The National Institutes of Health is offering up to $485,000 in cash prizes to encourage community-based organizations to develop and implement strategies to reduce health disparities experienced by people with disabilities. Organizations participating in the Community Champions for Disability Health Challenge also will receive training and mentoring opportunities. NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) is leading the challenge.
“People with disabilities often experience preventable health disparities, many of which result from systemic factors, not the disabling condition,” said Theresa Cruz, Ph.D., director of the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research at NICHD. “This challenge seeks effective, sustainable, and community-led solutions to reduce these disparities and promote health equity for people with disabilities.”
More than 70 million people in the United States have one or more type of disability. Compared to people without disabilities, those with disabilities are more likely to experience chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. People with disabilities also are less likely to be up to date on preventive health care and have less access to exercise equipment and adequate nutrition. They often face barriers to accessing care, including inaccessible medical facilities and equipment, lack of transportation to medical appointments, and communication barriers with health care providers.
The two-phase Community Champions for Disability Health Challenge seeks creative ideas to promote healthy habits for people with disabilities, increase their access to health services and information, and reduce barriers to promoting health. The challenge is open to non-academic, 501(c)(3) organizations based in the United States, including advocacy, community, and faith-based organizations. Teams must describe how people with lived experience of disability will be part of their solutions.
In the first phase, organizations will submit innovative proposals to reduce health disparities by improving, expanding, diversifying, or amplifying their current programs and offerings for people with disabilities. Submissions to Phase 1 are due November 1, 2024. Up to eight organizations will each be awarded $25,000 and be invited to advance to Phase 2.
Organizations participating in Phase 2 will have one year to implement their proposal and demonstrate how they have enhanced the services and output of their organization. Halfway through this phase, they will have the opportunity to compete for an interim prize of $7,500 each. Throughout Phase 2, they will receive training and mentorship from experts at NIH and the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), part of the Administration for Community Living. NICHD expects to announce up to three grand prize winners, each of whom will receive $75,000, in February 2026.
HeroX is supporting the design, implementation, and management of the challenge on behalf of NIH through a multi-award contract from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Additional funders of the challenge include NIDILRR and the following NIH components: National Eye Institute; National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders; National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases; and Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives within the NIH Office of the Director.
For more information on entry requirements, deadlines, and rules, visit https://www.challenge.gov/?challenge=community-disability-health.
For details about how to register and participate, visit https://www.herox.com/CommunityDisabilityHealth. 
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