Elevating Community Priorities to Shape Georgia’s Health Policy Agenda
Georgia stands at a pivotal moment that will shape the direction of health policy in our state. With an open governor’s race in 2026, along with other open seats, we’re on the cusp of significant political transition. While new leadership introduces uncertainty, it also creates opportunity. This moment opens the door for nonpartisan, nonprofit, private foundations like our team at Georgia Health Initiative to play a constructive role in elevating community priorities to shape a health policy agenda designed to work for all Georgians.
Strengthening Health Care Access for People with Disabilities: Lessons for Philanthropy
In July, we recognize Disability Pride Month, marking the anniversary of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and celebrating the contributions and diverse identities of people with disabilities. While the ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability and establishes protections and requirements for employers, state, and local governments, and other areas of public life, many people with disabilities still face barriers.
UniHealth Foundation: July 2026
UniHealth Foundation recently launched its Healthy Neighbors Small Grants Program. The new initiative will fund nonprofits focused on enhancing community health and wellness in Pasadena, Altadena, Sierra Madre, and South Pasadena, California. Grant awards will range from $5,000 to $10,000, with decisions announced in late fall 2026.
GIH Health Policy Update Newsletter
The Latest
An Exclusive Resource for Funding Partners
The Health Policy Update is a newsletter produced in collaboration with Leavitt Partners 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.
The Air That We Breathe
We and many colleagues believe that, in order to strengthen responses to the pressing crises we face, we must consider some converging determinants of health—racism, climate change, and COVID-19—together. Doing so is essential, not just for crisis management, but also for building resilient systems and infrastructure that enable everyone, particularly Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities, to breathe.
Managing America’s Crises Means Addressing the Political Determinants of Health
Too often we stop at these social drivers of inequities, however, and miss the link between social determinants of health and their political roots. Every social determinant of health is preceded by a political action, inaction, or impetus. Political determinants of health create the social drivers—including poor environmental conditions, inadequate transportation, unsafe neighborhoods, and lack of healthy food options—that affect all other dynamics of health.
Health Equity … It’s a Journey, Not a Destination
COVID-19 has struck with a vengeance, hitting African Americans, older adults, and those with chronic health conditions the hardest. Simultaneously, our nation is experiencing a moment of reckoning, resulting from a long history of racism that has shaped the foundation of this country and thus permeates every system and institution.
Muslim Chaplaincy: Cultural and Faith Based Leadership for Better Health
For years, hospitals have offered interfaith chaplains to provide faith support for Muslim families. But over 95 percent of these chaplains come from Christian backgrounds. In Minnesota, which has a Muslim population of about 150,000, it has become clear that it could be enormously beneficial to integrate appropriate faith leaders into systems of care in order to overcome significant cultural gaps between community and health care providers and provide meaningful support to families facing critical life questions.
Health Equity and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): COVID-19 Spotlights the Need for Cross-Sector Collaborations
Three years ago, the EITC Funders Network started more deeply exploring the growing body of research on the intersections between the Earned Income Tax Credit and health outcomes. This research became a foundation for fostering cross-sector discussions and collaborations to promote both economic opportunity and health equity.
