Opportunity Overview
The Data for Equity Funding Collaborative, supported by the bi3 Fund, HealthPath Foundation of Ohio, and Interact for Health, has opened its September 2026 Strengthening Capacity for Equitable Data & Evaluation Request for Proposals. The program is designed to strengthen nonprofit and governmental organizations’ capacity around community-driven, equitable data and evaluation practices in service of health and health justice.
Funding and Deadline
The Collaborative plans to award up to 10 grants of $40,000 each. Each grant runs for 18 months and supports both participation in the learning cohort and a proposed organizational project to test, innovate, and iterate on equitable data and evaluation approaches. Completed applications are due Wednesday, October 7, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. through the Funding Collaborative’s online grants management system hosted through Interact for Health. The published RFP does not state a time zone, so applicants should not assume one without confirming with the funder.
Eligible Applicants and Geography
Applicants must be a public nonprofit or governmental organization and provide services in at least one county in Interact for Health’s 20-county service area. Organizations without nonprofit or governmental tax status may seek funding through a qualifying fiscal sponsor. Eligible Kentucky counties are Boone, Bracken, Campbell, Gallatin, Grant, Kenton, and Pendleton; eligible Ohio counties are Adams, Brown, Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Hamilton, Highland, and Warren; and eligible Indiana counties are Dearborn, Franklin, Ohio, Ripley, and Switzerland.
Program Priorities
Competitive applicants should have work focused on health and health justice, demonstrate organizational commitment and an internal champion for the work, propose a project that strengthens equitable data and evaluation practices, meaningfully engage community members over time, and already have basic data infrastructure or evaluation capacity to build upon. The funder specifically states that this is not a grant for organizations beginning data collection for the first time.
Illustrative projects include co-designing data collection tools with community members, improving internal data collection and analysis practices, engaging communities in interpretation of findings, piloting accessible ways to share findings back with community, conducting small-scale power or network analyses, and strengthening staff capacity to use data through an equity lens.
Allowable Budget Categories and Required Materials
The application includes budget categories for salaries and benefits, consultants, equipment and supplies, project-related travel, project-related meeting costs, and other expenses. Grant funds may also support participation in cohort learning activities, including staff time, travel, community-member stipends, childcare, and food. The published RFP does not state a mandatory match or cost-share requirement.
Required lead-organization materials include the most recent Form 990, current operating budget (or departmental budget for large/complex organizations), board of trustees list, conflict-of-interest disclosure, and an audited financial statement if available. Fiscal-sponsored applications have additional fiscal-sponsorship information and agreement requirements.
Participation Requirements
Awarded organizations must participate in quarterly cohort meetings over the 18-month grant period, a one-hour primer webinar, periodic check-ins, and evaluation activities. Optional training, one-on-one coaching, and technical assistance will also be available.
N9+ / Dr. Miltie Strategic Analysis
N9+ Fit Score: 5/100. This opportunity is primarily organizational capacity building around equitable data and evaluation, not clinical service delivery, telehealth deployment, or remote physical examination. Although the application includes an equipment-and-supplies budget category, that alone does not establish a legitimate basis for including the Nonagon N9+. Atlas should not force N9+ into this opportunity.
Dr. Miltie is also not a natural direct applicant because the core program is designed for nonprofit and governmental organizations building their own equitable data and evaluation capacity. Fiscal sponsorship is technically available for organizations without qualifying tax status, but the current RFP does not establish a strong strategic basis for a Dr. Miltie-led submission.
Submission and Contacts
Applications must be submitted through the Funding Collaborative’s Foundant grants management system. For RFP questions, the published contact is Michelle Lydenberg, Senior Manager of Data and Learning at Interact for Health, at mlydenberg@interactforhealth.org or 513-458-6626. Application-system assistance is available from Director of Grants Management Kristine Niergarth at kniergarth@interactforhealth.org.
Controlling source: Data for Equity Funding Collaborative, Strengthening Capacity for Equitable Data & Evaluation, September 2026 RFP.