Mother Cabrini Health Foundation: Basic Needs Grant Program

Mother Cabrini Health Foundation: Basic Needs Grant Program

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Mother Cabrini Health Foundation
Amount: More than US $75,000
Last Updated: March 19, 2026

Summary

The Mother Cabrini Health Foundation's Basic Needs Grant Program aims to address the essential needs of New Yorkers facing challenges such as food insecurity, inadequate housing, and economic instability. This initiative supports organizations that provide access to social services, promote economic mobility, and ensure stable housing and nutrition for underserved communities. Grants of $75,000 or more are available for programs that align with the foundation's mission of fostering health and well-being in New York State.

Overview

Our Grants & Programs Building upon the legacy of Mother Cabrini and the Catholic tradition of healing for the sick and caring for the poor, our Foundation supports programs that meet the unmet healthcare and healthcare related needs of individuals, families, and communities throughout New York State. Basic Needs Grant Program Mother Cabrini Health Foundation recognizes that it is essential to address the basic needs of New Yorkers. Many individuals and families face significant challenges that impact their ability to achieve good health and well-being including food insecurity, inadequate housing, economic instability, and lack of access to vital social services. Our Basic Needs program aims to support the following essentials so New Yorkers can build healthy lives: Access to Benefits and Social Services: Improving the ability of all individuals and families, including those ineligible for public benefits, to navigate and utilize essential resources to promote overall health and well-being. This includes building awareness through community engagement, improving resource navigation efforts, strengthening the availability, accessibility, and provision of social services, and supporting innovation. Economic Security/Mobility: Promoting pathways to financial stability and prosperity through financial literacy and counseling, quality and inclusive jobs training and education, access to safe and affordable financial services, asset-building, and emergency financial assistance.Housing: Supporting services and interventions to keep vulnerable New Yorkers of all abilities safe and stably housed in quality and affordable housing, including homelessness prevention, housing rehabilitation, and supportive and transitional housing models. Mother Cabrini Health Foundation does not support the physical development of housing.Food and Nutrition: Supporting interventions to improve access to healthy, affordable, and culturally appropriate food and nutrition education for New Yorkers experiencing food insecurity or diet-related health conditions and chronic disease. This includes support for long-term solutions that promote equitable nutrition security for all. Funding MCHF will generally consider grant proposals of $75,000 or greater.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. What We Fund:MCHF funds domestic section 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization in good standing with the Internal Revenue Service and the State of New York. Specifically, grants may only be made to a domestic public charity as described in Internal Revenue Code section 509(a)(1) or (2) or an exempt operating foundation as described in Internal Revenue Code section 4940(d)(2). All grants must adhere to and comply with the ethical principles, tenets, and teachings of the Roman Catholic Faith, including but not limited to the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Applicant organizations are not required, however, to be affiliated with the Catholic Church to be eligible for grants. Applicant organizations generally should reside in New York State, and primarily serve New York State residents. Grants must benefit poor, disadvantaged, or underserved New York State residents. Applicants should have an annual budget of $750,000 or more.Grants must be used exclusively for the specific program, activity or project approved by the MCHF, which, in all cases, must be in furtherance of the MCHF’s charitable purposes. Applicant organizations must demonstrate that they exhibit sound financial management and governance practices and are capable of effectively carrying out the programs, activities or projects proposed to be funded. Applicants must demonstrate their capacity to work with the populations to be served by the project.MCHF primarily funds direct service programs/projects. In certain circumstances, the foundation may consider capital, capacity building, and other types of requests.

Ineligibility

What We Do Not Fund:MCHF will not make grants to individuals. MCHF will not make grants for any activities that involve carrying on propaganda or otherwise attempting to influence legislation (within the meaning of Section 4945(d)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code). MCHF will not make grants in support of any activities that involve participating in, or intervening in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office, influencing the outcome of any specific public election, or carrying on, directly or indirectly, any voter registration drive (within the meaning of Section 4945(d)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code). MCHF will not make grants to support events, conferences, or fundraising activities. MCHF does not plan to support capital grant programs, but may choose to do so on a limited, case-by-case basis. MCHF will not award grant funds to supplant current government funding but grant funds may be used to augment services funded using government sources.MCHF will not support any programs whose nature, purpose, and/or mission conflicts with or are contrary to the ethical principles, tenets, and teachings of the Roman Catholic Faith, including, but not limited to the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.