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.
Birth Equity Funders’ Summit: 2022 Report
The 2022 Birth Equity Funders’ Summit brought together over 100 funders in person and 35 virtually to reflect on the role of philanthropy in reducing racial disparities in birth outcomes and identify opportunities to better collaborate and align in service of this goal. This report serves as an overview of the event, as well as offers key takeaways and practical recommendations for funders.
We Can’t Fix What We Don’t Measure: Why the Youth Risk Behavior Survey is Critical
In 2021, 1 in 6 high school students was electronically bullied or bullied at school. That same year, 22 percent of high school students, and 45 percent of students who identified as LGBTQ+, seriously considered attempting suicide. We know this information because of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which along with other state and local surveys, comprises the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System.
Exploring the Impact of Vaccine Equity Grants in Rural Communities of Color
The Rx Foundation launched a rapid response Vaccine Equity grant program in March 2021 as it became clear that communities had unequal access to newly available COVID-19 vaccines. The goal was to fund organizations that were positioned to improve access to vaccines for groups marginalized by or unable to access existing systems and to do outreach and have conversations with people about their vaccine concerns and questions.
New York State Foundations Working Together to Preserve Health Insurance Coverage for Millions of New Yorkers
In March 2020, the United States declared a public health emergency and enacted historic COVID-19 relief legislation. It increased Medicaid funding to states contingent on several conditions, including a “continuous enrollment” requirement that prohibited states from terminating Medicaid enrollees’ coverage until after the public health emergency had ended. How well this worked is a rare silver lining of the pandemic: an estimated 20.2 million people gained coverage since March 2020, and the uninsured rate dropped across the country.
