FAQ

The Humana Foundation is the philanthropic giving arm of Humana, Inc. and was established in 1981.

Our mission centers on advancing health equity by working to eliminate unjust, avoidable, and unnecessary barriers in health and healthcare. 

Our vision is for seniors, veterans, and school-aged children to live connected, healthy lives.

The Humana Foundation advances health equity by fostering community-centered collaborations and evidence-based investments that support seniors, veterans, and school-aged children in living connected, healthy lives. We do this work by focusing on programmatic grantmaking and solution-focused advocacy and research.

• We create healthy emotional connections as a vital part of our holistic approach to care.
• We shape a healthier approach to nutrition that supports lifelong health and wellbeing.
• We deploy our knowledge and resources as stewards of good health in communities across the country.

The Humana Foundation is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of current and retired Humana Inc. executives as well as community leaders serving in a volunteer capacity. Board members meet quarterly to discuss and vote on the affairs of the Humana Foundation.

The Humana Foundation has an endowment and a set annual budget approved by its Board of Directors.

We advance health equity by making high-impact investments in key communities and driving innovative national thought leadership. Our focus geographies include:

• Kentucky, with an emphasis on Louisville, the founding home of the Humana Foundation
• Florida
• Louisiana
• Texas

The Humana Foundation will consider certain other grants, regardless of geography, under the following funds:

• Humana Foundation Research Fund
• Humana Foundation Health Equity Innovation Fund

Advancing health equity is a generational task. By working to eliminate barriers to creating healthy emotional connections and shaping a healthier approach to nutrition within targeted regions and populations, we believe we can make a meaningful impact.

We partner with local communities and trusted organizations to create a support network so that people can confront life’s challenges. Our support networks serve people despite their age, ethnicity, gender identity or home or health condition. We enable connections for seniors, veterans, and school-aged kids to help them navigate suicide prevention, substance abuse treatment, foster-grandparent programs and more.

We advance equity through collaboration with community ecosystems to advance nutritional literacy and food security. This helps enhance people’s ability to secure consistent and reliable access to healthy food. From awareness initiatives for seniors, veterans, and school-aged kids, to community food systems and food mapping pilots, we empower people on their health journey.

The Health Equity Innovation Fund provides seed funding for organizations working to eliminate barriers in health and health care. The Fund provides an opportunity to test interventions and solutions designed to address preventable, chronic diseases for populations facing inequity. Proposals should assist The Foundation in achieving its goals of creating healthy emotional connections and shaping a healthier approach to nutrition.

Learn more about our goals and approach.

The Humana Foundation allocates funding each year to provide emergency relief to communities in crisis and support equitable, long-term recovery and preparedness.

Learn more about our goals and approach.

The Humana Foundation’s research strategy is designed to generate knowledge that translates into practical solutions for removing barriers that prevent people from living healthy, connected lives.

The Foundation also looks to support research initiatives that drive for transformational change. Please note, participation in research projects is by invitation only.

The Humana Foundation has an endowment and a set annual budget approved by its Board of Directors.

The Humana Foundation funds tax exempt organizations including non-profits, governmental organizations and faith-based organizations.

All organizations that meet eligibility requirements are considered for grant opportunities and welcome to submit proposals. When you apply for grants, we make it convenient by walking you through the entire process online, from completing a pre-screening questionnaire to completing an application.

You do not need a separate fiscal sponsors.

To be eligible for funding, your organization must register its status when you apply for grants.

Because our grant cycles change from year to year, grant seekers are encouraged to read about ongoing commitments to see if your goals match the Humana Foundation’s vision. Proposals are accepted on an ongoing basis, even during closed grant periods. Learn more about our grants, upcoming grant cycles and how to stay in touch.

The Humana Foundation doesn’t provide funding for sponsorships or fundraising events. All potential sponsorships should be submitted to Humana Inc. via email to sponsorshiprequests@humana.com.

First, thank you for the work you’re doing to make a positive impact on your community!

While we’d love to meet in-person with every organization, unfortunately, we don’t have the capacity to do so. If you still have questions after reviewing our specific commitment areas, please contact us and we can plan how best to continue our conversation about partnering.

If you’re ready to start the process, which includes a prescreening to determine further eligibility, you can begin when you apply for grants.

Each grant has a set budget and expectations specifically around expenses. Understanding these budgetary requirements on the front end will be helpful while completing an application.

