Archstone Foundation (Long Beach, CA)
In support of its mission to improve the health and well-being of older Californians, Archstone Foundation approved new grants totaling more than $400,000. These projects will help advance the foundation’s goals by building powerful community collaboratives to transform Black Californians’ aging experience; expand health care for underserved Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities; and increase training for health care providers to engage families in care planning.
The new grants are:
- Aging While Black—to help transform the aging experience of Black older adults by building systems that honor their wisdom, elevate their voices, and create equitable opportunities for health, housing, and social connection. ($50,000)
- The Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations—to strengthen the capacity of Federally Qualified Health Centers that serve older Californians in underserved Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. The grant will provide training and technical assistance to build community health clinic staff capacity in cultural and linguistic competency, patient engagement, mental health support, and interdisciplinary care coordination. ($225,000 over three years).
- The University of California at San Francisco—to support Caregivers as Partners in Care Teams, an ACL-funded training program that provides health care teams with the skills and confidence to include family caregivers in patient care planning. This funding will enable the program to train California’s health care professionals on best practices for identifying and including family caregivers in their family members’ care and connect them in learning cohorts to change approaches to care in the state and beyond. ($137,500 over two years)
To learn more about these grants, click here.
Contact: Laura Rath at lrath@archstone.org.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation (Boston, MA)
The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation approved nearly $1 million in grants to 14 organizations working to expand access to care and reduce inequities in health care. The foundation approved approximately $709,000 for Strengthening the Voice for Access, a program that supports statewide advocacy organizations that are working to expand access to health care and promote the interests of people who are marginalized. The program dates back to the foundation’s inception in 2001 and continues to play a critical role in its mission.
The following 10 organizations received grants:
- Boston Center for Independent Living
- Disability Policy Consortium
- Health Care For All
- Health Law Advocates
- Massachusetts Association for Mental Health
- Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition
- Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
- Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers
- Massachusetts Public Health Association
- Massachusetts Senior Action Council
The board of directors also approved $180,000 in grants to continue the Racial Justice in Health program that supports statewide and local efforts to advance and defend policies and practices that promote racial justice and equity in health care. A three-year grant program had concluded at the end of 2024.
The foundation granted $60,000 for the first of two years of Racial Justice in Health funding to each of the following organizations:
- Asian Women for Health, a peer-led, statewide network dedicated to advancing the health and well-being of Asian women, including cancer survivors and immigrants, through education, advocacy and support.
- GreenRoots, an organization that bridges environmental justice and public health by engaging the most impacted residents in the highly industrial communities of Chelsea and East Boston, Massachusetts.
- La Colaborativa, which empowers Latinx immigrants in the Chelsea, Massachusetts area to enhance the social and economic health of the community and to hold institutional decision-makers accountable to the community.
The foundation also approved a grant to the Health Coverage Fellowship, an intensive journalist training program that has moved to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Center for Health Communication for its 24th year. The foundation launched the program in 2002, focusing on issues ranging from public health and mental health to covering the uninsured, controlling skyrocketing costs, and improving quality. The Fellowship selects 13 journalists from across the country each year, and the foundation’s grant award will support this program, including the participation of two Massachusetts-based journalists.
Contact: Maia Brodyfield at maia.brodyfield@bcbsma.com.
The Health Foundation for Western & Central New York (Buffalo and Syracuse, NY)
The Health Foundation for Western & Central New York is awarding $500,000 as part of an annual initiative made possible by a 2022 gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. The grants include support for nonprofit organizations working to address workforce shortages in the health care industry across central and western New York. Other funds will be used to address the impact of recent federal policy decisions on the region’s nonprofit sector.
These awards are the result of an unrestricted gift of $9 million to the Health Foundation from Scott in 2022. Since receiving the gift, the Health Foundation has chosen to use a portion of the funds each year for special initiatives outside of the organization’s typical strategies.
The focus for 2025 is on helping solve the health care workforce shortages, which have short- and long-term consequences for both urban and rural communities. According to a 2024 study from the Center for Health Workforce Studies, pervasive shortages in New York State are continuing across a variety of roles in health care, including registered nurses and licensed practical nurses, aides, psychiatrists and behavior health professionals, and home health care workers.
The funds will be used as follows:
- Cayuga Community College—to support the development of a Practical Nursing certificate, which will provide a pathway for students to earn a Licensed Practical Nurse certificate while working toward their Registered Nurse credential. Cayuga Community College is working with community partners in Oswego County, New York to co-design the program. ($50,000)
- The Chautauqua Center (TCC)—to support a dental hygienist training partnership with Jamestown Community College and Monroe Community College. TCC will be a designated program training location. ($50,000)
- Health WorkForce New York—to support the Institute of Career Advancement in Medicine (ICAM) in central New York. ICAM uses an innovative, community-driven model that combines digital infrastructure, targeted outreach, and hands-on support to create a sustainable pipeline for health care training, employment, and advancement. ($10,000)
- Multi-funder initiatives (Western New York)—to address the negative impact of recent federal policy on the nonprofit sector, as well as nonprofit convenings to address those issues. ($100,000)
- Multi-funder initiatives (Central New York)—to address the negative impact of recent federal policy on the nonprofit sector, as well as nonprofit convenings to address those issues. ($50,000)
- Southern Tier Health Care System (STHCS)—to support distance learning offerings including its Step Into Healthcare program, and Emergency Medical Technician-Basic program. These funds will provide matching funds to draw down additional funding provided by the Margaret L. Wendt Foundation. ($50,000)
- Trocaire College—to support the Healthy Aging Nursing program. This new concentration will provide specialized workforce development that allows nursing graduates to connect with older adults more authentically by addressing their medical and psychosocial needs. Students who complete the program will receive certification in Healthy Aging and will be eligible for licensure in practical nursing. ($50,000)
$50,000 of the funds had already been contributed earlier in 2025 for the WNY Refugee Resettlement Project to address urgent needs resulting from changes to federal policy.
In 2023, the first use of Scott’s generous gift included grants to six rural health networks across western and central New York, which launched the Health Foundation’s Transform Rural Health campaign. The 2024 awards were provided to organizations that improve health in rural areas with a focus on serving immigrant and refugee populations.
Contact: Kerry Jones Waring at 716.380.7319 or kjwaring@hfwcny.org.
Pottstown Regional Community Foundation (Pottstown, PA)
On July 4, during Pottstown’s GoFourth Parade, Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation announced its new name: Pottstown Regional Community Foundation (PRCF). This rebrand reflects the foundation’s evolution from a private health foundation to a public community foundation and marks a renewed commitment to serving a broader regional mission. With this transformation, PRCF is opening the door for the public to play a more active role in local philanthropy.
While the foundation remains dedicated to health and wellness, its new structure allows donors to support a wider range of community needs, such as arts and culture, environmental initiatives, senior services, and social supports. Community members now have greater opportunities to give to causes that matter to them, or to establish charitable funds that align with their values.
Since 2003, PRCF has invested more than $57.6 million in grants across western Montgomery, northern Chester, and eastern Berks counties in Pennsylvania. As a community foundation, PRCF continues to build on that legacy by connecting people, purpose, and place.
Contact: Sam Mirarchi at SMirarchi@pottstownfoundation.org.