Reporting from the 2025 Annual Conference on Health Philanthropy
President and CEO of Grantmakers In Health (GIH), Cara V. James, delivered opening remarks at the 2025 GIH Annual Conference on Health Philanthropy in New Orleans.
Read More →Crisis Response Toolkit—Being Prepared: Emerging Threats to Health Philanthropy
Recently, a regional health foundation was highlighted on social media by an account that described itself as being “inspired by DOGE.” The specific areas this account raised for critique were taken from publicly available information, including the organization’s 990 Form and its website.
Crisis Readiness Resources
We encourage GIH Funding Partners to prepare or review their crisis communications strategies and legal response plans for potential actions by the administration against philanthropy or nonprofits.
Grantmakers In Health Announces 2025 Award Winners
Elizabeth Ripley, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mat-Su Health Foundation in Alaska, will receive Grantmakers In Health’s 2025 Terrance Keenan Leadership Award.
Learn More →Jane Perkins of the National Health Law Program to Be Honored with the Andy Hyman Award for Advocacy
Jane Perkins, Litigation Director of the National Health Law Program (NHeLP) in Washington, DC, will receive Grantmakers In Health’s 2025 Andy Hyman Award for Advocacy.
Learn More →GIH Health Policy Update Newsletter
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An Exclusive Resource for Funding Partners
The Health Policy Update is a newsletter produced in collaboration with Leavitt Partnersi and 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.
Recent Reports and Surveys
In 2024, Grantmakers In Health (GIH) surveyed its Funding Partners to understand how their health equity work has evolved. The survey consisted of 40 questions including demographic information, program focus areas, partner engagement, organizational strategy, priority population, successes, and challenges. This report summarizes findings from the Health Equity Survey titled, “Understanding the Changing Landscape.”
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2024 Survey Summary: Firearm Violence Prevention Strategies
GIH conducted a survey in September 2024 about funder engagement in firearm violence prevention. This fact sheet summarizes the survey results with a total sample of 81 health funders. This public health crisis and social justice issue is preventable, and health funders have an important role to play in advancing firearm violence prevention efforts.
2024 Year in Review
The 2024 Grantmakers In Health (GIH) Year in Review report explores a year of programming designed to help funders navigate a time of change, details the expansion of GIH’s expansion of its policy work, provides an update on the ongoing implementation of GIH’s strategic plan, and previews GIH’s priorities for 2025.
Overview of Potential Medicaid Changes in 2025 Budget Reconciliation Bill
Budget reconciliation is a legislative tool that can be used by the majority party in Congress to advance their agenda with only a simple majority in the Senate. With slim Republican majorities in both the House and Senate, reconciliation provides an opportunity to pass key components of President Trump’s agenda, such as defense and border security funding, tax cuts, and spending cuts, without Democrat votes.
Perspectives From Health Philanthropy
From Recovery to Resilience: Investing in Collaborative Infrastructure for Health and Equity
After the 2018 Camp Fire – the most destructive and deadly wildfire in California’s history – the California Accountable Communities for Health Initiative (CACHI) understood that the community needed more than programming to recover. In response, the region’s Accountable Community for Health (ACH) was created – a community-rooted, cross-sector collaborative that invests in local leadership to shift systems, influence policy, and address both long-standing inequities and urgent crises.
Broken Triangle: A Framework for Reparative Philanthropic Relationships
Traditional philanthropic practices have often created imbalanced power dynamics and barriers for Black-led, Black-serving organizations. When the REACH Healthcare Foundation performed a portfolio review in 2018 that revealed this same exclusion within the foundation’s grantmaking investments, REACH committed to reshaping their funding approach, which aims to repair previously neglected —and in some cases, damaged —relationships.
Power to the People: Advancing Impact Through Participatory Budgeting
Who is best positioned to determine how health funding should be allocated? At the Community Health Commission of Missouri (CHCM), we believe the answer is clear: the people most affected by health disparities.
GIH Advocacy for the Reauthorization of the Older Americans Act (OAA)
The OAA provides critical services that address the social drivers of health for older adults. Grantmakers In Health (GIH) and Grantmakers In Aging (GIA) are partnering to engage funders in advancing the reauthorization of this important piece of legislation.
