Grants for Hospices 2026: Who Funds Nonprofit Hospice

If you're the executive director, development officer or board chair of a nonprofit hospice, this guide is for you. It covers the grants for hospices that a community or rural hospice can realistically win, what Medicare will and won't pay for, and how to find the foundations in your state that already give to end-of-life care.

Why Hospices Need Grants When Medicare Pays for Care

Medicare covers nearly all of a hospice patient's care, and that's exactly why hospice fundraising confuses new board members. According to Medicare's hospice coverage page (opens in a new tab), a patient pays nothing for hospice care from a Medicare-approved provider, apart from a copayment of up to $5 per outpatient prescription and up to 5% of the approved amount for inpatient respite care. The hospice gets paid. So why ask for grants?

Because Medicare pays for days of care, not for the organization around them. Under 42 CFR 418.302 (opens in a new tab), CMS sets payment amounts for 4 categories of care: routine home care, continuous home care, inpatient respite care and general inpatient care. A hospice's total Medicare payments are also limited each year by the aggregate cap in 42 CFR 418.309 (opens in a new tab), calculated from a per-beneficiary cap amount times the number of Medicare patients served.

That leaves 5 kinds of cost where grants matter most:

A hospice that asks foundations to "support our mission" competes with every health charity in the county. A hospice that asks for a children's grief camp, a hospice house roof, or 40 nights of charity inpatient care gives the funder something specific to say yes to.

The 5% Volunteer Rule Shapes Hospice Grant Requests

Hospice is one of the few Medicare benefits with a volunteer requirement in its rules. According to 42 CFR 418.78 (opens in a new tab), volunteers must provide day-to-day administrative or direct patient care services equal to at least 5% of the total patient care hours of all paid hospice employees and contract staff. The hospice must also document recruiting and retention efforts and the cost savings volunteers produce.

That rule is a grant hook most hospices underuse. Recruiting, screening, training and supervising volunteers costs real money, Medicare doesn't pay for it as a line item, and local foundations like funding volunteer programs because the results are easy to count. A request that says "we need $18,000 to train 30 new patient-care volunteers so we stay above the 5% requirement while our census grows" is concrete, tied to a federal rule, and far easier to fund than a general appeal.

The same documentation that CMS requires (positions held by volunteers, hours worked, and the dollar cost those hours replace) doubles as your outcome report to the funder. Hospices that already track it for surveys can send it with a grant report at almost no extra effort.

Which Foundations Fund Hospices: What 990-PF Filings Show

Private foundations are the main grant source for nonprofit hospices, and their giving is public. According to IRS filing rules, every private foundation has to list the grants it paid on IRS Form 990-PF (opens in a new tab), including the recipient and the stated purpose, so a hospice can see which funders already pay for end-of-life care.

Grantsights tags those grants by cause. Hospices fall under health, alongside hospitals, clinics and health charities, so the counts below are the whole health pool, not hospice grants alone. These are Grantsights analysis figures from 990-PF records pulled October 29, 2026, counted by the state where each recipient is located:

Two things stand out. First, only a fifth to a third of health funders say on their latest filing that they accept requests: 2,025 of 9,879 in New York, 865 of 3,362 in Pennsylvania, 281 of 838 in Oregon. The rest give to organizations they already know, which is why board relationships matter so much in hospice fundraising. Second, medians are modest, $2,500 to $10,000, even though the health pool includes big hospital gifts.

Hospice grants named in the filings

The filings show what foundations will pay a hospice to do. All of these are tax year 2025 grants:

• The Viets Family Charitable Trust (opens in a new tab) gave Klamath Hospice in Klamath Falls, Oregon a $1,400,000 donation of land, a building and improvements.
• The Swanson Foundation (opens in a new tab) gave $500,000 to HIA Health - Hospice Healthcare in Fargo, North Dakota.
• The Tuscarawas County Community Foundation (opens in a new tab) made a $429,400 grant from its Harrold Fund to Ohio's Hospice in New Philadelphia, Ohio.
• The Patten-Davis Foundation (opens in a new tab) gave the Cheyenne Regional Foundation in Wyoming $200,000 for the Davis Hospice Center.
• The Palmer Home (opens in a new tab) gave Delaware Hospice in Dover $37,000 to benefit the elderly.
• The Dorothy J. Thornley Foundation (opens in a new tab) gave Hope Hospice & Palliative Care of Rhode Island $15,000 for hospice care.
• The Myra Foundation (opens in a new tab) gave Hospice of the Red River Valley $12,000 for grief and bereavement programs in Grand Forks County, North Dakota.

