PPHF: Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health Program financed solely by Public Prevention and Health Funds

The Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funds implementation projects to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities through the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) program (CFDA 93.738), with the most recent grant award dated September 30, 2018.

The program has not posted new grant opportunities since the fiscal year 2018 solicitation closed on July 16, 2018. The portfolio reflects a single award cycle in 2014 (80 awards) followed by a smaller cohort in 2018 (5 awards), suggesting irregular funding cadence rather than annual competitions. Combined federal dollars obligated across 86 awards total $143.7 million. The program is financed by Prevention and Public Health Funds.

Awarded projects support prevention of chronic diseases and health conditions through culturally tailored interventions targeting African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders, American Indians, and Alaska Natives. Concrete funded activities include improving access to fresh produce through mobile farmer's markets and food cooperatives; increasing physical activity opportunities, particularly walking and transit access in underserved neighborhoods; strengthening community-clinical linkages for tobacco cessation and preventive care; and conducting vaccination outreach campaigns addressing vaccine hesitancy in specific communities. Recent awards also funded COVID-19 and influenza vaccination initiatives tailored to marginalized populations through community health workers, pharmacies, and faith-based organizations.

The assistance-type mix is evenly split: 45 Cooperative Agreements (52 percent) and 41 Project Grants (48 percent). Both funding instruments appear equally viable. A single federal agency—the CDC—operates the program and accounts for all 86 awards and $143.7 million in federal obligation; the portfolio reports two funding sources but both reference CDC divisions, indicating internal program structure rather than co-funding.

Recent awards ranged from approximately $643 thousand to $8.5 million in federal obligation. Representative recipients include Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County ($6.2 million for vaccination promotion in marginalized populations), King County ($8.5 million for nutrition and physical activity interventions among African Americans and Asian Americans), Worcester Division of Public Health ($7.5 million for community-driven health equity work), and University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences ($6.7 million for vaccination outreach to Marshallese and Hispanic communities).

Applicant eligibility is broad: state and local governments, federally recognized tribal governments, public and private higher education institutions, 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) nonprofits, and other entity types qualify. The program requires applicants to demonstrate history of working with established community coalitions and capacity to implement locally tailored, evidence-based strategies informed by community health needs assessment.

No grant opportunities are currently open. The last posted solicitation (CDC-RFA-DP18-1813, due July 2018) accepted only Cooperative Agreements despite the portfolio's equal distribution of both instrument types, indicating potential variation in funding mechanisms by cycle.