Grants FAQs

Yes. HFL will not fund  

• Underwriting for an organization’s annual appeals/solicitations, special events, or general fundraising. 

• Organizations that discriminate in any way based on participation or membership in a specific religious faith, race, gender, citizenship status, sexual orientation, age, or disability. 

• Faith-based organizations will be considered so long as the grant funds are used for projects/programs that are offered to individuals regardless of their religious affiliation, race, gender, citizenship status, sexual orientation, age, or disability. 

• Endowments. 

• Requests from individuals. 

• Associations of property owners, homeowners, condominiums, etc. 

• Lobbying or the support of any political candidate, political party, or political activity. 

No. HFL currently does not have a guideline regarding the number of grant applications that an organization can submit in a year. This may change in the future.

Yes. HFL recognizes that the work partners do in the community is often long term, and our grantmaking reflects that. If your organization has an open grant for a program, we suggest you wait until your grant term is nearing completion prior to submitting an application for the next year. For example, if you plan to request a mini grant, we suggest you submit an application 4 to 8 weeks prior to your current grant term end date as decisions are made quickly (two weeks or less). If you are applying for a small grant ($5,001 – $25,000), we suggest you apply 3 months prior to your grant term end date.

All LOIs and grant applications must be submitted through HFL’s grant portal.

Attainable Housing: People in La Porte County reside in safe, stable, quality housing that meets their needs and is affordable for their household.  Healthy Eating Active Living: People in La Porte County eat healthy foods and are physically active. Mental Health & Substance Use: People in La Porte County enjoy positive mental health and are free from substance use disorder.  

HFL’s Healthy Community Fund is the fund HFL uses to respond to community needs that align with our mission — La Porte County residents are healthy and well — and that might not align with our focus areas. The Healthy Community Fund is designed to be responsive to community needs and provides three types of grants: mini grants, small grants, and medium grants. 

Mini grants are up to $5,000 and are designed to respond rapidly to community needs. These grants support health and wellness needs in the community; capacity building needs to strengthen La Porte County nonprofits and governmental agencies; and general operating expenses. The mini grant application form is simple and should take at most an hour to complete. Mini grant applications will be accepted February 1 – October 31, 2026, on a rolling basis.  

Organizations that apply for a mini grant can expect a response within two weeks. 

Mini grants are part of our Healthy Community Fund. 

Small grants are grant requests of $5,001 to $25,000 to support health and wellness needs in the community; capacity building needs to strengthen La Porte County nonprofits and governmental agencies; and general operating expenses. Small grant applications will be accepted February 1 – October 31, 2026, on a rolling basis, and decisions will be announced quarterly. 

Small grants are part of our Healthy Community Fund.  

Medium grants are grant requests of $25,001 to $100,000 to support health and wellness needs in the community and capacity building needs to strengthen La Porte County nonprofits and governmental entities. These grants require a Letter of Inquiry (LOI) as the first step.  

The grant portal opened for 2026 medium grant LOI submissions on January 9, 2026. All LOIs were due January 31, 2026. 

HFL will open the grant portal for 2027 medium grant LOI submissions on January 4, 2027. All LOIs will be due January 31, 2027.

We anticipate that medium grants will be a highly competitive category each year.  

Medium grants are part of our Healthy Community Fund. 

Large grants are grant requests of $100,000+ per year for 3-year grant terms. We issued a Request for Application (RFA) April 1, 2026, for the 2026 Large Grants Program. View and download the RFA on hflaporte.org/post/2026-large-grants-program-grant-opportunity-overview-request-for-applications-rfa/.

These grants will address our focus areas of Attainable Housing, Healthy Eating Active Living, and Mental Health & Substance Use and will feature deep collaboration with HFL and partners as well as supported evaluation.  

Each year, HFL awards grants for AEDs, cabinets, and signage through our When Seconds Count: AED initiative. Grant requests are accepted beginning February 14, through our grant portal. To be eligible, applicants must be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization or a governmental entity. We advise interested organizations to submit their application early (beginning February 14), as the number of AEDs is limited.

Click here to enter the Grant Application Portal. The link to the portal can also be accessed at the top of our Grants page at hflaporte.org/grants.

Please contact HFL at 219.326.2471 or contact@hflaporte.org if you need assistance in creating an account in the grant portal or have any issues or questions during the grant application or reporting process.

HFL anticipates awarding up to five grants per focus area (Attainable Housing, Healthy Eating Active Living, and Mental Health and Substance Use), for a total of up to 15 grant awards. We anticipate that most grant awards will range between $300,000 to $900,000 over a three-year grant term.   

The 2026 Large Grants Program is closed. We do not anticipate issuing a RFA for large grants until 2029.

HFL will award three-year grants to partners, which will be paid in installments aligned with implementation plans and grant agreement terms and conditions. Multi-year funding recognizes that complex issues are not solvable in one-year periods, provides stability for partners, and provides for deeper collaboration and evaluation. 

Learning Circles are small, supportive groups of partners who meet regularly to learn from each other, reflect on their work, and talk openly about what they are seeing in the community. Each Circle will focus on one of HFL’s three focus areas (Attainable Housing, Healthy Eating Active Living, and Mental Health and Substance Use). 

Learning Circles will provide a space where partners can think together, share experiences, and explore what is helping people thrive in La Porte County. The emphasis is not on evaluation or compliance but on learning and connection. Learning Circles make room for honest conversations, practical insights, and the wisdom that comes from lived experience and daily practice. 

Large Grant partners are expected to participate.  

Cross-cutting strategies are strategies that contribute to the success of all focus area goals and objectives. These strategies came out of common themes that were identified in the landscape scan process across focus areas. HFL is interested in projects that meaningfully include one or more of the following cross-cutting strategies in their design: 

1. Launch awareness and education campaigns to increase knowledge of local services, opportunities and programs in the focus areas across the county.
2. Improve transportation access through vouchers, ride-share partnerships or volunteer driver programs that connect residents to focus-area services, facilities, and events. 
3. Strengthen referral pathways and navigation supports across all focus areas. 

Yes, HFL offers capacity building support to La Porte County nonprofits and governmental agencies through our Healthy Community Fund’s mini, small, and medium grants. 

Yes, HFL offers capacity building support through different ways, including workshops and educational opportunities. 

The Collaborate feature can help when:

• more than one person from an organization needs to work on a request.
• an applicant or grantee needs someone else to upload a document, fill out certain questions, or sign off on their request (e.g., a fiscal sponsor, or executive director).
• an applicant or grantee needs an efficient way for someone else to view, edit, and/or submit their application or follow-up form (e.g., a grant agreement, or final report).

Click here to learn more about how the Collaborate works.

No.

No.