2025 Grantmaking: Announcing Recipients of “Healthy Births, Healthy Communities” and “Culturally Responsive Mental Health Support” Funding Opportunities

In July 2025, St. David’s Foundation announced two open call funding opportunities focused on building the capacity of healthcare infrastructure to provide high-quality and culturally responsive care in Central Texas. We understand the reality that when care is culturally responsive, it builds trust, improves communication, and leads to better health outcomes.

The focus and goals of these funding opportunities were informed by insights from previous work, conversations with our community and grant partners, and alignment with the strategic plan, Pathways to Health Equity, as the Foundation works to advance health equity across Central Texas.

The Foundation received more than 300 initial letters of intent across both open calls which were reviewed for eligibility and alignment with the goals of each opportunity. Following the initial review process, 167 organizations were invited to submit a full application. The Foundation has awarded 44 grants across both calls totaling $11.6M.

“Aligned with our 2030 Vision for Impact, these investments will increase regional capacity to provide culturally responsive, community-informed mental health and maternal health support within and outside clinics,” said Regan Gruber Moffitt, VP of Community Investments, St. David’s Foundation. “By supporting community-rooted partners, we’re not only expanding culturally responsive care beyond clinic walls – we’re also learning from those closest to the work, whose insights can shape how clinical providers can better serve marginalized communities.”

The Healthy Births, Healthy Communities open call awarded $7.3M in grants focused on providing culturally responsive, community-informed perinatal health support to improve maternal health and birth outcomes in Central Texas. A total of 11 grants were awarded to support pregnant and parenting women to improve maternal health outcomes, formalize existing collaboratives to build momentum and shared capacity, and advance a stronger, more equitable maternal health ecosystem across the region.

Collectively, these organizations work in close collaboration with each other to address gaps in our healthcare system that prevent marginalized Central Texans, particularly women of color, from accessing perinatal services and supports that are culturally responsive, community-driven, and designed to meet their unique needs. These services include doula care, home visitation programs, lactation support, referrals to maternal health care clinics, navigation to social services, peer support groups, mental health counseling, childcare, mutual aid, and direct cash assistance. Awardees received a flexible, one-time, 24-month grant.

The Foundation has a long-standing commitment to advancing maternal health equity. In 2017, the Foundation launched our Women’s Health portfolio with an investment in the Focus on the Fourth initiative, which supported low-income and underserved women in Central Texas to receive timely and effective postpartum support services. Since then, St. David’s Foundation has helped build a community of care through the Perinatal Safe Zone initiative, designed to create the conditions for healthy pregnancies and healthy births while supporting mothers and children through the first three years after birth. These efforts have deepened our commitment to driving systems level change to improve maternal health equity across Central Texas.

More details on the Healthy Births, Healthy Communities open call, including a data snapshot and full list of grant recipients can be found here.

The Culturally Responsive Mental Health Support open call awarded $4.2M through 33 grants. An additional $415,000 will be used to provide technical support to grantees for sustainability and to enhance regional infrastructure. Of the grants awarded, 55% of organizations are new grantees, meaning they are receiving a grant from the Foundation for the first time. These investments will increase the number of Central Texans from historically marginalized communities receiving culturally responsive mental health and well-being supports that honor their racial and cultural identities in trusted spaces in community.

Collectively, these organizations anticipate serving more than 28,000 individuals in Central Texas with culturally responsive mental health support. They will provide a range of community-based services, including peer-led healing circles, mental health education workshops, creative and expressive arts programs, one-on-one mentoring and peer support, support groups for historically marginalized populations, train-the-trainer programs, cultural healing workshops, self-care retreats and wellness events, family and intergenerational programming, resource navigation, and toolkit distribution. Awardees received a flexible, one-time, 24-month grant.

More details on the Culturally Responsive Mental Health Support open call, including a data snapshot and full list of grant recipients can be found here.