RWJF Invests $1.5 Million in Community Data Projects Fighting Inequity

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is directing $1.5 million to community-based nonprofits through its Local Data for Equitable Communities program, awarding up to 30 grants of $50,000 each for organizations that collect, analyze, and use data to address local inequities.

What the Program Funds

The grants support organizations working on the physical, economic, and social conditions of specific places — food deserts, housing instability, environmental hazards, health care access gaps. Unlike academic research grants that prioritize novel methodology, this program rewards organizations with deep local knowledge and existing community relationships that can use data to amplify change already underway.

Projects must be completed within nine months of the July 1, 2026 start date. Award notifications go out May 11.

Who Can Apply — and Who Cannot

Eligible applicants must be 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations. Universities and state and local government agencies are explicitly excluded — a deliberate choice by RWJF to channel resources directly into the hands of community-based organizations rather than institutions that typically dominate federal grant competitions.

That distinction matters in the current environment, where many federal equity-focused grant programs face rule changes and delays that have narrowed participation for smaller organizations.

RWJF's Broader Equity Portfolio

The Local Data program is one of several active RWJF funding opportunities in 2026. The foundation also opened Learning from Abroad to Reimagine Health Knowledge Systems for Equity and Wellbeing, funding cross-national research on how health data systems can better serve underrepresented populations. Its ongoing Evidence for Action program continues to support research connecting policy interventions to health outcomes.

For community nonprofits that lack the infrastructure to pursue large federal competitions, foundation programs like these offer an accessible alternative with shorter timelines and lower administrative burden. Organizations exploring foundation funding opportunities can search funder profiles and track open grants on Granted, where the blog covers foundation application strategies in depth.