Boston is offering up to $1 million in grants to community groups working to close a 9.3-year life expectancy gap between Black men and other men in the city. Mayor Michelle Wu and the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) announced the request for proposals on Tuesday, October 6, 2026. Up to four organizations can each receive a maximum of $250,000.
The funding is part of Live Long and Well, the city’s population health equity agenda. According to the city, the money will continue as an annual $1 million investment drawn from the fund created under Boston’s Declaration of Racism as a Public Health Crisis.
The Boston life expectancy gap behind the grants
The RFP builds on BPHC’s February 2026 data brief, Closing the Gap: An Examination of Life Expectancy Among Black Residents in Boston. Its key findings include:
- From 2022 to 2024, Black men in Boston lived an average of 71.8 years, compared with 81.1 years for other men.
- Black women lived an average of 80.1 years, 6.4 years fewer than other women in the city (86.5 years).
- The gap between Black residents and all other residents doubled from 2013 to 2024, from 3.3 years to 6.6 years.
- For Black men, the three leading causes of death are unintentional overdose, heart disease and cancer. Together they account for 42% of the gap with other men.
- Without sustained action, BPHC projects the overall gap will stay at about six years through 2035.
The brief also reports some progress. It credits tailored, equity-focused interventions with recent gains, noting that overdose deaths among Black residents declined in 2024. Black residents make up about 20.5% of Boston’s population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s QuickFacts.
Who can apply and what the money funds
According to the city’s announcement, eligible applicants are Boston-based community organizations, nonprofits, community coalitions, faith-based groups and partnerships that serve Black men or communities of color and have a track record on health inequities. Proposals can address four priority areas:
- Strengthening prevention efforts.
- Supporting mental and behavioral health.
- Promoting economic mobility.
- Building social networks and community connections.
Those priorities came out of BPHC’s first Black Men’s Health Activation Summit, held in June 2026, where community leaders discussed the issues facing Black men in Boston. The announcement does not list an application deadline. Organizations should check BPHC’s procurement pages for the full RFP terms.
What city officials said
“In Boston, our mission is for every resident to live long and well, and we’re focused on closing the life expectancy gap facing black communities,” Wu said in the city’s release. Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, Boston’s Commissioner of Public Health, called the 9.3-year gap “a call to action” and said the funding “puts resources directly into the hands of trusted community partners.”
Frank Farrow, executive director of the city’s Office of Black Male Advancement, described the grants as “an important step.” Three city councilors also issued statements: At-Large Councilor Henry Santana, District 4 Councilor Brian Worrell and District 7 Councilor Rev. Miniard Culpepper. Worrell pointed to barriers Black men face in reaching care, pharmacies and healthy food.
How this fits Boston’s wider health agenda
The grants follow other Live Long and Well partnerships the city announced alongside the February report, including $1 million from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for cancer screening and prevention among Black residents. According to the city’s February announcement, BPHC and the Boston Community Health Collaborative also began using a $10 million Atrius Health Equity Foundation investment in July 2024 for community-led work on financial well-being in neighborhoods with poor cardiometabolic health.
Health spending sits within a broader city budget The Boston Report has examined, including where Boston’s FY2027 budget money goes and the FY27 budget’s property tax and BPS choices. Earlier this month the city also announced its 2026 Community Clean Air Grants, another neighborhood-level health program.
What to watch next
- Which organizations BPHC selects, and the neighborhoods they serve.
- Whether BPHC reports outcome measures for funded programs.
- The next updates to BPHC’s mortality and life expectancy reports, which will show whether the gap is narrowing.
Sources
- City of Boston: Boston Announces $1 Million in Funding to Support Black Men’s Health (October 6, 2026): grant amounts, eligibility, priority areas, the annual funding source and quotes.
- Boston Public Health Commission: Closing the Gap data brief (February 27, 2026): life expectancy figures, causes of death and the 2035 projection.
- City of Boston: First Black Life Expectancy Report announcement: Dana-Farber and Atrius partnerships.
- U.S. Census Bureau: QuickFacts, Boston city: share of Black residents.
Additional sources
- Boston Public Health Commission: Health Data: BPHC’s 2026 mortality and life expectancy report and other dashboards.
- Wikimedia Commons: Michelle Wu at Roxbury Community College: photo credit and public-domain status.
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