Make Connections to Create a Movement for Rural Health
On Thursday, September 24, the Annual Meeting of the Rural Health Philanthropy Partnership kicked off in downtown Bethesda, MD. Selected highlights from the convening’s first day setting the stage for a full day of sessions and networking opportunities centered on how collaboration can build on progress already underway in rural and tribal communities, including rural health transformation efforts.
NJ SNIP: Supporting Behavioral Health Access Through Trust-based Grantmaking
Amid shifting federal health care funding, grants that enable health care safety net entities to respond to the changing landscape can unlock immense value. This form of grantmaking puts daily program-related decisions in the hands of people doing the work, allowing organizations to develop and sustain staff positions, workflows, and programs that reflect their priorities.
Leaning Into Radical Collaboration Will Advance Your Focused Mission
At this year’s GIH annual conference, I found myself surrounded by hundreds of philanthropic leaders deeply committed to improving the health and well-being of their communities. Again and again, I met funders whose work was grounded in a particular place, population, or issue. These funders know their communities intimately. They understand local history, relationships, and the needs of their communities. Their focus is one of their greatest strengths.
Changing the Vaccine Conversation Before It’s Too Late—What Can Philanthropy Do?
In July 2026, the United States reached a grim milestone when the number of confirmed cases of measles exceeded the total for all of 2025. On August 10, 2026, the White House issued an executive order directing changes to the federal childhood vaccine schedule and categories, and calls for availability of separate measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines. The science has not changed, but the new framework could significantly slow down the delivery of protective immunizations from these serious diseases.
GIH Health Policy Update Newsletter
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.
Remembering Leila May Polintan (Bugno)
GIH Board and staff mourn the death of Leila Polintan, our communications director. Leila’s courage and grace in the face of her battle with cancer were an example for all of us. We will miss her smiling face, infectious laugh, and vibrant spirit.
Adaptive Leadership: The Next Requirement for Sustainable Community Health Improvements?
Funders have an obligation to go beyond providing programmatic or operational funding. They must play a larger role if they are to contribute to meaningful and sustained change and responsibly steward the resources in their trust.
A Healthy Public Needs More Than Public Health: Lessons for Addressing Substance Use
The longstanding invisibility of substance use disorders simply cannot continue if we truly want to improve communities. We have a window of opportunity to make great strides if physical and behavioral health policymakers, advocates, and foundations work together.
In Memory of Andy Hyman
The field of health philanthropy lost one of its greatest champions when Andy Hyman of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation passed away on February 25, 2015.
The Health Care Neighborhood: Philanthropy’s Role in Aging Well
Many primary care physicians do not feel confident in their capacity to meet their patients’ social needs, and they believe this impedes their ability to provide quality care. Despite evidence that social determinants such as education, employment, and economics can influence health outcomes, a service coordination gap remains.