Opportunity Overview
The Healthy Lakewood Foundation (HLF) 2026 Community Partnership Grants – Cycle Two provide flexible, multi-year support for nonprofit organizations whose work directly improves the health and well-being of Lakewood, Ohio residents, especially residents facing barriers to health. HLF defines health broadly and prioritizes basic needs and stability, mental health services, education, and community connection.
Funding and Deadline
Grants range from $7,500 to $50,000 per year and may support one or two years of funding. Cycle Two is open from August 18 through September 18, 2026. HLF’s controlling program page does not publish a deadline clock time or time zone, so Atlas does not infer one.
Eligibility
Applicants must do work that directly impacts Lakewood residents; organizations may be based in Lakewood or elsewhere if they provide significant services or programming in Lakewood. HLF generally expects at least three years of operations, and applicants must be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization or have a fiscal sponsor. Newer organizations are directed to contact HLF before applying.
Allowable and Excluded Uses
Funding is flexible and may support programmatic or general operating expenses, including overhead, when the work advances health and well-being in Lakewood. HLF does not support capital campaigns or building projects, fundraising events or event sponsorships, lobbying beyond what is permitted for 501(c)(3) organizations, individual scholarships, or religious/evangelical purposes. The published program materials do not state a mandatory applicant match or cost-share requirement.
Application and Required Materials
Applications are submitted through HLF’s online grant portal. The 2026 application asks for organizational mission and overview, years of operation, service area, nonprofit/fiscal-sponsor information, governance and fiscal oversight, the proposed work and its Lakewood impact, measures of success, Lakewood collaborations, amount requested and timeframe, and current fiscal-year information. A direct 501(c)(3) applicant must upload its IRS determination letter. Applicants must provide the most recent Form 990 if available, otherwise recent audited financial statements or an explanation; a current organizational operating budget is required, and the application requests a recent balance sheet or an explanation if one is unavailable. Collaboration letters, a program budget, and additional supporting materials are optional. Applicant-controlled certifications and financial documents must be supplied by the applicant and must not be fabricated.
Contact and Review
Questions may be directed to Kate Ingersoll, Executive Director, at kate@healthylakewoodfoundation.org or 216-206-6749. Organizations that have never received HLF funding are asked to contact the Foundation before applying. Cycle Two review and selected interviews are scheduled for September 28 through October 30, with final Board approval planned for November 2026.
Atlas Fit Analysis
Atlas Opportunity Score: 88/100 for a strong Lakewood-serving healthcare or behavioral-health nonprofit with a well-defined health-equity initiative.
N9+ Fit Score: 45/100, conditional. N9+ is not a stated funder priority. A defensible pathway exists only where an eligible organization can show that guided remote physical examinations, vitals, or telehealth-enabled clinical encounters directly advance an existing or proposed Lakewood health-access program. Atlas should not force a technology purchase into a general-operating request or assume equipment allowability without applicant and funder validation.
Strong Applicant Profile
Signature Health is a realistic candidate because it operates a Lakewood health center providing mental health, addiction recovery, primary care, pharmacy and laboratory services, and its Lakewood primary-care model already includes virtual-provider availability. Any pursuit should be built around an applicant-owned Lakewood need and program strategy, not a vendor-authored premise.
Verification basis: Healthy Lakewood Foundation Community Partnership Grants program page and the official Fall 2026 Community Partnership Grant application, reverified September 12, 2026.