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New York, NY (January 6, 2026) — The Rita andAlex Hillman Foundation (RAHF) today announced newly expanded funding opportunities for three of its premier initiatives: the Hillman Emergent Innovation (HEI), the Hillman Emergent Innovation: Serious Illness and End of Life (HSEI), and the Hillman Innovations in Care (HIC) programs. The latest Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for these programs reflect the Foundation’s steadfast commitment to supporting nursing-driven interventions that improve the health and healthcare of all people, especially marginalized populations.
“When nurses innovate, everyone benefits – patients, families, and communities,” said Ahrin Mishan, Executive Director of The Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation. “That’s why it’s incumbent on us, especially at a time when critical funding is under threat, to seed the field as broadly as we can.”
Through a suite of interconnected programs, the Foundation has created a pipeline to nurture innovation by supporting work at different phases of development – from newly imagined ideas to well-established solutions.
Believing that transformative ideas are as likely to come from community health clinics as they are from major academic research centers, the Foundation welcomes applications from organizations across the spectrum of care and from practitioners with a range of backgrounds.
Interested applicants are encouraged to review this year’s Requests for Proposals and to register for an optional informational webinar at 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday, January 21, 2026.
The period for submitting Letters of Intent for the HEI, HSEI, and HIC programs is from January 6 to February 20, 2026, at 5 p.m. ET.
The Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation advances bold, nursing-driven innovations that promote equitable, person-centered, and trustworthy care. It is committed to helping ignite and develop game-changing interventions and cultivating a vibrant ecosystem of nurse innovators, grantees, and partners dedicated to building a healthier future for all.
Media Contact
Takouhi Mosoian, The Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation (press@rahf.org)
To help us in the evaluation and analysis of projects, all proposals, documents, communications, and associated materials submitted to The Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation (collectively, “Submission Materials”) will become the property of the Foundation and will be shared with other members of the Advisory Committee, Board of Directors, and other funding partners or potential funding partners. We will report publicly on the number of applications received.
The proposals, in addition to analysis by our staff and consultants, may be subject to confidential external review by independent subject-matter experts, potential co-funders, and (for educational purposes only) participants in the Hillman Scholars Program for Nursing Innovation. Please carefully consider the information included in the Submission Materials. If you have any doubts about the wisdom of disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, we recommend you consult with legal counsel and take any steps you deem necessary to protect your intellectual property. You may wish to consider whether such information is critical for evaluating the submission, and whether more general, non-confidential information may be adequate as an alternative for these purposes.
We respect confidential information we receive. Nonetheless, notwithstanding your characterization of any information as being confidential, we may publicly disclose all information contained in Submission Materials to the extent as may be required by law and as is necessary for potential co-funders and external reviewers to evaluate them and the manner and scope of potential funding, consistent with appropriate regulations and their internal guidelines and policies.
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