Maternal Health Innovations Grant

Supporting Maternal Health & Family Wellness Initiatives

About the Grant

In partnership with the Tennessee Department of Health and community partners from the TN Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Financing and Policy team, we are excited to announce the Awardees for the 2026 Maternal Health Innovations Grants. This opportunity targeted community-focused programs and grassroots organizations interested in advancing the Department of Health’s Maternal Health Strategic Plan and helping mothers, babies, and families improve outcomes in Tennessee. The funding is contingent upon matching funds in order to be drawn down from TDH, thanks to our partners we were able to access $150,000 to award in September. There is more available and with your help we can support more incredible programs this year - contact hunterh@aimhitn.org to discuss contributing.

The Process

There were 63 qualified applicants. Our 14 volunteer reviewers represented 9 philanthropic, maternal health, and giving organizations. Applications were coded by a third party to decrease bias and randomly assigned to reviewers across 4 teams. Each team made reviews using a best practice and peer reviewed rubric. Semi-finalists were selected from each team, and the reviewers gave input as a whole on all proposed. A delegation of funding agencies chose from the finalists. We are extremely grateful for all who participated and showed interest. The process was very competitive, but we could only award 9 applicants. The Awardees below have our confidence and will do great things!

MHI Grant Awardees 2026

The Aloe Family is a nonprofit organization committed to strengthening vulnerable families through trauma-informed care, education, workforce development, and holistic support. We serve low-income families throughout the Nashville area, many of whom face significant barriers to accessing healthcare, stable employment, nutritious food, transportation, and behavioral health services.

Our programs focus on addressing the social determinants of health while building long-term resilience through education, resource coordination, and economic opportunity. The Aloe Family seeks to expand community-based maternal and family health services that directly support the priorities outlined in the Tennessee Maternal Health Strategic Plan.

Our project will increase access to healthcare, strengthen partnerships with healthcare providers, expand bilingual trauma-informed education, and connect families to essential resources that improve maternal and family well-being.

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Hannah's Hope proposes to expand its established Mothers & Babies Program through enhanced maternal health navigation and care coordination for pregnant and postpartum women across rural West Tennessee. As a community-based organization, Hannah's Hope will strengthen access to high-quality prenatal and postpartum care by reducing barriers to care, improving health literacy, and connecting participants with person-centered, evidence-informed services that align with the Tennessee Maternal Health Strategic Plan.

Client Advocates will complete maternal health assessments to identify healthcare needs, social determinants of health, and barriers that contribute to adverse maternal outcomes. Through home visiting, individualized education, coordinated referrals, and ongoing follow-up, participants will receive support accessing prenatal and postpartum care, WIC, smoking/nicotine cessation resources, family planning services, behavioral health providers, and other community resources. Limited assistance with transportation, childcare, and other urgent needs will help remove barriers to care while strengthening continuity of services and improving maternal and infant health outcomes.

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Trusted Voices for Thriving Families will recruit approximately 12 trusted women from three high-risk Hamilton County neighborhoods to serve as Neighborhood Health Champions. Over nine training sessions, Champions will build knowledge and skills related to maternal health warning signs, postpartum mental health, toxic stress, healthy attachment, infant safety, child development, early learning, self-advocacy, and local referral resources.

Participants will receive stipends, transportation and childcare support, and practical materials to help them share accurate information through the relationships and conversations already happening in their communities. By embedding maternal and child health knowledge within trusted neighborhood networks, the project will help families recognize concerns earlier, advocate for care, and connect to appropriate supports. Three Champions will also have the opportunity to pursue Community Health Worker training as an advanced workforce pathway.

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Healing Pathways is a community-led implementation project designed to build and pilot the Tennessee Community Maternal Mental Health Navigation Model for Black pregnant and postpartum women in Middle Tennessee. Led by Healing in the Margins, the project brings together Black mothers with lived experience, healthcare providers, doulas, behavioral health clinicians, faith leaders, and community organizations to co-design and pilot a culturally responsive navigation model that improves access to maternal mental health services. Rather than developing only a referral toolkit, this project will create and test a sustainable model that strengthens screening, referral completion, care coordination, and partnerships between healthcare and trusted community organizations. Findings from the pilot will inform future implementation efforts while producing practical tools including referral workflows, educational resources, and an implementation guide that can support expansion across Tennessee.

