2026 Request for Partnerships
Funding Opportunities for the July 2026- June 2029
Healthy Communities UWFH Community Investment Cycle
United Way of the Franklin & Hampshire Region (UWFH) is proud to support local programs fostering Healthy Communities in our region by announcing two three-year funding opportunities, running 2026-2029. These partnerships are available to distinct programs of nonprofit agencies providing substantive services within our coverage area and following eligibility guidelines.
Applications will be due online on Friday, February 27, 2026.
1. ALIGNED IMPACT PARTNERSHIPS FOCUSED ON HEALTH & SOCIAL CONNECTEDNESS
UWFH understands social connectedness as the opportunity for individuals to both contribute to and rely on their communities: ways to develop a social network, supportive relationships, and a feeling of belonging. Isolation, loneliness, anxiety, and trauma are identified in multiple local needs assessments and in our United Way’s community outreach as barriers to health and wellbeing in our region. Research shows that individuals achieve better health outcomes and strengthened resilience when the programs supporting them integrate strategies centered on social connectedness, such as mutual supports and shared experiences.
UWFH seeks to drive work on these needs through an aligned impact approach, which centers investment in multiple organizations working to address the same identified regional need, whether they do so by collaborating on the same particular program or through their own initiatives. UWFH is therefore announcing the availability of three-year partnerships to distinct programs of nonprofit organizations and/or coalitions who are interested in working to address health and social connectedness needs in our communities.
We anticipate granting 2-3 aligned impact partnerships that will be in the $25,000-$30,000 range each, per year for three years. That being said, we encourage larger requests from multi-agency collaborations.
2. GENERAL PARTNERSHIPS FOCUSED ON HEALTHY COMMUNITIES MORE BROADLY
Healthy Communities general partnerships will target programs that build lasting wellness, stability, and connection while strengthening readiness for community challenges.
We anticipate granting 4-5 general partnerships with funding amounts up to $10,000 each, per year for three years.
Please read our Request for Partnerships below for funding and application details, including eligibility requirements as well as our community investment review process and considerations.
REQUIRED INFORMATION SESSIONS
Please note: In order to receive access to the online applications (live at the end of January), program staff or a direct supervisor from programs interested in applying must attend a mandatory, in-person, informational session in January 2026 to be eligible to apply. Grant writers and/or consultants, while welcome to attend, do NOT count towards this requirement.
Information sessions are scheduled for the dates below. Both sessions will include the same information: you only need to attend one. Multiple attendees from the same program may attend in different locations.
Thursday, January 15, 2026 @ 10:30-11:30 AM
Hadley Public Library, Community Room, 50 Middle St, Hadley
Friday, January 16, 2026 @ 11:00 AM-12:00 PM
John W. Olver Transit Center, Allen Room, 12 Olive St, Greenfield
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
List of current organizations receiving UWFH partnership funding
For more information about health, social environment, and connectedness needs in our region and beyond, please review the data sources, improvement plans, and reports below:
Baystate Franklin Medical Center, 2025 Community Health Needs Assessment
Priority Health Needs – Regional Focus Area: Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders
Cooley Dickinson Hospital, 2025 Community Health Needs Assessment
Priorities - Social and Economic Determinants of Health: Social and Physical Environment – Violence and Trauma
Regional Priorities: Mental Health and Substance Use
Franklin County & North Quabbin Community Health Improvement Plan, 2024-2028 Goals and Objectives
Health Priority Goal: Connectedness
World Health Organization, Social Isolation and Loneliness website
Includes “From loneliness to social connection: charting a path to healthier societies” June 2025 report
U.S. Surgeon General, 2023 Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community: “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation”
More about UWFH’s work toward Aligned Impact: