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Rural Health Information Hub
Rural Health Information Hub

Funding Starting Points

Learn about how to use RHIhub to identify funding to support rural healthcare and population health.

Funding and Opportunities

  • Browse the Online Library: Funding & Opportunities
    RHIhub identifies and summarizes funding and opportunities for rural communities, including federal, state, and foundation opportunities. Each funding summary includes an overview with links and contacts to help you decide if the opportunity could be a good fit for your project.

    Make the most of this resource through narrowing.
  • Read Funding Announcements
    The News by Topic: Funding page lists the latest Funding News from the Federal Register and other sources. Announcements are added daily Monday-Friday, so check back often.
  • Get Real-Time Notifications
    Subscribe to RSS feeds for funding announcements, with options to get all announcements or announcements by funding type or topic.
  • Get Email Updates
    Sign up for RHIhub This Week to receive weekly email notices that include new funding opportunities.
  • Get Custom Alerts
    Select the most relevant topics and types of information and receive daily or weekly Custom Alerts by email.
  • Request a Custom Search of federal, state, and foundation funding opportunities by contacting us at info@ruralhealthinfo.org. Please include the following information:
    • Your name and organization
    • The type of project you are interested in funding
    • The zip code for the location of your project

Rural Location Eligibility

The Am I Rural? tool can be used to help determine whether a specific location is considered rural based on various definitions of rural, including definitions that are used as eligibility criteria for certain federal programs. The programs covered include:

  • Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Grant Programs
  • Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Rural Health Clinics status

If you are interested in applying for one of these programs, you can check whether your location is eligible by entering the address in Am I Rural? and choosing Run Report.

Most programs have additional requirements you will also need to meet to be eligible. Your "Am I Rural?" report is not a guarantee of your eligibility status. Please check with the program contacts directly to verify your eligibility for specific federal programs. For more information on navigating commonly used acronyms and rural definitions, see the What is Rural? topic guide.

Data and Resources for Program Planning and Grant Applications

The Rural Health Information Hub has Topic Guides on a variety of topics that can be used to support grant writing. In particular, the guide Finding Statistics and Data Related to Rural Health includes many useful links.

Including maps and charts in grant applications can be an effective way to illustrate the needs facing your community. The Rural Data Visualizations section provides maps and charts addressing a variety of health topics at the national, state, and county levels.

Many funders are now looking for levels of evidence to show that potential projects are a good investment. RHIhub has a collection of toolkits that provide evidence-based and promising models and resources to support organizations implementing a variety of rural health programs. The Rural Health Models and Innovations section is useful in searching for evidence-based, effective, and promising projects shown to work in rural locations.

In addition to levels of evidence and promising practices, many funders are looking to invest in sustainable programs that will have an impact after the grant money is spent. The Rural Community Health Toolkit – Module 5: Planning for Funding & Sustainability can help add value to grant proposals.

RHIhub staff can help you find specific statistics, research, and other resources to support your proposal. To request a custom search, contact us at info@ruralhealthinfo.org.

Rural Health Funding Topic Guides

Detailed topic guides on different aspects of funding are available on the RHIhub site: