Funding opportunity
The Georgia Department of Community Health, State Office of Rural Health, released the state-funded SFY2027 Dual Track Rural Medical and Dental Clinic Establishment Request for Grant Application on October 26, 2026. This is a competitive financial-assistance grant, not vendor procurement or a confirmed Rural Health Transformation Program subaward. Track 2 supports establishment of a NEW dental practice in an eligible rural Georgia county. General dentistry and pediatric dentistry are priority specialties.
Individual applicant funding
The controlling RFGA cover identifies an anticipated $800,000 award for a one-year project, subject to appropriations and final state approval. Section IV says at least $800,000 for selected applicants, while the cover specifies $800,000; an independently verified maximum above that stated amount is not available. The cover says up to four awards overall, but Section IV states up to four in each track. Applicants should confirm the final individual ceiling and award count with the funder; these conflicting statements are not to be treated as settled terms. Each applicant must choose one track for each submitted application.
Eligibility
A Georgia university with a currently accredited dental school must be the lead applicant. Hospitals or existing dental practices may partner in establishing a new site, but an independent practice is not itself an eligible lead. The proposed clinic must be in a qualifying rural Georgia county or county with a Critical Access Hospital. The clinic must accept commercially insured patients and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries and must support clinical rotations for students from accredited Georgia medical or dental schools. The applicant must be in good standing with the department. Funding cannot be used merely to expand an existing practice site.
Eligible costs and important restrictions
Permitted purposes include new-site acquisition, renovation and upgrades, necessary supplies and equipment, provider and staff salary support, and community marketing. The signed award agreement must precede any grant-funded expenditure. The RFGA states an indirect-cost cap of 10 percent of the total award in its main text, whereas Appendix E says 10 percent of total direct costs; confirm the controlling calculation. No explicit applicant match or cost-sharing percentage is stated. The award calls for a project manager, grant orientation, quarterly meetings, invoices and reports.
Application deadline and requirements
Application documents must be RECEIVED at RFGA.DualRuralMedDen@dch.ga.gov by December 18, 2026, at 11:59 p.m.; the controlling RFGA does not specify a time zone. Questions are due November 6, 2026 at 11:59 p.m., with state responses expected November 13. Required items include the project declaration, abstract, project and organizational narratives, value-added services, signed ethics and business-associate forms, the DCH application form, itemized budget and justification, project work plan, timeline, and applicable commitments from institutional and partner leadership. Submit documents as instructed and monitor official addenda. A late, incomplete or nonresponsive application will not be considered.
Official source and verification
October 26, 2026 controlling Georgia DCH RFGA (53 pages). Official Georgia DCH grant announcements and amendments. Official-source research checked October 28, 2026. The published RFGA contains unresolved inconsistencies in the number of awards and indirect-cost ceiling; preserve this record in Pending Review pending clarification and authorized protected approval.