infrastructure, and capacity-building activities that strengthen long-term community health impact. The program emphasizes authentic community partnerships and equitable approaches.

Community Capacity Grant Program Request for Partnerships - Wisconsin Partnership Program UW School of Medicine and Public Health Home / Grant Funding / Community Grants / Community Capacity Grant Program RFP Community Capacity Grant Program Request for Partnerships | Last updated: February 10, 2026 Funding Scope and Duration Submission and Review Dates Proposal Guidelines, Review Criteria and Process 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.

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 .

The Community Capacity Grant Program is designed to support smaller and/or newer Wisconsin-based organizations working towards health equity and/or addressing social determinants of health in increasing their capacity. These grants will support projects designed to help organizations work more efficiently and effectively and increase the organization’s ability to advance its mission.

The project activities must fall within the Community Capacity Grant’s capacity-building categories: Strategic planning and functional operational improvements Grants are not intended to cover core operating or personnel expenses or provide on-going programmatic support. Review the Community Capacity Grant’s Funding Scope and Duration and WPP’s Allowable and Unallowable Expenses for examples of how funds may be used.

Inaugural Capacity Grant awardees Funding Scope and Duration The Community Capacity grants are for up to $20,000, for up to one year. No-cost extension and change of scope requests will not be considered. Budget revisions will be considered in exceptional cases.

For Capacity grants, budget revisions will be limited to requests that meet these conditions: the scope of work must remain the same, the revision must be within the same expense category, and the request must be made at least 180 days before the end of the grant period. Recipients will be limited to one budget revision during the grant period.

The Oversight and Advisory Committee (OAC) anticipates allocating up to ten Community Capacity grants during this grant cycle depending on the availability of funds.

Activity and Expense Categories Project activities and expenses must fall within these capacity-building categories: Strategic planning and functional operational improvements Hiring a consultant to support strategic, fundraising, communications, marketing, evaluation or business planning or development Purchasing software (one-time) and related set-up, configuration and training Website development, including content creation and accessibility Board development and/or staff training, including leadership training or conference registration and related necessary travel expenses If you have questions regarding whether your project expenses fall within the capacity-building categories, please reach out to WPP staff.

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 as each grantee team works toward systems and structural changes for health equity. We believe that experiencing this work together — and looking for mutually beneficial opportunities — will increase the ultimate success and sustainability of these grants.

Eligible organizations for this grant opportunity 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 These grants are intended to build capacity of smaller and/or newer organizations.

Therefore, eligible organizations must have less than $500,000 in annual expenses OR have obtained nonprofit status after January 1, 2021. The recipient organization is responsible and accountable for leading and advancing the project as specified in the Memorandum of Understanding. A named employee from the organization must serve as the point of contact.

WPP believes in working directly with organizations actively engaging in their community. Therefore, the recipient 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 Applicant organizations are only eligible to submit one application during this grant cycle.

An applicant organization is ineligible to apply if they have already received a Community Capacity grant, if they have had a grant terminated by WPP in the past 48 months or if they have received a formal notice of suspension or ineligibility from WPP in the past 48 months. By applying for a Wisconsin Partnership Program grant, applicants agree to the Partnership Program’s terms and conditions .

Submission and Review Dates Request for Partnerships released January 5, 2026 Virtual information session with WPP Register for the information session January 22, 2026, 10-11 a. m. CST Proposals due February 5, 2026 at 5 p.

m. CST Proposals reviewed February–April 2026 Notify finalists of award decisions May 7, 2026 Earliest project start date July 1, 2026 Latest project start date October 1, 2026 *Protocol approval must also be obtained and shared with WPP before the project starts. See terms and conditions for more information.

Proposal Submission Deadline: February 5, 2026 at 5 p. m. CST .

The application forms are available in Fluxx. All applicants are required to have a Fluxx account to access and submit the application. 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 January 26, 2026 as there is no guarantee that new registrations past this date will be processed before the February 5, 2026 at 5 p. m.

CST application deadline. Applicants who fail to register by this deadline may not be able to submit an application. Once logged in to Fluxx, click the green “Start Your Community Capacity Grant Proposal” button to start your application.

Email wpp@hslc. wisc. edu with questions regarding Fluxx.

The proposal includes many key components: Expand All | Collapse All Narrative Upload the narrative as a PDF with a maximum of two single-spaced pages with 11-point font and 1-inch margins providing concise bulleted responses to each section in this order and using the three section headers. Organization Description: Describe your organization’s mission, vision and population served.

This should include your organization’s experience in addressing the social determinants of health and health inequities. Organization’s Capacity Need : Describe your organization’s need for enhanced or expanded capacity through a Community Capacity Grant.

Capacity-Building Proposal : Describe the capacity-building project and how proposed activities align with the eligible capacity-building categories: Strategic planning and functional operational improvements and/or Professional development . Describe how the initiative will lead to sustainable impact on your organization’s ability to address the health and wellbeing of the population you serve.

If applicable, provide a bulleted list of the partner organizations engaged in this work and how they will contribute to the capacity-building initiative. Organizational Capacity Using the required Organizational Capacity template (DOCX) , outline the organization’s current capacity to manage a Community Capacity Grant and the administrative and fiscal responsibilities required by WPP.

This includes detailing the organization’s current staffing (i.e., total Full Time Equivalents), annual budget (e.g. through most recent fiscal year end), and board composition. Project Goals and Timeline Using the required Project Goals and Timeline template (DOCX) , outline the overarching goal of the initiative and details of the major activities, timeline and specific measurable milestones of the initiative.

