Grantmaking Update: Pausing Acceptance of Unsolicited LOIs

To be more mindful of our grantee partners’ limited capacity during these challenging times and to respond more proactively to community needs, VNA Foundation will be pausing our open letter of intent (LOI) process for the remainder of this fiscal year.

We know this decision is not a perfect one and comes with both benefits and trade-offs. We will continue to evaluate the impact of this pause and change it if/when necessary.

During this LOI pause (July 2025 – June 2026), VNA Foundation will:

• Accept renewal requests from agencies that received at least one grant between December 2023 and June 2025. Whenever possible, we will provide renewal support to these grantee partners, especially those losing critical funding streams.
• Look for opportunities to leverage our impact by investing in responsive pooled funds alongside like-minded peer health funders.
• Set aside limited funds for emergency situations and unanticipated needs.
• Prioritize proactive invitations to existing and new partners that include:
  • Policy and education organizations with the capacity to help stop or reduce some of the most disruptive changes coming from the federal government
  • Organizations providing capacity-building, funding, and other support to local nonprofits
  • Nonprofits working directly with communities being most impacted by current policies.

Staying Connected

Despite the pause in the LOI component of our grantmaking process, we remain committed to staying connected with our grantees and community partners. We encourage you to reach out to our team with questions or to share updates about the critical work happening at your organization. If you are new to VNA Foundation and would like to start a conversation, we ask that you first review our funding overview and FAQs. We also encourage lapsed grantee partners to review these resources as our priorities have shifted some over the past year—after an external assessment and feedback from many of you.

Outside of direct funding, VNA staff are available to:

• Brainstorm potential funding sources
• Share helpful resources (such as those listed in our quarterly e-newsletters)
• Make introductions
• Serve as thought partners
• Convene like-minded organizations that could benefit from collaboration

All of us at VNA Foundation are steadfast in our commitment to the community-based organizations assisting medically underserved communities in our region. Thank you for your perseverance, creativity, compassion, and partnership—the work you do continues to make a difference every day.