2024 Annual Conference on Health Philanthropy
On March 21, 2024, Grantmakers In Health (GIH) and Grantmakers In Aging (GIA) responded to a request for feedback about the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act (OAA) from the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP).
Read More →Grantmakers In Health Announces 2024 Award Winners
Billie Hall, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Sunflower Foundation in Kansas, will receive Grantmakers In Health’s 2024 Terrance Keenan Leadership Award in Health Philanthropy.
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Joan Alker, Executive Director and a cofounder of the Georgetown Center for Children and Families (CCF) in Washington, DC, will receive Grantmakers In Health’s 2024 Andy Hyman Award for Advocacy.
Learn More →Announcing GIH's 2024 Policy Priorities
GIH seeks to take a more active role in defining the key issues that will advance better health for all and support health philanthropy with thought leadership and programming to make a lasting impact by influencing advocacy, policy, and funding in targeted areas
This policy agenda identifies our public policy priorities for the coming year. We selected priorities that effect policy and systems change towards health and health equity; align with GIH’s strategic plan; are actionable, timely, relevant, evidence-based, and realistic for GIH’s involvement; galvanize staff, Board, Funding Partners, and health philanthropy; leverage GIH’s organizational resources and unique positioning to lead; and allow GIH to remain nonpartisan. We hope these priorities will also inspire the field of health philanthropy and encourage greater collaboration and commitment to common policy goals among funders. We look forward to working with funders and others to advance this agenda.
GIH Health Policy Update Newsletter
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An Exclusive Resource for Funding Partners
The Health Policy Update is a new monthly newsletter produced in collaboration with Trust for America’s Health. Drawing on GIH’s policy priorities outlined in our policy agenda and our strategic objective of increasing our policy and advocacy presence, the Health Policy Update provides GIH Funding Partners with a range of federal health policy news.
Lessons from the Washington AIDS Partnership: How to Take Big Risks and Move Quickly to Drive Change
The Washington AIDS Partnership, a collaboration of grantmaking organizations with a mission of ending the HIV epidemic in the Greater Washington region, was founded in 1988 with the support of the Ford Foundation and 20 DC-area foundations. The organization’s charge was to make grants to the community as quickly as possible. At that time, Washington, DC had the fifth-highest HIV rate in the country, and the epidemic was out of control. As the city has made great progress reaching goals set in the DC Ends HIV Plan, the Washington AIDS Partnership determined in 2023 that its role in the fight to end the local epidemic was coming to an end. The organization will officially conclude its work in the first quarter of 2024.
Read More →Featured Resources
Paid Leave and Job Protection for Parents, People Who Are Sick and People Who Have Sick Family Members
Lack of paid family caregiving and medical leave policy at the national level makes the United States a global outlier. In the absence of a national guarantee, more than a dozen states have passed and implemented necessary paid family and medical leave. WORLD Policy Analysis Center has developed a database and policy briefs that describe paid leave laws and policies.
A Compendium of State Policies to Curb Hospital Prices and Reduce Medical Debt
Health care in the United States is the most expensive in the world by far and the reason is simple – health care providers keep increasing the prices of services. Hospitals, which represent the largest component of health care spending, have an outsized influence on medical debt in their communities through their policies and behavior.
Mid-Iowa Health Foundation
“Utilizing a public health lens, we understand that data is critical to drive decisionmaking. Thus, we seek to invest in data-driven and community-informed initiatives to inform decisionmakers regarding policy and resource investment decisions to positively impact community health.”
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Grantmakers In Health and Grantmakers In Aging Release Policy Recommendations for Older Americans Act Renewal
On March 21, 2024, Grantmakers In Health (GIH) and Grantmakers In Aging (GIA) responded to a request for feedback about the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act (OAA) from the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP).
Grantmakers In Health President and CEO Cara V. James Appointed to District of Columbia Commission on Health Equity
Cara V. James, President and CEO of Grantmakers In Health (GIH), has been appointed as a voting member of the District of Columbia Commission on Health Equity by Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser.
Recent Reports
Advancing Health and Creating Lasting Impact: MacKenzie Scott’s Grants to Health Foundations
In 2019, MacKenzie Scott announced that she was stepping into the world of philanthropy to give away her multi-billion-dollar fortune “until the safe is empty”. She has kept her word—to date, she has given away $16.5 billion. Her initial process for choosing which organizations would receive grants was shrouded in mystery. From 2019 to 2023, Scott used a process she termed “quiet research” to identify possible grantee organizations. The lucky organizations received a call from Scott’s consultants, who let them know they were receiving a grant for immediate use however they would like to spend it. In the Fall of 2022, Grantmakers In Health (GIH) became one of those grantee organizations, along with more than 20 health foundations. Two additional GIH Funding Partner organizations received gifts in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
2024 Survey Summary: Health Workforce Strategies
Concerns about the supply, diversity, cultural responsiveness, geographic distribution, and safety of the health workforce have reached a critical level across the country. Philanthropy has a role to play in maximizing the health workforce to achieve patient safety, provider well-being, equitable access, care quality, and improved health outcomes. Therefore, GIH recently conducted a survey to learn about funders’ strategies related to their health workforce investments.
