American Lung Association

American Lung Association, a tax-exempt nonprofit based in Chicago, Illinois, receives federal grant funding as a prime recipient across environmental health, clean transportation, and lung disease prevention programs, with a secondary role as a grant sub-recipient under state and university prime grantees. The organization operates through seven named subsidiaries including regional affiliates (American Lung Association of California, American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest, American Lung Association of the Southwest) and specialized entities (Respiratory Health Association, Breathe New Hampshire, American Lung Association of the Plains-Gulf Region).

American Lung Association's federal footprint centers on environmental health and public health grant work rather than federal contracts. Recent prime recipient activity emphasizes three capability areas: diesel emissions reduction and clean transportation (CFDA 66.039, Diesel Emissions Reduction Act awards from EPA Regions 4, 5, 6, 7, and 10), clean energy and electric vehicle infrastructure (CFDA 81.086, Conservation Research and Development cooperative agreements from the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy), and indoor air quality and radon risk reduction (CFDA 66.034, Surveys, Studies, Research, Investigations, Demonstrations, and Special Purpose Activities Relating to the Clean Air Act from EPA's Office of Air and Radiation). Representative prime work includes an $8 million five-year project grant (October 2024–September 2029) to plan, implement, and evaluate the Clean Air School Challenge, which raises awareness and builds capacity for K-12 schools in low-income, disadvantaged, and tribal communities nationwide to develop comprehensive indoor air quality and greenhouse gas management plans; a $6.6 million Diesel Emissions Reduction Act project grant (August 2024–July 2028) to replace or repower 23 diesel engines across fleets operating in Nebraska, Missouri, and Kansas, reducing lifetime emissions by over 12,000 tons and generating $1.5 million in annual healthcare cost savings; and two $215,000 and $138,000 cooperative agreements (April 2026–March 2027) serving as Clean Cities and Communities Coalition partners in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Fargo, North Dakota, providing stakeholder engagement, technical assistance, and performance metrics tracking for the Department of Energy's Transportation Technologies Office.

Customer concentration reflects a public-health and environmental-health federal portfolio. The top five funding agencies by award count — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (23 awards), the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (18 awards), EPA Region 5 (12 awards), CDC (10 additional awards), and the National Institutes of Health's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (10 awards) — account for 52 percent of recent awards. The same agencies dominate potential value: CDC and EPA RTP carry the largest listed potential values, though the source indicates total combined potential value across all 141 awards is $195 thousand, which reflects a reporting convention artifact rather than actual award magnitude. Obligated dollars total $187.2 million against that threshold.

Activity has accelerated notably. Awards per year climbed from eight in 2022 to 34 in 2024, then moderated to 15 in 2025 and 7 in 2026 (through April). Six awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, presenting recompete opportunity for competitors and recompete exposure for the organization.

American Lung Association holds a substantial sub-recipient role, capturing 46 percent of the recent 141-award portfolio through grant sub-awards under prime grantees including Northwestern University (The American Lung Association Lung Health Cohort, multiple awards); state departments of health in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa, Delaware, and West Virginia (radon programs, asthma control, tobacco prevention, tuberculosis control, and youth vaping prevention); the Illinois Department of Public Health (home visiting and asthma initiatives); the National Foundation for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Coalition for Respiratory Virus Prevention); Health Research, Inc. (New York State Children's Asthma Initiatives, home-based asthma initiatives); the Johns Hopkins University (clinical trial of omalizumab for allergen-sensitized individuals with COPD); World Resources Institute (school bus fleet electrification training for Clean Cities and Communities Coalitions); and Forth Mobility Fund (electric vehicle charging infrastructure financing models). Sub-award work spans CDC-funded tobacco prevention and asthma control programs, EPA-funded radon testing and mitigation, state radon action plans, and Department of Energy transportation electrification initiatives.

The organization's federal grant strategy emphasizes health equity, underserved and tribal communities, and environmental justice. Deliverables across the portfolio include educational outreach materials, workforce training (radon mitigation specialists, school staff on indoor air quality, community-based organizations on EV charging), policy advocacy supporting radon-resistant building codes and smoke-free housing, and emissions reductions with quantified health impact metrics. No federal contracts or contract vehicles anchor the footprint; all activity flows through grant and cooperative agreement vehicles from health and environment agencies.