FAQs
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
Funding
VNA Foundation funds program, operations, capital, and start-up grants.
VNA Foundation funds agencies in the metropolitan Chicago area, including Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will Counties.
Each request is considered on an individual basis, but our average grant is in the $35,000 to $50,000 range, and our maximum is generally $65,000 to $80,000. Please see our grants list for examples of recent grant amounts.
VNA Foundation prefers requested grant amounts to be rounded up or down to the nearest $500. Please see our grants list for examples of recent grant amounts. If you have questions, please contact your Program Officer.
Yes, VNA Foundation funds indirect costs. Your Program Officer will reach out to you during the grant application review stage with any questions or concerns related to budgeted indirect costs.
Yes, but in deference to our roots as the Visiting Nurse Association of Chicago, priority consideration will be given to programs in which care is provided by nurses.
Yes, but infrequently. Feel free to call us to determine if this might be an option for you.
VNA Foundation funds must be used only for the medically underserved. This is accomplished through grants to agencies that work exclusively with this population, or by funding specific programs that target the under- and uninsured.
No, our Super Star in Community Nursing Award was the only grant VNA Foundation made to individuals. This award has been suspended indefinitely.
No. All grants must support home- or community-based health care and health services.
No. All grants are made to qualified nonprofit agencies exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3), and designated as public charities under section 509(a)(1) or 509(a)(2), of the Internal Revenue Code.
During the last few years VNA has received an overwhelming amount of requests from agencies providing mental health services. As a smaller funder with limited capacity, and with mental health being only one of seven funding areas, we must generally prioritize grants to federally-designated Community Mental Health Centers, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and other community health centers that provide mental and behavioral health services regardless of clients’ inability to pay.
Application Process
VNA Foundation welcomes phone calls, but a Letter of Intent submitted through our online Grants Management System is required for all new grants. Unless approved otherwise, agencies can submit one Letter of Intent per fiscal year (July 1 – June 30).
The VNA Board of Directors meets to review grant proposals four times each year. Application deadlines are updated annually. Unless approved otherwise, agencies can submit one Letter of Intent per fiscal year (July 1 – June 30).
Letters of intent and proposals must be submitted through our online Grants Management System.
No. All proposals must be submitted through our online Grants Management System by 5:00 p.m. on the submission due date.
There is a tutorial for the online Grants Management System available.
Applicants should create only one account per agency. However multiple people may be listed as contacts and can use the account.
Applicants are welcome to call the foundation staff to discuss funding ideas. We will do our best to give you straight-forward answers that either invite a Letter of Intent, provide ideas that might strengthen a submission, or suggest other opportunities for funding. Please remember, however, that although staff makes funding recommendations, the VNA Foundation Board of Directors reviews all proposals, and it is the board that makes all final funding decisions.
Current Grantee Partners
Yes, VNA Foundation considers requests for renewal grants from partners who have been funded within the past two years. Due to high demand on our limited grantmaking resources, however, renewal funding should never be assumed, and we encourage all grantees to aggressively seek alternate funding sources. Please refer to vnafoundation.net/current-grantee-resources/ to learn more about renewal funding, including important information about timeframes and renewal request forms.
Please contact Program Officer Rachel Baird with any questions about the renewal process.
Multiyear grant recipients are also required to contact their Program Officers to determine end-of-year report criteria.
Please see our renewal funding guidelines
Yes, six and twelve month reports (also called follow-ups) are required of all grantees, unless otherwise requested by the Foundation. Please refer to your grant award letter for due dates. Additionally, you will receive an automatic reminder and link to report templates (follow-up templates) from our online Grants Management System.
No, our renewal proposals request information on your grant that is ending and for which you are seeking renewal funding, so you don’t need to complete another twelve-month report on that same grant.
Contact your Program Officer to discuss any problems. Dialogue is always encouraged.
Please contact your Program Officer to discuss solutions.
Email Rachel Baird at rachel@vnafoundation.net.
Nursing Services
No. The VNA Foundation is no longer a home healthcare agency. Since September 1995, we have operated exclusively as a grantmaking foundation.
Unfortunately, we are not able to provide referrals to home nursing care agencies.