Project Budget Using the required budget template (XLSX) , the project budget should clearly indicate how the grant funds will be spent.

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 applicable in accordance with WPP Cost Principles Requests should be made by expense type (services, travel, supplies, etc.) and should provide sufficient detail for individuals unfamiliar with the project.

Allowable and Unallowable Expenses Guidelines for allowable/unallowable expenses are available for review on the Wisconsin Partnership Program website. Funds must be used for the capacity building project-related costs.

Examples of how funds may be used include: External consultant and facilitator services Registration fees for workshops, seminars, and conferences and associated necessary travel costs Training and professional development materials Personnel costs (salary, wages, fringe benefits) limited to support professional development activities—personnel costs cannot exceed a maximum of $1,000 for this award For this grant program, funds may not be used for: General overhead expenses (i.e., general administrative support, rent, office space and cost-allocations for expenses not directly related to the project) Salary expenses outside of the allowable $1,000 in professional development support, including direct salary and fringe Capital expenditures costing $5,000 or more with a useful life of more than one year Projects outside the state of Wisconsin Facility upgrades, improvements to existing infrastructure General office supplies and equipment (printers, computers, tablets, etc.) Events, meals and meeting refreshments Participant incentives and stipends including gift cards Budget Justification A budget justification is required for purposes of describing in detail the major budget line items.

The justification should provide specific information about why an expense is necessary for the project. The budget justification must be uploaded as a PDF with one-inch margins and a minimum 11-point font. Review this example budget justification (DOCX) for reference.

IRS Determination Letter Upload the IRS determination letter of tax-exempt status or other relevant documentation for the applicant organization. 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.

Using the form provided, identify and request confidentiality for any trade secrets or proprietary information included in the application. Non-Supplanting Questionnaire The Non-Supplanting Questionnaire (DOCX) 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.

See supplanting review for more information. Non-Discrimination Attestation Before signing the required non-discrimination attestation (DOCX) (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.

Expand All | Collapse All Review Criteria Proposals will be reviewed based on: Need and Potential Impact (60 points): The proposal provides a clear and convincing summary of the need for the project to increase organizational capacity and gives reviewers confidence that the organization and proposed approach can have a positive and lasting impact on health and health equity in Wisconsin.

Project Feasibility (30 points): The organization proposes a capacity-building project that is likely to be successfully accomplished in the proposed timeframe with strong potential to be sustained.

Organization Qualifications (10 points): The proposal illustrates a strong and qualified lead organization with a health equity focused mission that has current capacity to manage a Community Capacity grant award and related financial and administrative requirements. Proposals will also be reviewed to identify if there are concerns of supplanting.

Proposals will NOT be reviewed based on grammar, punctuation, spelling or informal language. Review Process Technical Review: Wisconsin Partnership Program staff will review each application to ensure that all requirements are met. This includes review of eligibility of the applicant organization.

For organizations with active WPP grants, staff will review the application to ensure there is no overlap of goals, activities, aims or objectives with the currently supported project. Proposals that do not comply with the submission or eligibility requirements will not be reviewed and the applicant organization will be notified.

Content Review: A panel of academic and community reviewers with relevant expertise will independently review assigned applications based on the proposal review criteria. Academic reviewers typically are from Universities of Wisconsin System schools and colleges and technical and tribal colleges.

Community reviewers typically are from Wisconsin-based non-profit community organizations, 4K-12 school or districts, health systems, or tribal, state or local government entities with expertise in community health, health policy and/or health care. The review panel will share their scores, comments and feedback with each other, allowing for diverse opinions.

The ranking of the applications and the de-identified reviewer comments will be shared with the OAC. OAC Review : The results of the content review will be presented to the OAC.

The OAC will make a final decision to select the grant award recipients based on rank, discussion of the application and review materials, additional information from the applicant team (if requested by OAC or WPP’s Administrative Leadership Team) and the project’s alignment with the goals of the Community Capacity Grant Program.

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 by May 7, 2026 on whether they have been granted funding. Applicants will receive the de-identified reviewer comments.

The committee’s decisions are final and cannot be appealed. Supplanting Review: Supplanting means to replace, to take the place of, or to supersede. The Wisconsin Partnership Program prohibits any funds from being awarded that will supplant funds or resources otherwise available to applicants from other sources for the proposed project.

OAC’s award decisions are conditional on a final review of non-supplanting by the Wisconsin Partnership Program Administrative Leadership Team. If a determination is made that supplanting has occurred or likely will occur, the Administrative Leadership Team will take action in compliance with WPP’s non-supplanting policy. The Administrative Leadership Team’s decisions are final and cannot be appealed.

The WPP Administrative Leadership Team has sole discretion over supplanting determinations. By applying for a Wisconsin Partnership Program grant, applicants agree to the Partnership Program’s terms and conditions. Please refer to the Memorandum of Understanding for terms and conditions of the award.

All projects must start within the window specified in the Submission and Review Dates section. Protocol approval must also be obtained and shared with WPP before the project starts. If contingent circumstances arise, please contact the Program Officer.

Please note that our team is not allowed to review a draft of your submission. Jaimee Prado, Program Officer Budget or supplanting inquiries: Jon Thomas, Finance Associate Director Wisconsin Partnership Program (WPP) University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health Health Sciences Learning Center, Room 4230 Website feedback, questions or accessibility issues: communications@med. wisc.

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