Read the spread carefully. The six- and seven-figure gifts are buildings and campuses, and they came from foundations in the hospice's own region. The $12,000 to $37,000 grants are the realistic first ask for most hospices: a defined program, such as bereavement, in a defined county.

A warning about hospice-affiliated foundations

Some of the hospice money in 990-PF data never reaches an outside applicant. The Foundation of Hospice of Central Pennsylvania gave $427,000 to Hospice of Central Pennsylvania, and Caldwell Hospice Foundation gave $214,031 to Caldwell Hospice and Palliative Care in North Carolina. These are supporting foundations created to raise money for one hospice. They're a model worth copying, since a dedicated foundation can hold endowment and memorial gifts, but they aren't prospects for your hospice. Skip any foundation whose name matches its only recipient.

Get the health funder list for your state

Grantsights' health care funder list names the foundations that reported health grants on their own 990-PF filings, organized by state, with funders whose filings say they accept requests shown first. You'll see each one's recent recipients and purposes, so you can tell which have already backed a hospice, a bereavement program or a palliative care unit before you write. You can browse the state preview here at no cost. Buying the full health list is a one-time $29 for every state, the $99 plan unlocks all cause lists for a year, and Grantsights refunds either in full within 30 days.

HRSA Rural Health Programs: Up to $500,000 for Rural Networks

There's no HRSA grant written for hospice, but HRSA's Federal Office of Rural Health Policy funds rural providers and networks, and a rural hospice can belong to one. Grantsights checked the current federal listings for Assistance Listing 93.912. According to HRSA's own notices, these are the three most relevant to a rural hospice:

According to HRSA's FY 2027 forecast, Rural Health Network Development supports integrated rural networks through two tracks: one for established networks of independent rural hospitals and clinics, and one for early-stage networks planning a service expansion. A rural hospice that partners with a critical access hospital and a rural health clinic, for example to coordinate palliative care referrals, has a credible role in that kind of network.

The Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement listing names critical access hospitals and rural health clinics as examples and also allows "another rural provider" the Secretary identifies as a key source of local care. A rural nonprofit hospice should confirm its eligibility with the program contact before writing, rather than assuming it qualifies.

The honest downside: these programs are network grants for health systems change, not general hospice funding. HRSA scores them on community need data, partner commitments and measurable outcomes. A hospice that applies alone, without hospital and clinic partners, usually doesn't fit. For more on how HRSA scores rural applications, see the HRSA grants guide and grants for rural health nonprofits.

USDA Community Facilities: Hospice Houses in Towns of 20,000 or Fewer

For a rural hospice building an inpatient unit or residence, USDA Rural Development's Community Facilities program is the one federal source that pays for bricks and mortar. According to USDA rules at 7 CFR 3570.62 (opens in a new tab), essential community facilities include health services, and grants can cover up to 75% of the cost of developing an eligible facility operated on a nonprofit basis. The program defines a rural area as a city, town or unincorporated area of 20,000 residents or fewer.

The grant share depends on size and income. Under 7 CFR 3570.63 (opens in a new tab), the top 75% share applies only to communities of 5,000 or fewer with median household incomes below the higher of the poverty line or 60% of the state nonmetropolitan median. Larger or better-off towns qualify for smaller shares, down to 15%, and most of the program's dollars go out as low-interest loans rather than grants.

That makes USDA a financing partner more than a grant-maker for most hospice houses. A realistic capital stack for a 10-bed rural hospice house might be a Community Facilities loan, a smaller USDA grant, and a lead gift from a local foundation like the land-and-building gift to Klamath Hospice above. Talk to your state Rural Development office before you set the campaign goal. The USDA Community Facilities grants guide explains the tiers and the application in more depth.

