2027 Vibrant Villages Barstow Built Environment Grant
IEHP Foundation is accepting Letters of Inquiry (LOIs) for grants to improve trusted community places in Barstow, Daggett, Hinkley, Lenwood, Newberry Springs and Yermo, California. This competitive award funds eligible place-based improvements advancing community health, safety, resilience and accessibility. It is distinct from the Foundation’s smaller 2027 Steering Committee Priorities service grant.
Funding, Stages and Deadlines
Individual applicant awards range from $25,000 to $75,000, with a planned project period of January 1–December 31, 2027. The application is two-stage: an initial LOI opened October 2, 2026; invitations for full applications are scheduled for November 6, 2026, and invited full applications are due November 25, 2026 (exact hour not specified in the full summary). The controlling four-page Grant Summary establishes an October 30, 2026, 12:00 noon Pacific Time LOI deadline, but the Foundation’s live grants webpage states an extended 5:00 p.m. Pacific cutoff that day. Applicants should submit by the earlier noon LOI cutoff unless IEHP Foundation confirms the later time in writing. Neither a mandatory cash match nor the overall funding pool is published in the controlling summary.
Who May Apply
Eligible organizations must serve the listed Barstow-region communities and show long-term ownership or qualifying lease/site control for the proposed improvements. Applicants must have operated for at least three years, maintained a minimum $150,000 annual operating budget over the previous three years, demonstrate sustainability and project delivery capacity, and provide maintenance and insurance plans. They must complete the Foundation’s shared community survey if awarded.
Eligible Project Categories
Applicants choose one of four distinct project categories: (1) Community Wellbeing Hubs offering health navigation, cooling/safety and multiple basic-needs services; (2) Built Environment and Infrastructure Improvements such as parks, shaded gathering spaces, walking trails, playgrounds and safety lighting; (3) Last-Mile Capital Funding to complete an already substantially funded community-serving project; or (4) Other Built Environment Improvements with documented benefits to community health or belonging. Wellbeing hubs require a trusted accessible space, IT capacity, rotating health-navigator space, cooling capability and at least four specified service functions. The last-mile option may include essential equipment, accessibility upgrades and cooling/heating improvements.
Restrictions and Conditions
The controlling summary expressly excludes academic scholarships, endowments, individuals, major capital projects, private foundations, retroactive expenses, sabbaticals and vehicles. Its simultaneously listed eligible modest infrastructure and last-mile improvements must be distinguished from excluded large-scale capital projects; applicants should confirm borderline project scope with the funder. Documentation of site control, operational sustainability, maintenance and insurance is mandatory. The report due date is February 4, 2028.
Apply
Review the official 2027 Built Environment Grant Summary and live grant page; complete the eligibility quiz and initial LOI in the Foundation’s linked grant portal. The LOI is due October 30, 2026; because official sources disagree about the exact closing hour, submit by 12:00 noon Pacific Time as stated by the controlling PDF and seek written clarification from grants@iehpfoundation.org. Applicants invited on November 6 will submit the full application by November 25.
Controlling source: IEHP Foundation 2027 Vibrant Villages Barstow Built Environment Grant Summary, extended October 30. Live program page: IEHP Foundation. Verified October 25, 2026.