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

MARCH 2021

From the President - The Road Ahead
The road ahead will require continued action and collaboration on complex and challenging issues—and we must apply the lessons of the past year to maximize our chances of building a more just and equitable future.
Read the Full Letter →
VIEWS FROM THE FIELD

Beyond Programs: Funding Systems Change to Improve Care for All

Lin Hollowell, Director, Health Care, The Duke Endowment

At The Duke Endowment, we seek to improve the health status of the communities we serve and promote health equity for disadvantaged populations. This objective, which I believe is broadly shared, is challenged by the reality that unmet needs within our existing health care system far outweigh private philanthropy’s resources.

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VIEWS FROM THE FIELD

Compassionate Care to the Very End of Life

Gayle Ober, President, George Family Foundation

Over the past seven years, the George Family Foundation has supported organizations that encourage individuals to invest time in end-of-life discussions and planning with our loved ones and with health care teams.

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Grantmaker Focus – Loreen Chant, President and CEO, Health Foundation of South Florida
“Our agenda is bold and ambitious. It calls for us to address the entrenched systems that too often—as was so painfully exposed in 2020—act as barriers to health. Our strategy calls for us to reach out and bring together our fellow leaders and neighbors from across South Florida because we know that’s the only way to truly make a difference. Above all, because we’re not looking to bring solutions to communities. We’re looking for communities to bring solutions to life.”
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GIH NEWS

Standing Against and Addressing Anti-Asian Violence
We are devastated and angered by recent and escalating acts of racism and violence against Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities and encourage funders to explore AAPIP's Supporting API Communities Resources Directory, developed to mobilize the philanthropic sector towards meaningful action. Funders interested in learning more about how organized physician groups are working to achieve health equity can join The National Council of Asian Pacific Islander Physicians (NCAPIP) this Thursday, March 25 for "Can Organized Medicine Take on Racism as a Public Health Issue?" which features NCAPIP's Chair and Acting CEO/GIH board member Winston Wong.
Register for the GIH Annual Conference Today
It’s official! Registration is now open for the 2021 GIH Annual Conference on Health Philanthropy, Building a Just and Equitable Future. Join us virtually from Tuesday, June 8 – Friday, June 11 for four days of learning, sharing, and networking! This year’s conference theme, Building a Just and Equitable Future, invites participants to help reimagine how efforts to improve health outcomes are designed and implemented. In sessions related to philanthropy’s evolution and leadership, the new Administration’s priorities, climate change, mental health, public health, rural health, and the design of an equitable COVID-19 recovery, compelling speakers will present cutting-edge ideas designed to inspire philanthropic action and inform foundation funding. With an agenda combining plenary sessions, breakout discussions, networking conversations, longer workshops, and shorter talks, the format will allow you to engage in ways that work best for you, on the issues you care about most. Click here to learn more and register.
NEW! Scan of the Field: Funder Approaches to Health Equity
Philanthropic investments in health equity are growing in response to increased national attention. In an effort to document and learn from this moment, GIH surveyed its Funding Partners at the end of 2020 to identify whether and how foundations altered their health equity programming and pivoted internally to foster more diverse and inclusive environments. The survey results—summarized in an infographic and explored in more depth in a Health Affairs GrantWatch blog post—provide data about how foundations are tackling health equity, help identify new philanthropic approaches, and point to opportunities for creating more equitable outcomes and more inclusive foundations.
NEW! Scan of the Field: Gun Violence Prevention
Gun violence is a public health crisis in the United States, with approximately 120,000 Americans injured or killed by guns each year. GIH surveyed our Funding Partners in September 2020 to explore investments in gun violence prevention. The proportion of respondents indicating that their foundation supports gun violence prevention efforts (23 percent) has remain unchanged since GIH first surveyed our Funding Partners on this topic in 2018. Similar to the 2018 findings, health funders who support gun violence prevention efforts are investing in a wide range of prevention strategies, with support for high-risk populations and policy advocacy being the most prevalent approaches. The survey results have been compiled into a one-page summary infographic.
GIH Announces 2021 Award Winners
Grantmakers In Health is pleased to announce Carolyn Wang Kong, Chief Program Director of the Blue Shield of California Foundation, as the 2021 recipient of the Terrance Keenan Leadership Award in Health Philanthropy, and Tiffany Hall, Executive Director of Recover Alaska, as the 2021 recipient of the Andy Hyman Award for Advocacy. Ms. Wang Kong and Ms. Hall exemplify the core values of both awards and have made innumerable contributions to the fields of health and health care. The awards will be presented at this year's virtual GIH Annual Conference on Health Philanthropy.
In Conversation: Addressing the Mental Health Epidemic: Mindfulness, Healing, and Resiliency Strategies
Mental health is fundamental to our overall well-being—yet stress, burnout, depression, and anxiety are on the rise and COVID-19 has only exacerbated existing issues and inequities for many children, adolescents, and families. Philanthropy can help meet this critical mental health moment, both with immediate supports and long-term system change efforts, and by addressing the disparities disproportionately experienced by communities of color. Click here to listen to a timely conversation that dives into the current mental health landscape; highlights cost-effective, prevention-oriented programs; and shares insights on the future of mental health and roles for health funders. Featured speakers include Henry Emmons, an integrative psychiatrist with Partners in Resilience, and Andrea Cole, Executive Director and CEO of the Ethel and James Flinn Foundation.

PHILANTHROPY @ WORK

Transitions

Loreen Chant and Melida Akiti (Health Foundation of South Florida) • Arlene Cox (Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation) • Lisa Davis (Blue Shield of California Foundation) • Rear Admiral (ret.) Richard Houck, Mr. Fred Jones, and Bishop José McLoughlin (Dogwood Health Trust) • Karen Koenemann (Mat-Su Health Foundation) • Hanh Le (Consumer Health Foundation) • Gayle Ober (George Family Foundation) • Dr. Gerald O’Connor (Quantum Foundation) • Lisa Saenz, Charles de Wetter, and Amy Marcus (Paso del Norte Health Foundation) • Anna Silvera, Irfan Hasan, Fernando Bohorquez, Jr., Dr. Jane Salmon, Jane Wilton, Carrie Trowbridge, Mary Greenebaum, and Tatiana Pohotsky (New York Community Trust)

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Grants & Programs

Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation (Buffalo, NY) • The California Endowment, Chicago Community Trust, Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, Elevated Chicago, Foundation for Louisiana, Health Forward Foundation, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Kansas Health Foundation, Kresge Foundation, Nemours, Sierra Health Foundation/San Joaquin Valley Health Fund, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation • The California Endowment (Los Angeles, CA) • Commonwealth Fund (New York, NY) • CDC Foundation (Atlanta, GA) • George Family Foundation (Minneapolis, MN) • The Rider-Pool Foundation (Allentown, PA)

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COVID-19 Grants

Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation (Owings Mills, MD)

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