Recently Featured
Infosheet: Key Provisions in the House-passed Reconciliation Bill—H.R. 1, the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act’
An infosheet provides analysis of key health, philanthropy, and nonprofit provisions in H.R. 1, the budget reconciliation bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on May 22, 2025. Changes include an estimated $715 billion reduction in federal Medicaid spending including work requirements, new eligibility requirements to the Affordable Care Act that will reduce access to the ACA’s Advanced Premium Tax Credits, $300 billion in reductions to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, an excise tax on foundations, and new authority for the Secretary of the Treasury to remove the tax-exempt status of nonprofits the administration deems as “terrorist support organizations.”
Act Now to Protect Philanthropy, Medicaid, and SNAP
Right now, Congress is finalizing a massive budget reconciliation bill that threatens philanthropy’s freedom to give and endangers the health and well-being of many millions of Americans. We are reaching out today to raise awareness of three critical developments in the ongoing budget reconciliation process and to encourage you to act.
The Rippel Foundation
“Now more than ever, philanthropy can play a crucial role in bringing people together to focus on values we all agree can move us toward a future where all people thrive, no exceptions. The Rippel Foundation and ReThink Health enjoy a special role as a catalyst in pursuing this ambitious goal—helping others see their power and having the courage to use it to bring about transformational change. Right now, we must resist further fracturing and distraction and commit to making serious investments in the vital conditions to advance shared values of justice and fairness. There is no shortcut to a thriving future, especially now, and we have a track record of supporting individuals, organizations, and regions to courageously plan and invest for long-term, intergenerational impact.”
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Courageous Action for the Health of Our Communities
The final day of the 2025 Annual Conference on Health Philanthropy focused on milestone moments in health like the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and elevated the philanthropic partnerships already inspiring a better tomorrow. While much of the conference was spent reflecting, today was marked by action and what comes next: standing firm in values, being courageous, and co-creating a vision for the future.
Reimagining Health Philanthropy, Together
During Day 2 of the 2025 Annual Conference on Health Philanthropy, attendees across sectors worked together to identify the intersections of their work and co-created solutions for healthier, thriving communities. Sessions spanned a wide range of topics, from exploring business’ role in health equity to strategies for supporting staff in uncertain times.
Upcoming Events
Philanthropy’s Role in Protecting Public Health
In recent months, negative sentiment and rhetoric against our country’s public health system has led to a variety of policy decisions, ranging from defunding local public health departments to undercutting and dismantling key systems and infrastructure. These actions will have profound and far-reaching consequences for our nation’s health. Join this call to discuss the impact of recent state and federal actions on local health departments, how health funders are investing in their communities’ public health, and what grantmakers can do to protect public health. Speakers include Lori Freeman of National Association of County & City Health Officials, Avital Havusha of New York Health Foundation, and Brian Williams of Missouri Foundation for Health.
Roundtable Discussion for Health Funders’ Policy Staff
A growing number of health funders employ staff whose responsibilities focus exclusively or predominantly on public policy engagement. Do you lead your organization’s policy or government affairs work? Join this informal roundtable discussion to connect with your peers, explore pressing issues, and share your experiences to engage communities in setting funders’ policy priorities.
On this webinar, we will hear from Sean McCluskie, Former Chief of Staff at the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), regarding his reflections on the current health policy environment, as well as his advice for funders engaging in policy.
CEO Working Group Webinar
Grantmakers In Health is pleased to convene the CEO Working Group to discuss challenges in our work and opportunities for collaboration as we move forward to achieve our health missions under the new administration.
Roundtable Discussion for Health Funders’ Policy Staff
A growing number of health funders employ staff whose responsibilities focus exclusively or predominantly on public policy engagement. Do you lead your organization’s policy or government affairs work? Participants joined this informal roundtable discussion to connect with your peers, explore pressing issues, and share your experiences to engage communities in setting funders’ policy priorities. Agenda forthcoming.
Connect and collaborate with peers, learn about opportunities to develop your staff, browse professional growth opportunities, and more.
Staff and trustees of foundations and corporate giving programs may receive strategic guidance from program staff, experts, and peers.
Learning Communities
GIH provides ongoing opportunities for sharing, networking, and collaborating around specific topics or functions in health philanthropy. Each Learning Community uses an online platform plus a mix of webinars, in-person meetings, resource sharing, and surveys to provide an in-depth look at its subject.
Trustee Tools and Resources
Browse trustee-tailored content related to governance, strategy, and effectiveness.