What CMS Doesn't Tell You About Funding a Hospice

CMS rules explain payment and compliance, but they skip several facts that decide whether a nonprofit hospice can raise money:

1. Foundations rarely fund what Medicare already pays for. Asking a foundation to cover routine home care visits for Medicare patients is a red flag. The funder will assume it's paying for care that's already reimbursed. Ask for the uncovered piece: charity care, bereavement, the building, or a program outside the benefit.
2. Nonprofit status matters more in hospice than in most health fields. Many hospices in the U.S. are for-profit companies, and private foundations almost never fund them. If you're a nonprofit, say so plainly in the first paragraph of every request, and explain where surplus revenue goes.
3. Bereavement is the easiest program to fund. Medicare's hospice rules require bereavement services for families, but grief support for the wider community, school grief programs and children's grief camps go beyond what a hospice is paid to provide. Purpose lines like the Myra Foundation's grant for Grand Forks County bereavement show funders will pay for it.
4. Cap exposure is a fundraising risk, not just a billing one. A hospice that exceeds its aggregate cap under 42 CFR 418.309 must repay the excess. Funders reading your audited statements will notice a cap liability, so explain it before they ask.

Common Mistakes in Hospice Grant Requests

Most rejected hospice requests fail for a short list of reasons, and each can be fixed before you send the next one:

• Writing to hospital funders with a hospice ask. A foundation that has given only to its local medical center for 10 years probably won't start with you. Check its 990-PF for any hospice, palliative care, aging or bereavement grant first.
• No census or outcome numbers. Funders want average daily census, patients served, percent of patients without coverage, families served by bereavement staff, and volunteer hours. "We serve our community with compassion" doesn't help them decide.
• One giant request. A $3 million hospice house ask to a funder whose median grant is $5,000 signals the hospice didn't read the filings. Break capital campaigns into named, fundable parts: a family room, a garden, one patient suite.
• Ignoring memorial giving. Many hospice donors give in memory of a patient. Foundations controlled by those families often fund the hospice for years, so thank-you and stewardship practices are part of grant strategy.
• Missing federal registration. HRSA and USDA applications need an active federal entity registration in SAM, which can take weeks. Start early with Grantsights' guide to registering in SAM.

A Funding Plan for a Nonprofit Hospice

Hospices that stay well funded use different sources for different jobs. This 12-month sequence keeps federal deadlines from colliding with foundation cycles:

For the letters in months 5 and 6, Grantsights' guide on how to write a grant letter of inquiry has a structure that works for short program asks. For screening foundations first, use how to read a 990-PF. To see open federal programs beyond hospice, search the Grantsights grant database.

Related Grants for End-of-Life and Aging Programs

Hospices share funders with senior service and health charities in the same county. The grants for senior services guide covers aging programs, caregiver support and meal services that often overlap with hospice family support. Broader health charity funding is covered in grants for health nonprofits. If your hospice also runs an ambulance or patient transport service in a rural county, see grants for EMS and ambulance services.

FAQ: Common Questions

Is the Medicare hospice benefit a grant? No. It's payment for covered days of care in 4 categories under 42 CFR 418.302, limited by an aggregate cap. It can't fund buildings or uncovered programs the way a grant can.

What do grants for hospices usually pay for? Hospice houses, land and buildings, bereavement programs, charity care and volunteer programs. The Viets Family Charitable Trust gave Klamath Hospice $1,400,000 in land and buildings; the Myra Foundation gave Hospice of the Red River Valley $12,000 for bereavement programs.

Are there federal grants for hospices? Not specifically. Rural hospices can join HRSA rural network programs (FY 2027 forecast: $300,000 to $500,000 awards) or use USDA Community Facilities for health facilities in towns of 20,000 or fewer.

Can a for-profit hospice get grants? Rarely from foundations. Some HRSA rural programs accept for-profit applicants, but philanthropy mostly goes to nonprofit hospices.

How big is a typical foundation grant to a hospice? Grantsights analysis of 990-PF health grants found medians of $5,000 in New York and Florida, $6,000 in Pennsylvania and $10,000 in California and Oregon.

Sources

• Medicare: Hospice care coverage (opens in a new tab)
• CMS: Hospice payment and policy (opens in a new tab)
• 42 CFR 418.78, Conditions of participation: volunteers (opens in a new tab)
• 42 CFR 418.302, Payment procedures for hospice care (opens in a new tab)
• 42 CFR 418.309, Hospice aggregate cap (opens in a new tab)
• Grants.gov: HRSA-27-051 Rural Health Network Development Program (forecast) (opens in a new tab)
• Grants.gov: HRSA-26-046 Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Program (opens in a new tab)
• Grants.gov: HRSA-25-038 Rural Health Care Services Outreach Program (opens in a new tab)
• 7 CFR 3570.62, Community Facilities grant purposes (opens in a new tab)
• 7 CFR 3570.63, Community Facilities grant limitations (opens in a new tab)
• IRS: About Form 990-PF (opens in a new tab)

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