Cigna Foundation Grants and Funding FAQs

Funding varies by grant program. Check each program page for additional details on funding ranges for your program of interest.

• Health and well-being
• Education and workforce development
• Healthier Kids For Our Future^®

Timelines vary by grant program. Check each program page for additional details on grant cycles.

• Health and well-being
• Education and workforce development
• Healthier Kids For Our Future^®

The Cigna Foundation considers one-year, multi-year, and pilot projects. Please note that multi-year requests are accepted but terms will be limited to three years.

Fund awards vary by grant program. Check each application link for additional details on anticipated award dates.

• Health and well-being
• Education and workforce development
• Healthier Kids For Our Future^®

The Cigna Foundation does not fund general operating expenses, administrative costs, and indirect costs. The budget narrative for each grant should reflect all of the expenses that are required for the specific grant project.

Salaries for staff members are allowable for the related program, but no fringe or payroll taxes are acceptable by the Cigna Foundation. All other expenses will be reviewed by the grants’ committee members in relation to the application.

Only public charitable organizations currently recognized as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) or Section 170(b) of the Internal Revenue Code are eligible to receive or benefit from charitable funding through the Cigna Giving program. In general, Cigna Giving will not provide financial support to the following:

• Grants to individuals or to organizations established to benefit one individual;
• Capital campaigns (unless approved by the Cigna Foundation Board of Directors);
• Fraternal organizations;
• Organizations or programs whose mission includes a substantial element of social, religious or political advocacy;
• Faith-based organizations, unless the activities being funded are accessible to the general public and are not aimed at promoting one religion or faith over any other;

• Groups or projects that discriminate or restrict services based on factors of race, color, sex (including pregnancy), age, disability, veteran status, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, domestic partner status, genetic information, or citizenship status, except where those activities support Cigna's commitment to diversity and elimination of health disparities.

Cigna and the Cigna Foundation reserve the right to reject requests to provide funding to organizations that discriminate or for projects that do not reflect the general principles of Cigna's Code of Ethics and Workplace Policies. Cigna will not support any organization whose activities may represent a conflict of interest for Cigna Corporation or any of the Cigna companies.

The Cigna Foundation considers proposals from anywhere in the United States and abroad. Please refer to the specific program guidelines for geographical specifications or requirements.

No. All of the grant programs listed on the Cigna Foundation’s website are open applications.

Applicant institutions must be a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit. The following 501(c)(3) statuses will be considered:

170(B)(1)(a)(i)
170(B)(1)(a)(ii)
170(B)(1)(a)(iii)
170(B)(1)(a)(iv)
170(B)(1)(a)(v)
170(B)(1)(a)(vi)
509(A)(2)

Yes; however, the Cigna Foundation will provide only one grant per organization in the calendar year for an approved program. The only exception is for Healthier Kids For Our Future, through which organizations can apply for a mental health, as well as a food insecurity grant.

For any application questions, please contact Benevity directly to request help.

For any application questions, please contact Benevity directly to request help.

The Cigna Foundation will try to be as responsive to questions as possible. However, we cannot meet with every organization prior to grant submissions. Please review our programs section of the website to determine if your organization is a fit for any of our grant programs. For additional questions, please contact us via email at FoundationGrants@Cigna.com.

You do not need a separate fiscal sponsor, but you do need to be a qualified charity.

The Cigna Foundation does not sponsor events and/or fundraisers. All sponsorship inquiries should be submitted to Cigna corporate via email to CommunityService@Cigna.com.

At this time, the Cigna Foundation does not accept unsolicited grants outside of the United States. However, we do consider proposals from U.S.-based organizations that are executing projects outside of the United States.

To express interest in the Healthier Kids For Our Future® (HKFOF) program, fill out our Interest Inquiry Form to provide an overview of your organization and the program for which you are seeking a grant.

The Interest Inquiry form helps us learn more about an organization to determine if they should be invited to apply for this program. The Cigna Foundation will review all interest inquiries throughout the year to determine if an organization may be a good fit for a grant. 

Once it’s determined that an organization may be a strong candidate, the Cigna Foundation will then provide a link and an invitation code so that the nonprofit can apply for funding.

Note: The Interest Inquiry form is not a formal application. A formal application will still need to be submitted.

If a nonprofit is not invited to apply, they will not be contacted by the Cigna Foundation. Submitted forms will remain in our database for consideration through the end of the year, but we will not communicate that a nonprofit will not receive an invitation.

If an organization does not hear back from us, we ask that they please do not submit another form. The nonprofit’s original submission will be retained through the end of the year and reviewed periodically for consideration.

At any time during the year, the Cigna Foundation may follow up with an organization to invite them to apply for funding.

At this time, we will continue to accept forms through the end of October 2022.