18 Sep Funding Opportunities Available for Home Health Agencies
Grants, programs, and other opportunities for home health care businesses and where to look for them
With inflation, expenses, and operational costs spanning home care software, caregiver retention bonuses, PPE, and other items,
identifying funding resources to offset costs can be a complex undertaking, particularly for smaller agencies.
The truth is, finding and being awarded funding opportunities for home health agencies (HHAs) can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. The challenges of HHAs not only include meeting the needs of the aging population, recruiting and retaining staff, meeting regulatory requirements, staying updated on regulations but navigating tight margins to top it off. This blog will focus on opportunities available today for HHAs to support financial stability through finding available financial opportunities.
Federal and National Grants for Home Health Agencies
The federal government remains committed to supporting healthcare organizations as a critical source of funding through grant opportunities. Programs available range from supporting rural agencies to opportunities to support access to organizations that support clients with chronic disease. The Department of Health and Human Services over sees and distributes the most Federal money to organizations. Grants are distributed at the federal and local state agency levels. Their site provides guidance on the process for becoming a registered user to make searching and applying for grant opportunities more seamless.
Keep in mind of directives occurring as of August 2025 with implementation of the Executive Order Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking. The awarding of grants will shift to awarding agencies that demonstrate a commitment to advance the President’s policy priorities. The good news for small or mid-sized home health agencies is that the Order looks to award recipients that have not received grants in past years due to the awards reportedly going to repeat organizations due to their ability to hire professional grant writers.
HRSA Grants and Workforce Support
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has long-provided programs focused on strengthening and stabilizing the healthcare workforce. Training grants and fundings to support initiatives for staff shortages have been foundational for this organization and there continues to be opportunities for grants. Ideas for home health agencies to improve eligibility for funding include:
- Leveraging rural communities served. Numerous HRSA funding opportunities are designated to address the needs of rural, underserved, and vulnerable populations as specific priorities. Student loan repayment program grants do not directly bring cash flow to home health agencies, but they can reduce organizational costs associated with turnover and serve as a key recruitment approach.
- Partner with educational institutions or training programs. If a home health agency isn’t eligible as an organization on its own (often if not designated as a non-profit organization), consider partnering with community colleges, nursing schools, or other organizations applying for Bureau of Healthcare Workforce (BHW) grants. This allows your agency to benefit through requesting portions of funds to support preceptorships, in-service training, or externships for example.
The Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization is a federal organization with a mission to support small businesses through advocacy and advisory services, specifically those that are women and veteran owned. Many services provided to organizations are at no or low cost and include support with:
- starting a business,
- growth of a business, and
- competing in the local market
Taking advantage of expert counseling, training, mentorship programs, and access to resources can save home health agencies on cost and provide an immense return on investment.
Grants.gov provides the portal to stay connected to upcoming (forecasted) and currently open opportunities for funding. Look for Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) to find current, open, or upcoming grant opportunities that may support your agency. Use the new simple search option and keywords such as “rural,” “home care,” “community health,” “chronic disease,” “complex in home care” to narrow findings and tailor to your organization.
Regional and State Specific Home Health Funding Opportunities
National grants are often the most sought-after type of funding for organizations and individuals, but smaller sums of money through local entities can be less competitive and lenient in their award processes. For example, in New York the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation opens an application cycle for grants at the end of the first quarter each year with a specific aim to improve the healthcare workforce with financial support to recruit, retain and educate healthcare workers.
Home health agency leaders can seek out local opportunities by searching for more local options that include:
- local foundations,
- State professional organizations (home care associations, home care nurse associations, etc.) and
- county specific foundations.
Successful Funding Applications for Home Health Agencies
Writing a successful application requires several key components to be competitive. Strategies to increase the likelihood of obtaining funding include:
- Aligning with the founder’s mission. Ensure the organization’s goals are explicitly related to those listed in the funding description.
- Use specific details on how your organization will reach stated goals in line with the funder’s mission, including data on the vulnerable populations your organization serves or lack of access the local community has to health services,
- Highlight recruitment or retainment challenges with detail. Include data concerning the sustainability of the organization without securing funding, detailed plans for use for funds for training, onboarding, and recruitment.
The landscape of federal grants has undoubtedly changed in the year 2025. Home health organizations need to rethink their strategies for funding to grow and sustain their businesses. The first step for leaders of home health agencies will be simply to start searching and connecting with local entities, ensuring the agency’s name is the first to come to mind by funders once grants become available.
References:
Mother Cabrini Health Foundation
Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization
Bureau of Healthcare Workforce (BHW)
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking
Department of Health and Human Services
Additional home health care blogs:
- Mental health challenges in home health care patients
- The ten best ways to show caregivers appreciation
- How to make your agency the expert on homecare
- Increasing home health care patient engagement
- Improving caregiver retention through nurse mentor programs
Home care software education
Want to learn more about home care software, or looking for information on how an EMR for home health can help agencies thrive? Check out some of these blogs on researching, choosing, or implementing homecare agency software for your business.
Alora’s home health software solution is ideal for agencies operating in both skilled and non-skilled care. For more than 20 years Alora has simplified workflow for countless agencies, helping them serve over 850,000 patients, while fostering growth and efficiency. Building a strong agency culture where caregivers enjoy their work starts with making their job as simple as possible. Alora makes everything involved with day-to day workflow easier, so agencies can thrive with simplicity and focus on patient care.
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