RFA 2026 South Dakota Safe Sleep Collaborative Wellmark Expansion
RFA 2026 South Dakota Safe Sleep Collaborative Wellmark Expansion supports local organizations and community leaders in delivering safe sleep projects to prevent infant deaths across South Dakota.
Funder: South Dakota Department of Health
Due Dates: August 25, 2026 (Applications open) | October 16, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. CST (Application deadline)
Funding Amounts: Up to $40,000 per organization; additional funding for projects requesting up to $20,000; project end dates no earlier than September 30, 2027
Summary: Supports community-led, data-driven projects promoting safe sleep and reducing infant deaths across South Dakota.
Key Information: Every project must include a safe sleep component aligned with current American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations.
Description
The South Dakota Department of Health (SD DOH), in partnership with The Wellmark Foundation, supports community-led projects that promote safe sleep, prevent sudden unexpected infant death (SUID), reduce sleep-related infant mortality, and improve infant outcomes. The program funds evidence-based or evidence-informed interventions designed and implemented by organizations, community leaders, and professionals who understand local needs.
Projects may use locally tailored education, training, culturally responsive resources, outreach campaigns, storytelling, focus groups, or surveys. Other examples include community-led cradleboard guidance, father-focused initiatives, community baby showers, and first-responder infant mortality prevention programs. The initiative encourages work across individual, interpersonal, organizational, community, and systems levels to build trust and sustainable local capacity. Priority goes to communities experiencing disproportionate rates of SUID, sleep-related infant death, and infant mortality.
