Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) Grant

Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: The Alaska Community Foundation
Amount: Up to US $272,174,856
Last Updated: February 20, 2026

Summary

Overview

Note: 1) Letter of Interest (LOI) for the first phase of Alaska’s Rural Health Transformation Program grant awards submitted by the deadline above will be considered for this initial phase of funding. 2) Additional opportunities to submit LOIs and apply for funding are expected throughout the life of the program. Alaska Community Foundation The Alaska Community Foundation connects people who care to the causes that make a difference and matter most to them. We encourage and nurture philanthropy through building and managing permanent endowments, convening stakeholders, working with partners to strengthen Alaskan communities, and providing donors with flexible giving options that are strategic to their philanthropic objectives. ACF also manages the Pick.Click.Give. program. Mission: Inspiring the spirit of giving and connecting people, organizations, and causes to strengthen Alaska’s communities now and forever. The Alaska Community Foundation runs competitive grant cycles throughout the year that are open to eligible local nonprofits and other organizations serving the public good. Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) The Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) is a five-year initiative focused on strengthening rural communities by improving healthcare access, quality, and outcomes by transforming the healthcare delivery ecosystem. Through innovative system-wide change, the RHTP invests in the rural healthcare delivery ecosystem for future generation. Alaska’s RHTP will advance statewide health system transformation by funding projects that expand access to care, improve health outcomes, strengthen workforce capacity, modernize technology, and advance financially sustainable health care payment models. Funding will support community-based and system-level projects aimed at improving access, workforce capacity, and care delivery statewide. The program is intentionally structured to promote fair access, a range of approaches, and geographic balance, ensuring that organizations across Alaska, regardless of size, location, or prior funding experience, can participate meaningfully. The program is administered at the federal level by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and led at the state level by the Alaska Department of Health. The Department of Health serves as the lead for program design, policy direction, funding decisions, and overall stewardship of the initiative. To move resources to grantees and partners quickly and effectively, the Alaska Community Foundation (ACF) is managing the grant process, facilitating grant review, and providing technical assistance to RHTP grantees. Program Priorities RHTP funding supports projects aligned with Alaska’s six RHTP initiatives. A detailed description of the initiatives and potential uses of funds can be found on Alaska’s Department of Health RHTP webpage. Healthy Beginnings: strengthens maternal and child health as a foundation for healthy families. Health Care Access: expands and sustains essential primary, behavioral, oral, specialty, emergency, home and community-based and post-acute care health services across Alaska’s rural communities. Healthy Communities: invests in enhancing access to preventive and primary care services that enable early chronic disease management, expanding the use of consumer-facing digital tools and population health clinical infrastructure, and promoting healthy lifestyles with culturally appropriate community education. Pay for Value: Fiscal Sustainability: incentivizes a shift from traditional volume-based reimbursement models to build the long-term financial stability of rural providers through voluntary innovative care and payment models that increase care coordination, lower costs and improve health outcomes. Strengthen Workforce: builds a resilient rural health care workforce through pipeline, recruitment, training and retention strategies, alongside wraparound housing and child care supports to help providers remain in rural communities. Spark Technology and Innovation: harnesses data and technology to expand the use of consumer wearables and digital devices, enhance telehealth, foster appropriate use of AI, strengthen cybersecurity, facilitate data sharing and system interoperability, and test new delivery modalities using emerging technologies. RHTP Grant Opportunities Recognizing the interconnected nature of these priorities, Alaska’s RHTP includes four funding pathways: Readiness Grants – early-stage support to address foundational capacity gaps, including planning, feasibility, partnership development, and community engagement. Planning Grants - investments to support structured planning and design for clearly defined health system interventions. Implementation Grants – will fund projects that are fully prepared to execute and deliver high-impact work with demonstrated feasibility. Future Targeted Innovation Grants - which will enable the Department of Health to advance fully developed, high-impact projects. Funding opportunities through this pathway are expected to occur at a later date.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Many types of organizations are eligible for RHTP funding, including but not limited to: Health care providersTribes and Tribal health organizationsHospitals and clinicsBehavioral health and substance use treatment organizationsEmergency Medical Services (EMS) and emergency care entitiesSocial service organizationsLocal governmentsHealth workforce and training programsTechnology and innovation partnersSchools, universities, vocational, and other education partnersChild care providers and early childhood development programsProvider and trade associationsOther nonprofits or community-based organizations working on health or community well-beingSee the Department of Health RHTP FAQ for additional eligibility details and use of funds. Strong proposals will be Alaska-led and clearly show how they build capacity in state, deliver direct benefit to Alaskans, and keep the impact, infrastructure, and value here in Alaska.

Ineligibility

Federal rules do not allow funds to be used for certain expenses, including but not limited to: Services already covered by Medicaid, Medicare, or other payersThe non-federal share (state match) of Medicaid servicesNew direct student loans, or repaying existing student loansMajor construction projectsDuplicating/replacing funding for existing programsActivities already paid for by another federal grantBroadband infrastructureActivities not aligned with Alaska’s RHTP initiatives