Arts & Community Health Grant

The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, affiliated with Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, has announced the 2025 Arts & Community Health Request for Proposals (RFP) to promote the intersection of the arts and public health. This initiative is grounded in the belief that the arts can effectively convey health messages, foster healthy behaviors, and connect communities with vital health services. The Foundation’s mission centers around improving health outcomes in New Jersey through prevention, education, and awareness, with a strong emphasis on community engagement. The 2025 RFP encourages arts organizations to submit proposals that use artistic expression—visual, literary, performing, or fine arts—to improve community health. Eligible programs must focus on direct encouragement of healthy behaviors related to physical or mental health, elevate dialogue on priority health areas such as obesity, behavioral health, and social determinants of health, and facilitate access to or awareness of available health services. Proposals should make health information more accessible, memorable, and culturally relevant. Examples of suitable projects include community theater performances that address opioid use disorder and collaborative art-making programs with local health offices focused on issues like diabetes and nutrition. Funding will be provided to programs that operate for a one-year term beginning January 1, 2026, and concluding December 31, 2026. The maximum grant amount available per project is $25,000. Proposals must be submitted via the Foundation’s CyberGrants portal, using the official application provided. The RFP became available on June 2, 2025, and the submission deadline is September 9, 2025. Applicants will be notified of funding decisions by November 2025. To qualify, applicants must be arts organizations. While prior experience in health-focused programming is not required, the Foundation welcomes applicants who have it. Collaborative partnerships between arts organizations and healthcare or other entities are permissible, but must be clearly described in the application. The Foundation explicitly excludes funding for general wellness arts programming, therapeutic arts services, proposals from non-arts organizations, programs outside of New Jersey, and multi-year requests. Interested applicants are advised to visit the Foundation’s website to review complete application guidelines. Those with specific questions or concept proposals for review are encouraged to contact the Foundation via email at Foundation_Info@HorizonBlue.com. A list of 2024 Arts & Community Health grantees is available for reference on the Foundation’s site. All funded programs must serve communities within the state of New Jersey. This grant opportunity is not offered on a rolling basis but is anticipated to recur annually. As such, organizations interested in future funding cycles should mark their calendars and revisit the Foundation’s website for updates. The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey continues to support nonprofit work that enhances community health through innovation and engagement at the intersection of the arts and healthcare.