Learn More About Our Hurricane Helene Response
Older adults (ages 60+) enrich our families and communities with wisdom, experience and meaningful contributions. Like many communities across the United States, the population in Western North Carolina (WNC) is aging. This means that additional resources and services are necessary to support the wellbeing of older adults and those that care for them.
Hurricane Helene exposed and intensified existing challenges for older adults, their families, their caregivers, and the organizations that serve them. Meeting basic needs (e.g., food security, transportation), housing concerns (e.g., affordability, maintenance, safety), isolation and mental health needs have grown in the aftermath of the storm and require continued attention and support as communities recover and rebuild.
With Dogwood Health Trust’s purpose rooted in the health and wellbeing of all people and communities in the 18 counties and Qualla Boundary of Western North Carolina (WNC), we are opening a special funding opportunity focused on investing in community supports for older adults and for those that care for them.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2019-2023
This funding opportunity offers grant support for organizations and efforts focused on improving the health and wellbeing of older adults (ages 60+) in the 18 counties and Qualla Boundary of Western North Carolina.
Option One: General Operating Support
This option offers general operating grant support for advancing an organization’s core mission. In this case, organizations that apply should have a core mission focused on serving the needs of low- to moderate-income older adults (ages 60+) and those who care for them.
Option Two: Programmatic or Project Support
This option offers programmatic or project-specific grant support to organizations serving the needs of low- to moderate-income older adults (ages 60+) and those who care for them.
With this opportunity, Dogwood aims to support organizations that are addressing the urgent needs of older adults resulting from or intensified by Hurricane Helene and efforts that support or expand opportunities for older adults and those who care for them. Strong proposals will:
All organizations receiving grants will be required to be part of Dogwood’s Older Adult Collaborative, which will focus on network-building, peer-learning, collaborative resource development and sharing, policy, systems, and environmental change strategy planning. Health Resources in Action will lead the Collaborative on behalf of Dogwood. Additional financial support will be provided to support participants’ participation. We are considering a kickoff to the Collaborative in January 2026 and will convene partners over 24 months.
| June 18, 2025 | RFP Released |
| July 7 to Aug. 4, 2025 | Application Open. Proposals are due by 5 p.m. E.T. on Aug. 4. Applications must be submitted online. |
| November 2025 | Grant awards announced. (This timing was updated due to the large amount of interest in this opportunity and to ensure we could give every application careful consideration.) |
Applications will open on this page on July 7. Download background and a preview of the application questions here:
Grant sizes will range from $50,000 to $150,000 and will depend on the applicant organization’s capacity, geographic scope and strength of proposal. In requesting a grant, please keep in mind that Dogwood will not fund more than 25% of any organization’s total budget over any four-year period.
General Operating Support:
Organizations can use general operating support funding for advancing their core mission, including building or growing programs, advocacy or policy efforts, and more. A list of options includes:
Program/Project Support:
Organizations can use program/project funding for efforts that serve older adults and those that care for them. All efforts should also align with Dogwood’s strategic priorities of housing, education, economic opportunity and health & wellness.
Dogwood’s Older Adult Collaborative will gather all grantee organizations receiving funding from this RFP. Participation in the collaborative is required for at least one representative per organization. The collaborative will build networks, foster peer learning, develop and share resources, and plan strategies for policy, systems and environmental change. The collaborative will begin to meet in January 2026 and will convene grantees quarterly over 24 months. Meetings will be held both virtually and in person. Additional financial support will be provided to support collaborative member participation.
Dogwood will only accept one application per type (GOS or program/project) per organizational tax ID for this RFP. Applicant organizations may also have active Dogwood grants and apply for Dogwood’s other open grant opportunities.
Yes, but Dogwood will not fund more than 25% of any organization’s total budget over any four-year period.
Yes. Please include details in your proposal about how you specifically support and serve older adults.
Yes, but all grant dollars must be used to support and benefit older adults and those who care for them in the 18 westernmost counties and Qualla Boundary of Western North Carolina.
For General Operating Support: Grant reporting includes a pre-grant reflection, annual check-in conversations with Dogwood staff, and a final reflection at the end of the grant period. This process helps organizations reflect on their work, experiences and collaboration with Dogwood. Responses from all participating organizations will inform how Dogwood supports organizational health, connections and needs over time.
For Program/Project Support: All grants require a written final report. For multi-year grants, annual verbal check-in meetings with the program lead are also required. Dogwood will provide a report template to assist grantees in preparing the report.
All grantees in this cohort will also participate in a broader evaluation of the Older Adults Collaborative, led by a third-party evaluator in partnership with Dogwood. This will include identifying meaningful indicators to measure the process, outcomes and value of their work and the initiative overall. Participation may involve interviews, brief surveys, and sharing relevant data or information to support learning and evaluation efforts.
Additional FAQs about our grantee portal and application are available here. For any other questions, please email [email protected].
