Background
Across North Carolina, parents and caregivers of young children (prenatal to age five) are experiencing high levels of stress, isolation, and difficulty accessing support. One in three parents report feeling lonely, and more than a quarter report having no one to turn to for support.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation (Blue Cross NC Foundation) recognizes that caregiver mental health and well-being are foundational to the healthy development and long-term health and well-being outcomes of young children.
While a range of mental health and well-being services exist, these supports are often fragmented and difficult to navigate. At the same time, caregivers vary in the types of support they trust and use, underscoring the need for approaches that are connected, community-rooted, and responsive to family preferences.
We see an opportunity to strengthen and better connect existing supports to improve caregiver well-being, increase social connection, and build stronger pathways to mental health care. By working upstream with families during a critical developmental period, we can promote good mental health and resilience, set the next generation up for success, and prevent the crisis we are seeing in today’s youth.
Available Funding
To support these efforts, we are offering grants to up to five partnerships led by trusted community-based organizations.
Each grant will provide up to $450,000 over a three-year period ($150,000 per year) to strengthen connections across existing mental health and well-being services and supports for parents and caregivers of young children.
Funding is intended to support partnerships that better connect, enhance, and align existing mental health and well-being supports-rather than creating new programs.
Grantees will also receive learning and evaluation technical assistance to support outcome tracking, shared learning, and identification of policy and practice opportunities.
Eligibility
Organization Type:
- Nonprofit organization that is exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and is classified as “not a private foundation” under Section 509(a).
– OR-
- Fiscally sponsored program – A group or project with a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization acting as a fiscal sponsor. The fiscal sponsor is considered the grantee and is responsible for all legal and financial aspects of the project.
Organization Characteristics
- Lead applicant must be a trusted community-based organization with demonstrated trust and credibility among parents and caregivers of young children (prenatal to age five).
- Applicants must apply as a partnership and include at least one partner organization.
Please Note: Organizations that primarily operate at a systems, policy, or institutional level without direct, ongoing relationships with caregivers are unlikely to be competitive as lead applicants but may serve as partners.
Timeline
| Deadline or Activity | Date(s) |
| Funding Opportunity Announced | July 13, 2026 |
| Question Submission Deadline | July 31, 2026 |
| FAQ Published | August 10, 2026 |
| Application Deadline | August 24, 2026 (5:00 p.m. ET) |
| Award Notifications | October 5, 2026 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Organizations interested in this opportunity are encouraged to submit questions about the funding opportunity to info@bcbsncfoundation.org by July 31, 2026. An FAQ will be posted on the Foundation website by August 10, 2026.
Learn More and Apply
- Download the full funding opportunity.