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Ready by Six, a program of HC*EXCELL, will expand capacity of maternal and prenatal health by focusing on initiatives to strengthen and build Hamblen County's existing maternal health coalition infrastructure. Rb6's 33-member Council — including the Hamblen County Health Department, Pregnancy Crisis Center, Helping Mamas, TN Voices, Covenant Health Morristown Hamblen, HOLA, McNabb Center, River Valley Community Health System, Walters State Community College, and the Family Resource Center — provides a robust, community-driven foundation for advancing three of the Maternal Health Strategic Plan focus areas.

This grant will build coalition capacity by formalizing a shared maternal health focus across all member organizations, adding addendums and expanding distribution of the Prenatal and Hello Baby Guides, and launching a coordinated community awareness and education campaign reaching Hamblen County's diverse and underserved maternal health populations. Together, these investments will improve the quality, reach, and coordination of prenatal and postpartum services across the Lakeway region.

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Whole Mom, Whole Baby: HOPE Doula Connection is a family-centered program designed to reduce postpartum overdose and improve maternal and infant health outcomes among pregnant and postpartum individuals affected by substance use disorder (SUD). Through trauma-informed doula support, behavioral health partnerships, peer mentorship, and care coordination, the program provides continuous support from pregnancy through the first year postpartum.

Recognizing the postpartum period as a time of increased vulnerability to relapse, overdose, and mental health challenges, trained doulas offer emotional support, advocacy, education, and connections to treatment and recovery resources. Services include maternal mental health screening, lactation support, parenting education, overdose prevention and safety planning, and referrals to housing, healthcare, and social services.

By integrating recovery support with Gennisi's Whole Mom, Whole Baby model, HOPE strengthens parent-child attachment, promotes family stability, and addresses the intergenerational effects of substance use by creating healthier outcomes for mothers, babies, and future generations.

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Healing Mothers, Healthy Families a community-based maternal wellness initiative designed to improve the health and well-being of pregnant/postpartum women by addressing clinical and social factors that influence maternal health outcomes. Through trauma-informed support groups, maternal mental health education, hypertension awareness, certified doula support, healthy food access, peer support, and resource navigation, the program will reduce barriers to care.

Building on Healing Minds and Souls' partnership with Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, this initiative expands evidence-informed, culturally responsive services shaped by community-engaged research. Focus group findings identified gaps in maternal health education, the need for respectful, patient-centered care, and the importance of certified doulas as trusted community messengers providing education, advocacy, and support throughout pregnancy and postpartum. The project aligns with Tennessee's Maternal Health Strategic Plan by increasing access to community-based maternal support, strengthening maternal mental health, improving hypertension awareness, and fostering collaboration among healthcare providers, certified doulas, and community organizations.

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Rooted in Community connects pregnant women and new mothers across Knoxville and East Tennessee with in-person community and ongoing online support. Moms Night Out events bring mothers together with local doulas, lactation consultants, perinatal mental health supports, community health workers, postpartum providers, and other trusted partners. The Rooted Club extends asynchronous education, peer connection, resources, and live sessions to mothers facing childcare, transportation, work, or recovery barriers. Together, these components meet mothers where they are, in the room or at home, with particular attention to postpartum isolation, when support networks often fade.

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Maternal Wellness Circles: Nashville will adapt Inspiritus’ established Wellness Circles model low-income pregnant and postpartum women. Participants will engage in four small, eight-week cohorts organized, when feasible, around shared language to foster trust, peer connection, and culturally responsive learning.

Weekly sessions will combine maternal health education, emotional wellness and peer support, and individualized healthcare navigation. Participants will strengthen their understanding of prenatal and postpartum care, urgent maternal warning signs, communicating with providers, navigating healthcare systems, and accessing community resources. Inspiritus staff will connect women to established Nashville partners for prenatal and primary care, WIC, behavioral health, and other supports.

By addressing social isolation alongside linguistic and healthcare-navigation barriers, Maternal Wellness Circles will help women build knowledge, supportive relationships, and confidence accessing care during pregnancy and postpartum.

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Qualifying Work

Community-based maternal health education programs
Prenatal and postpartum support services
Family wellness and nutrition initiatives for mom & baby
Mental health resources for new parents
Increased access to Maternal Health Services and Resources
Increasing access to pediatric providers
These are examples and not a definitive list!