CalOptima Health is accepting full applications for its 2026 City Health Improvement Grant Program, a $5.2 million community health funding initiative for Orange County’s 34 incorporated cities. The program supports projects that improve community wellness infrastructure, preventive health access, food and mental wellness supports, and environmental and climate health.
Maximum request amounts are assigned by city segment. Anaheim and Santa Ana may request up to $350,212.47; Garden Grove and Westminster up to $262,659.35; Segment 3 cities up to $175,106.24; and Segment 4 cities up to $87,553.12. CalOptima Health may increase allocations for confirmed applicants after the Letter of Intent stage if less than all available funding is requested.
Eligible projects are restricted to the published project menu and approved locations. Examples include community health and fitness hubs, asthma friendly playground improvements, preventive health fairs, public health kiosks or self service screening stations, community gardens, mental health quiet rooms, food pantry refrigeration, shade and rain shelters, hydration stations, and cooling center or heat relief projects. Capital and infrastructure expenses directly related to approved project types are allowable. Community outreach, education, programming, and reporting costs combined may not exceed 10 percent of the total budget. Administration, indirect expenses, lobbying, duplicate CalOptima funded activities, and projects outside the eligible menu or approved locations are not allowable.
Eligibility is limited to incorporated cities in Orange County. Each city may submit one application and must not have an active CalOptima Health grant that duplicates the proposed scope. Cities with prior CalOptima Health funding must be or have been in good standing. The Letter of Intent deadline was August 31, 2026. CalOptima Health is scheduled to confirm participating applicants and maximum funding amounts on September 15, 2026. Only applicants advanced through that process receive access to the full application. The full application deadline is October 30, 2026. The controlling CalOptima Health funding page does not publish a submission time or deadline time zone for the full application, so Atlas does not infer one.
Applications are submitted through the CalOptima Health grants portal. All required documentation must be included in the final submission. CalOptima Health describes this as a noncompetitive opportunity, but each application must score at least 75 percent under the published evaluation criteria to qualify for an award. The grant term begins April 1, 2027.