The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation awards most of its grants through calls for proposals (CFPs). By issuing CFPs and awarding grants on a competitive basis, the Foundation:

• sparks new and promising ideas from the field
• invites a diverse range of approaches and applicants to a single issue, problem or idea
• evaluates whether ideas that work in one setting will work in many different ones
• brings together coalitions of people and groups to act on a problem or issue
• compares many applications for the same purpose at the same time.

Each CFP contains:

• the program's purpose, background, intent and design, as well as grant requirements
• eligibility and selection criteria
• total dollars and number of grants being awarded
• matching fund requirements (if applicable)
• how funds may be used
• deadlines and key dates
• instructions on how to apply.

All seven program areas issue CFPs from time to time.