Behavioral Health Grants

The 2025 Behavioral Health Grants program is administered by the Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas, a private foundation affiliated with Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield. The foundation is dedicated to advancing the health and well-being of Arkansans through targeted philanthropic investments. In its ongoing efforts to support behavioral health improvements across the state, the foundation has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for organizations working in critical areas of mental health and substance use. This grant opportunity is designed to support nonprofit organizations that directly benefit the residents of Arkansas. Applicants must be classified as 501(c)(3) organizations, and all programs proposed must focus on behavioral health issues. Funding is available for a variety of program areas, including but not limited to access to quality mental healthcare, awareness and outreach, crisis care, early intervention, mental health innovation, substance use disorder treatment, suicide prevention, and preventative behavioral healthcare. Funding requests must be between $25,000 and $250,000, and partial funding requests will not be approved. Grantees will have between 12 to 24 months to execute their projects and demonstrate measurable success. The grant process is multi-phased. It begins with the submission of a Letter of Intent (LOI), which opens on July 1 and must be submitted by July 13, 2025. Applicants will receive notification by July 25, 2025, indicating whether they are approved to proceed with a full application. The deadline for submitting the full application is August 15, 2025. All applications and LOIs must be submitted through the foundation’s grant portal: https://blueandyoufoundation.us-1.smartsimple.com. Only those who pass an eligibility quiz and are approved through the LOI process may submit a full application. Final funding decisions will be communicated on November 11, 2025. The LOI requires several key pieces of information including project name, summary, start and end dates, target population and counties, needs assessment supported by data, use of funds with a detailed budget, innovation rationale, expected outcomes, partnerships, other funding sources, and scalability plans. Applicants are encouraged to propose original approaches or research to address clearly defined needs within the behavioral health spectrum. Once an LOI is approved, the full application demands a deeper level of detail. Applicants must address the project's scope, methods, success measurement criteria, timelines, and potential for sustainability after the grant term ends. A thorough demographic analysis of the target population and counties must be provided, along with a complete project budget and narrative justification. If the project includes equipment or construction, cost estimates must be included in the application. Scoring of applications will be based on project design, alignment with the foundation’s behavioral health priorities, demonstration of community need, innovation, health equity, and leveraging of other funding sources. Reviewers will also evaluate the potential for long-term sustainability and community collaboration. Required documents include an independent audit, annual operating budget, IRS Form 990, and a list of the organization's board of directors with affiliations. All applicants will be notified of their status by November 11, 2025.

Clearly state outcomes, cite data, align budget, document community partners