Cara V. James, PhD, President and CEO, Grantmakers In Health
Two hundred and fifty years ago, America was forged around a shared purpose and a vision for the future, grounded in life, liberty, and the pursuit of opportunity. The country’s founders believed the existing system was no longer working and set a new direction.
Today, we are being called to do the same.
Widespread cuts to health and social programs, strain on public health infrastructure, and growing demands on philanthropy and community systems are reshaping what is possible for people across the country. Health and well-being remain deeply connected to the ideals that shaped the nation’s founding, and achieving a future in which everyone has the opportunity to achieve their highest level of health will require us to work differently than we have before.
Our annual conference is where philanthropy comes together to begin that work. This year’s theme, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Health, reflects both the urgency of this moment and the opportunity ahead. It is a space to reimagine the future; articulate our shared purpose; align around the areas where we can have the greatest impact; and coordinate action that advances life, supports liberty, and expands the conditions that make better health possible for everyone.
We have designed the conference to engage health funders on some of the most pressing issues facing the field, including health equity, Medicaid and SNAP, public health, and civil society. These priorities are reflected throughout the programming, with opportunities to explore strategies, deepen collaboration around advocacy, strategic communication, and policy, identify where philanthropy can have the greatest impact, and move the work forward.
We want the conference to be more than a space to simply convene. It is a place to connect, learn from each other, and develop new approaches to the challenges ahead. We cannot continue to work in the same ways we have before. Building the future we want requires innovation, stronger partnerships, and doing things we have never done. This includes deeper engagement on rural health, which sits at the intersection of many of these issues and highlights how place continues to shape access, outcomes, and the systems that support both. It also requires leaning in on policy and advocacy to change the systems contributing to poor health outcomes and shoring up our civil society because we cannot have healthy communities without a healthy democracy.
At Grantmakers In Health, we are challenging ourselves to do things differently in order to meet the moment. Our mission is unchanged. Our north star remains the same: better health for all through better philanthropy, but the scale and urgency of the work ahead require us to change how we show up. This means moving from a convener to a mobilizer and organizer, strengthening how we advocate, and expanding partnerships across sectors in service of our vision for the future. At a time when business as usual is not optional, how we choose to act will shape what comes next.
No single organization can meet this moment alone. But together, we can, and our conference provides an important space to foster collective action.
I look forward to seeing you in June as we come together to learn, connect, and mobilize in pursuit of life, liberty, and better health for all.
