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.
Remarks on Defending Philanthropy’s Freedom to Give
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.
Preconference – Welcome to the 2024 GIH Conference on Health Philanthropy!
The 2024 Grantmakers In Health Conference on Health Philanthropy, Bold Results Through Courageous Action, launched in Portland, Oregon today, Monday, June 3, 2024, with three engaging pre-conference sessions.
Exploring the Packard Foundation’s U.S. Reproductive Health Initiative
The Packard Foundation has a long history of funding efforts that protect, regain, and expand access to abortion and contraception and funding innovations to expand access to these services as part of its U.S. Reproductive Health initiative. To explore the foundation’s current work, specifically at the state level, Grantmakers In Health’s Miranda Wesley spoke with the Packard Foundation’s U.S. Reproductive Health Director, Elizabeth Arndorfer.
A New Philanthropic Approach to Supporting the Health and Capacity of Rural Communities
To understand health and wellness in rural America, it has been suggested that you need to find a trusted intermediary inside the region that is walking hand-in-hand with the community. Aspen Institute’s Community Strategies Group describes this type of intermediary as a Rural Development Hub. Rural Development Hubs focus on advancing an asset-based, wealth-building approach to rural community engagement and economic development. This inherently includes increasing the health and wellness of the community and its residents; increasing local ownership of all types of assets from cultural, social, financial to political, attracting external resources and funding; and it always includes low-income, under resourced people and places. Hubs seek to transform regions by treating root causes of multigenerational poverty and disease by shifting the balance of power and developing a stronger power base in the community and with those most impacted by the issues at hand.
Expanding Youth Mental Health in Philadelphia Schools
Youth in the United States are in crisis. Rates of depression and anxiety in children have been on the rise, the result of factors like social media, pandemic related issues like isolation, and trauma from gun violence and poverty. Between 2016 and 2020, diagnoses of depression in youth ages 3-17 increased by nearly 30 percent and were higher for children of color and LGBTQ children according to a 2022 study by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
‘Digging In’ to Create a Healthy Agriculture System
Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders (SAFSF), a Grantmakers In Health (GIH) Philanthropy Support Partner, recently released their first documentary film, Digging In, in partnership with Masika Henson, Nathan.works, and Vatheuer Family Foundation. The documentary aims to help funders understand how land access, consolidation, and climate change affect U.S. agriculture, which are all factors that impact health and equity. To learn more about the creation and inspiration behind the film, GIH conducted the following Q&A with SAFSF’s Executive Director Clare Fox.
How Philanthropy Can Support Los Angeles Homeless Providers Facing Challenges Accessing California Housing Services
In 2022, Cedars-Sinai, HealthNet, and the California Community Foundation launched a philanthropic partnership to support a learning collaborative for 11 providers that serve the unhoused to receive capacity building, policy guidance, and other assistance to take advantage of the new CalAIM Community Supports (CS) housing services. Nonprofit Finance Fund engaged providers and provided capacity building and support to each organization to explore CalAIM and plan for their potential engagement in the Medi-Cal service model. Corporation for Supportive Housing is working on an advocacy agenda with the provider cohort as they experienced challenges and barriers during the process. The goal was for their learnings to inform current and future policy and advocacy discussions about the opportunities, challenges, and needs related to Community Supports to promote the highest quality of care for individuals and families who are at risk of becoming unhoused or who are already unhoused.