The Story of Care: A Snapshot of the Care Narrative Change Landscape
At some point, every one of us will need care or need to provide care. The COVID-19 pandemic put a spotlight on the extraordinary contributions of caregivers and exposed the failings caused by our nation’s lack of care policies, especially for communities of color. Deploying narrative-change strategies across care-related issues will help create the conditions for cultural and policy progress. The goal of this report is to share with funders the promising narrative-change strategies and tactics that have been identified, a directory of funders and grantees who are supporting this work, and how philanthropy can best support this effort.
Perspectives From Health Philanthropy
Exploring the Tides Foundation’s Efforts to Support Civic Engagement and Protect Reproductive Health
Funders can play a major role in promoting a healthy democracy, and increasingly, grantmakers like the Tides Foundation are investing in civic engagement. To learn more about Tides’ work in this area, along with their support of ballot initiatives on reproductive health, Grantmakers In Health’s Miranda Wesley spoke with the Tides Foundation’s Program Officer of Civic Engagement and Democracy, Beth Huang.
Addressing the Heart of Inequity: Tackling Cardiovascular Disease in Underserved Communities
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death globally and in the United States, with a disproportionate impact on underserved communities. To discuss the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation’s focused strategy on addressing these disparities and driving equitable access to cardiology care, Grantmaker In Health’s Miranda Wesley spoke with the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation’s Senior Program Director, Adrienne Gonzalez.
A New Generation of Researchers: Hearing from Youth Leaders on Their Well-Being
Building upon a previous conversation with Juan Martinez of the Aspen Institute and Cynthia Weaver of The Annie E. Casey Foundation on their collaboration on the Youth and Young Adult Well-Being project, the following Q&A features three paid youth consultants who are leading the research initiative as the Youth and Young Adult Well-Being core team. Each team member represents a different cultural affinity group in the well-being project: Desiree Armas from Latine Bienestar, Niara Frankson from Black Expressions of Well-Being, and Zenetta Zepeda from American Indian/Alaska Native.
Upcoming Webinars
Roundtable Discussion for Health Funders’ Policy Staff
Join this informal roundtable discussion to connect with your peers, explore pressing issues, and share your experiences to advance policy change.
Roundtable Discussion for Health Funders’ Policy Staff
Join this informal roundtable discussion to connect with your peers, explore pressing issues, and share your experiences to advance policy change.
Roundtable Discussion for Health Funders’ Policy Staff
Join this informal roundtable discussion to connect with your peers, explore pressing issues, and share your experiences to advance policy change.
Upcoming Convenings
NCOA Age + Action 2024
Hosted by the National Council on Aging. Grantmakers In Health (GIH) and our partners at Grantmakers In Aging (GIA) encourage funders to join us at the 2024 Age + Action conference taking place in Arlington, VA, on May 6 – 8, 2024.
2024 GIH Annual Conference on Health Philanthropy
We are excited to announce that the 2024 GIH annual conference, Bold Results Through Courageous Action, will be held on June 4 – 6 in Portland, Oregon at Hyatt Regency Portland at the Oregon Convention Center. Every year, GIH brings together the bright minds, seasoned experts, and innovative practitioners working in health philanthropy today.
Birth Equity Funders Summit: Aligning Strategies to Advance Equitable Birth Outcomes
This summit, designed exclusively for funders, aims to provide comprehensive strategies, tools, playbooks, and deep learning opportunities, fostering immediate implementation and collaboration. Acknowledging the underrepresentation of professionals from ethnically marginalized backgrounds, including BIPOC grantmakers, we commit to supporting, empowering, and creating a safe space for these voices. Our goal is to ensure that all participants leave with tangible insights and clear expectations for advancing equitable birth outcomes.
Program Officer, Data and Grants Management
We are seeking a skilled and experienced program officer to support the Foundation grants management and operations in its practice of using data to measure performance, inform operational and programmatic decisions, ensure data quality, and improve grantmaking processes. The program officer is primarily responsible to uphold the quality of our online grants management system and grant records, as well as to provide administrative and programmatic support to Health Foundation staff and initiatives.
Program Officer
This role provides programmatic support and assists in the planning and administration of grant making for the Foundation. The Program officer coordinates program activities and maintains collaborative relationships that meet the expectations of funders, partners, and stakeholders.
President
The incoming President will expand the Foundation’s record of collaborative leadership by leveraging strategic partnerships, funding collaboratives, advocacy agendas, and collective impact projects. They will lead the Foundation with passion, authenticity, and integrity, exhibiting strong interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence.
Vice President of Community Investment and Impact
The Vice President of Community Investments & Impact role represents an exciting opportunity for an individual who has a passion for advancing health and well-being and a deep appreciation of the important role of philanthropy and of CHF in strengthening the organizations that are working to advance health equity in Colorado. CHF seeks an inspired and inspiring, skilled and experienced, values-driven leader to join the team at an important moment for Colorado, and for CHF.
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