What Do We Stand For?
One year ago, as we were just one month into the new administration, I wrote that “At a moment when so much has been described as ‘unprecedented,’ and so much of what we value is being attacked, we need to ask ourselves as individuals, organizations, and a field, what do we stand for? What values do we hold, and what will we do and say to defend them?” Today, the answers to these questions are needed more urgently than ever.
Medicaid and Community Violence: Pathways to Sustainable Care
American cities are witnessing historic declines in gun violence. In recent years, cities like Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Chicago have all seen precipitous drops in homicides, with some reaching multi-decade record lows (Washington Post 2025). While there are many causes of this decline, experts in the field point to community violence intervention as driving the trend.
Reimagining Rural Health and Well-being
To inform positive change, Grantmakers in Health (GIH) and the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) are partnering to reimagine a unified vision for health and well-being in rural America. The Georgia Health Policy Center (GHPC) was engaged to conduct a landscape analysis and facilitate listening sessions with rural health stakeholders at the local, state, and national levels.
GIH Health Policy Update Newsletter
An Exclusive Resource for Funding Partners
The Health Policy Update is a newsletter produced in collaboration with Leavitt Partnersi 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.
Eight Ways to Build a Healthier Tomorrow as a Small Foundation
But we know that making a dent in deep societal issues and in drivers of health outcomes and health equity—like systemic oppression, institutionalized racism, and generational poverty—takes a lot more than writing a check.
The Urgent Need for Nature During and After COVID-19
Mounting research, combined with our personal and professional experience, suggest that improving equity in access to greenspace may help combat health inequities. Access to safe, nearby nature must be prioritized as critical public health infrastructure and not just an amenity for a few.
Hiding in Plain Sight: Care Challenges for Older Adults Living with HIV
Unless you fund an AIDS-serving organization or have a personal connection, this may surprise you, but HIV/AIDS has quietly undergone a metamorphosis, and it is time for health funders to take a fresh look.
Health Affairs: COVID-19: It’s Time For Foundations To Be The Life-Saving Difference
In this Health Affairs blog post, Elizabeth Ripley shares the strategies Mat-Su Health Foundation is using to support health and human service nonprofits during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as how the foundation is doing its work differently during this “philanthropic emergency.”
Candid: Directory of Funds for Coronavirus Relief
A significant number of health foundations are contributing to response and recovery funds. Candid is compiling a list of funds specifically established in the wake of Coronavirus. The list focuses on funds hosted at US-based foundations that serve nonprofits, though others outside of this criteria may appear as well.
Achieving Health Equity is Possible, and Philanthropy Can Help Lead the Way
Philanthropy has a critical role to play in ensuring that health disparities are acknowledged and addressed during this crisis and throughout the recovery process. Health foundations are uniquely positioned to respond to COVID-19 and can deploy a wide range of resources in their communities.