Direct costs refer to all the expenses that are required for and can be directly tracked to the grant project.

Indirect costs are different. These are limited expenses that cannot be directly tracked to a project. Our indirect cost policy provides that the indirect cost rate may not exceed 15 percent of the direct costs of the project, excluding the costs of the following:

• Consultants, contractors and subgrants
• Equipment and capital expenditures
• Fee-for-service charges
• Fiscal sponsor fees
• Tuition and Learning & Development Resources

The indirect cost rate may not cover all a grantee’s general operating costs, and grantees may need to use other resources to cover these costs.

On the application, applicants should include their indirect cost associated with the proposal in the ‘other’ section of the budget template. Please note next to the expense description within the budget that the item is an indirect cost.

We appreciate each proposal submission and the time taken to complete the application process. Generally, we look for diverse projects that have a potential large impact on health equity and can potentially be sustainable, scalable and replicated. More reasons for not funding a project may include:

• The results described in the proposal were not articulated as clearly as results outlined in similar proposals.
  
• The cost per person was high (factoring in the level of results and challenges participant’s face) in comparison to other proposals. 
• Lack of clarity and evidence the approach will achieve the stated results.
• Lack of clarity about key project staff, partners and collaborators and their capabilities, expertise or experience and achieve the project goals.
• The allocation of funds as outlined in the budget was not well aligned with the Humana Foundation’s strategy (i.e., the bulk of the budget requested was going to general expenses). 

In the absence of the above reasons, we still receive more compelling proposals than we’re able to support, and the selection process can be rigorous.

We value your time and appreciate the work we see many organizations doing to help create healthier communities. We encourage organizations to continue exploring future options for working with the Humana Foundation.

To submit a proposal, please first establish a profile and complete an eligibility check in our new grant management system. Refer to this User Guide for tips navigating the grant management system.

The Humana Foundation scholarship program is open only to children and dependents of Humana Inc. associates.

Scholarship America informs all Humana Foundation scholarship applicants about the decision to either approve or decline your request.

If you haven’t heard back by the time specified, please contact Scholarship America at humanafoundation@scholarshipamerica.org

The Humana Foundation partners with Benevity to administer the gift matching program. Most 501c3 organizations are already in the system, but you can register and update your cause profile here.

Once registered you can also select a payment method and view details of your disbursements. For help registering your Benevity profile, click here. For help editing your Benevity cause profile, click here.

Eligible organizations must be one of the following:

• Recognized by and registered with the United States I.R.S. as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
• Accredited public or private pre-K - 12 schools or school districts or public or non-profit colleges and universities to which contributions are tax deductible under the Internal Revenue Code of the United States

The Giving Together matching gift program is generally not available for organizations outside the Humana Foundation’s core mission of improving community health and well-being through support of nonprofit partners that promote healthy behaviors, health education, and access to health services.

These ineligible organizations may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Organizations that do not comply with the Foundation’s anti-discrimination policy. The Humana Foundation will not knowingly provide support to organizations that discriminate against a person or group based on age, political affiliation, race, national origin, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation, or religious belief.
• Organizations that provide benefits directly to Humana associates or their families, such as trips, tours, internships, tuition, event tickets, parking privileges, club dues, products and services, or discounts on products or services.
• Religious organizations, unless the specific program is designated as non-denominational in nature and benefits a broad range of the community (e.g., soup kitchen, homeless shelter). Note: religious organizations must go through a nomination process and be vetted by Humana Foundation.
• Gifts to entities classified as private foundations or Donor Advised Funds (contributions out of a Donor Advised Fund to an eligible organization as described above would be eligible for matching with donation receipt).

If you’re a nonprofit organization in need of volunteers, you can create a profile with Benevity, the platform that powers Humana Together, Humana’s internal resource for finding and tracking volunteer and giving opportunities.

Once you have registered and created a profile, follow these steps to post a volunteer opportunity. If you want your event to only be viewable by Humana associates, use the share key “Humana-volunteer” when setting up your opportunity. 

Ready to find volunteers?

More information about the Humana Foundation Senior Council will be available soon.  If you currently reside in Louisville, Ky or in Florida, Texas or Louisiana and you want to learn more about the Humana Foundation Senior Council, please contact us via email at HumanaFoundationSeniorCouncil@humana.com.