Eligibility and Application Requirements

The Wisconsin Healthy Communities Designation is designed to be accessible to communities of all shapes and sizes. Please review the eligibility, application requirements and program criteria below. Program staff are available to answer any questions: wihealthycommunities@wisc.edu.

Eligibility

Any self-defined, local, place-based community in Wisconsin is eligible to apply. This includes neighborhoods, municipalities, counties, regions*, Federally recognized tribes or state-designated Indian reservations. 

* Regions are defined as a geographically contiguous municipalities, counties, and/or reservations. If you have questions about the eligibility of a regional application, please contact the Healthy Communities Designation program staff: wihealthycommunities@wisc.edu.

Application Requirements

Applications must be submitted on behalf of the entire community through a collaborative process. Applications may not be submitted by single individuals or single organizations. 

While one organization should serve as the lead applicant*, multiple organizations are expected to collaborate on the application. Collaborating organizations must provide Letters of Support during the full application phase.

*If a community coalition serves as the lead applicant, they must have a co-applicant that is a governing organization with a permanent mailing address.

Program Criteria

In order to earn a designation, communities must demonstrate that they are following the Wisconsin Healthy Communities Designation’s guiding principles. The guiding principles reflect the criteria from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Prize and have been modified for this designation program. The guiding principles are the foundation for the program’s criteria:

  1. Broad definition of health

  2. Sustainable and long-term solutions

  3. Commitment and action to equitable and fair opportunity to health

  4. Harnessing the power of multiple sectors and voices

  5. Maximizing resources

  6. Measuring and sharing progress and results

Each tier of designation (gold, silver, bronze) has different requirements in terms of what communities must demonstrate about each of the guiding principles. Communities should carefully review the program criteria to determine which tier or level (gold, silver, bronze) is most appropriate based on where they are in their health improvement efforts.