Letter from the President, Views from the Field, Grantmaker Focus, and more…

October 2020

From the President -  Supporting Emerging Leaders Amid a Pandemic
I recently had the pleasure of welcoming the newest cohort of fellows to the Terrance Keenan Institute for Emerging Leaders in Health Philanthropy. We spent three afternoons together learning about each other’s leadership style, talking about how to foster more diverse and inclusive work environments, discussing how to advance health equity through the work of their foundations, and engaging community leaders in a discussion on power sharing and how to more effectively partner with community organizations to effect change.
Read the Full Letter →
VIEWS FROM THE FIELD

Building an Equitable Future for Health and Well-Being

Debbie Chang, President & CEO, The Blue Shield of California Foundation
Laura Landy, President & CEO, The Rippel Foundation

FORESIGHT is the name for a partnership of 17 philanthropies that is catalyzing a vision for the future of health and well-being centered on two things: the game-changing trends, challenges, and opportunities on the horizon; and the aspirations of a diversity of communities throughout the United States.

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VIEWS FROM THE FIELD

Can We Have It All? Balancing Key Factors in Evaluating a Grant Portfolio

Michelle Brodesky, Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc.
Lisa Wolff, Health Resources in Action

Like many funding organizations, Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc., has been on a journey to incorporate strategic evaluation into its grantmaking, and in 2019, completed an ambitious suite of impact evaluations. The evaluation had multiple aims, including: determining the portfolio’s impact; examining the impact of each intervention via program-level studies; and supporting grantees’ use of and capacity to engage in these and future evaluations.

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VIEWS FROM THE FIELD

Pioneering Health-Wealth Solutions for Children

Christi Baker, Program Officer, Asset Funders Network
Abby Hughes Holsclaw, Senior Director, Asset Funders Network
Joseph A. Antolín, Executive Director, Asset Funders Network

Today, as we navigate the pandemic, deep racial and economic inequities in health and wealth outcomes have been revealed and amplified for children—especially children of color. Health and wealth are inextricably linked. Investments to improve health outcomes using the social determinants of health and to promote financial well-being across families are mutually supportive. The ultimate goal is to ensure that all children are healthy, financially secure, and live in families without daily financial stressors because of assets and wealth.

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VIEWS FROM THE FIELD

Health Equity: Our Way Forward …through COVID-19 and Beyond

Eric Kelly, President, Quantum Foundation

For health funders, it is essential that we realize that even given all of the unforeseen devastation of COVID-19, and the compounding social crises in its wake, many of our communities began 2020 already in a health crisis. These pre-existing conditions allowed a global pandemic that does not discriminate to produce drastically disproportionate health implications from community to community and population to population.

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VIEWS FROM THE FIELD

Innovation in the Safety Net

Veenu Aulakh, Senior Innovation Fellow, Center for Care Innovations

This country’s safety net health system has always been a place of innovation. The safety net includes community health centers and public hospitals that serve the 100 million patients who either have Medicaid or lack health insurance entirely. With limited resources and patients with complex medical, social, and behavioral health needs, the safety net has long had to innovate out of necessity.

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VIEWS FROM THE FIELD

From Citizen-Led Ballot Initiative to Community-Centered Solutions for Mental Health and Substance Misuse

Lorez Meinhold, Executive Director, Caring for Denver Foundation

Our mission is to address Denver’s mental health and substance misuse needs by growing community-informed solutions, dismantling stigma, and turning the community’s desire to help into action. In less than one year of operation, we have funded 41 organizations and five City agencies and provided $17.3 million in funding to the Denver community.

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VIEWS FROM THE FIELD

Defeating the Deadly Double: Depression and Diabetes

Debbie Oswalt, Executive Director, Virginia Health Care Foundation
Cat Hulburt, Chief Program & Engagement Officer, Virginia Health Care Foundation

Inadequate access to mental health services, diabetes, and obesity are the top-ranked critical service gaps in virtually all community health needs assessments conducted by local health departments and nonprofit hospitals throughout Virginia. Diabetes and depression are also among the top three conditions treated in Virginia’s health safety net organizations.

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VIEWS FROM THE FIELD

Responding to COVID-19 and Beyond

Walter Panzirer, Trustee of the Helmsley Charitable Trust

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trust was compelled to do our part. Like most philanthropic organizations, we were determined to maximize impact and make grants quickly, while also adhering to our due diligence standards.

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Grantmaker Focus – Gilead Sciences, Inc
“Gilead knows that it will take more than medicine to end some of the greatest public health crises of our time. The social, economic, and political factors that drive infectious disease epidemics present formidable challenges to our work. But together–in partnership with communities most directly impacted–program by program, we can help improve health outcomes for the most marginalized populations and help change lives.”
Read GRANTMAKER FOCUS →

GIH NEWS

Register for Grantmakers In Health's Virtual Fall Forum
Registration is now open for Grantmakers In Health's Virtual Fall Forum. This year's virtual convening will provide policy-engaged funders with information on current issues, access to leading thinkers, and connections with grantmaking peers. The event will consist of two timely and relevant programming series:

Better Health, Stronger Democracy will explore how health funders are promoting civic engagement, protecting voter rights, and engaging in post-census electoral redistricting.
  • Post-Census Redistricting: Ensuring Fair Representation
    November 16, 3:00 – 4:30 p.m. Eastern
  • Promoting Voter Engagement and Protecting Voter Rights
    November 19, 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. Eastern
  • Advancing Health through Civic Engagement: Health Funders Weigh In
    November 20, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. Eastern
Food for a Healthier America will examine current food access and security policy, the gaps and challenges laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic, and philanthropy’s role in creating a more equitable and just food system.
  • What Now? Opportunities to Improve Food Access and Security Policy – November 16, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. Eastern
  • Advancing Together to Address Food Equity and Justice –November 17, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. Eastern
  • Learning from 2020: Investing in a Better Food System – November 19, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. Eastern
Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with your funder colleagues in this critical year. To learn more about both series and to register, click here.
We're Moving!
The GIH office will relocate to a new suite (in the same building) on October 22, 2020. Please note the following address in your system to ensure that we continue to hear from you: 1100 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20036. While GIH staff are working remotely due to COVID-19, we check incoming mail weekly.
Nominate an Outstanding Grantee or Grantmaker Today
GIH is currently accepting nominations for the 2021 Andy Hyman Award for Advocacy and 2021 Terrance Keenan Leadership Award in Health Philanthropy. The awards will be designated to individuals who have made innumerable contributions in the fields of health and health care, and who exemplify the core values of the awards. Funders interested in submitting a nomination should review the award brochures, which outline eligibility and submission guidelines. All nominations must be received by Friday, December 4. Don't miss this opportunity to recognize a grantee or grantmaker's outstanding work in this critical and challenging year!

PHILANTHROPY @ WORK

Transitions

Renee Espinoza (Metta Fund) • Adam Linker and Madison Allen (Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust) • Tina Markanda (The Foundation for a Healthy High Point) • Kent Olden (Health Foundation for Western & Central New York) • Monica Valdes Lupi, JD, MPH (The Kresge Foundation) • Serena Worthington (RRF Foundation for Aging)

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Grants & Programs

Austin-Bailey Health and Wellness Foundation (Canton, OH) • Mary Black Foundation (Spartanburg, SC) • CARESTAR Foundation (Berkley, CA) • John A. Hartford Foundation (New York, NY) • The Jacob and Valeria Langeloth Foundation (New York, NY) • Saint Luke’s Foundation (Cleveland, OH)

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COVID-19 Grants

The Momentum Fund (Washington, DC) • St. David’s Foundation (Austin, TX)

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