Healthier Information Ecosystems: Strategies for Health Philanthropy

Our information environment is transforming—including the places and people who help us make decisions about our health. Those health information ecosystems are fragmented; filled with information from a wide range of expertise and sources; and platform algorithms exert tremendous and unseen control over what messages are seen, shared, and amplified. These changes have many of our traditional health information sources racing to learn new skills to ensure they remain trusted and relevant.

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Beyond Innovation: How Philanthropy Can Strengthen Systems to Improve Rural Health Outcomes

Sometimes innovation in philanthropy is associated with breakthrough technologies or new medical discoveries. But some of the most impactful investments fund something less visible: the coordination of people, protocols, and institutions already in place so they work together seamlessly to save lives.

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A Philanthropic Tree of Life: Seeding Health Equity through Influence and Innovation

Philanthropy can function as a living ecosystem for change rooted in equity, nourished by trust, and bearing the fruits of community well-being. The Direct Relief Fund for Health Equity (DRFHE), launched with $50 million in initial investments, exemplifies a transformative philanthropic model supporting nearly 200 community-based organizations across the United States. Acknowledging DRFHE as a “Tree of Life” offers a framework grounded in community-led, trust-based, and unrestricted giving that challenges traditional philanthropic paradigms. Therefore, this article describes the fund’s origins, strategic priorities, and outcomes, and introduces the DRFHE Tree of Life framework as a replicable model for equity-driven philanthropy.

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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.

Cara V. James Interviewed by Off the Charts Podcast

Grantmakers In Health (GIH) President and CEO Cara V. James was interviewed on the December 26, 2022 episode of the Off the Charts podcast about health equity and social justice.

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Grantmakers In Health Welcomes Five New Members to Board of Directors

Grantmakers In Health is pleased to announce the election of five new members to its Board of Directors. These include: Melinda Abrams, Tiffany Donelson, Britta Guerrero, Avenel Joseph, and Elizabeth Myung Sook Krause.

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Cara V. James in Politico: Why So Many Black People Distrust the Health Care System 

Grantmakers In Health (GIH) President and CEO Cara V. James was quoted in a December 18, 2022 Politico Magazine article about the Black community’s distrust of the health care system.

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Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust Divests from Tobacco, Commits to Socially Responsible Investing

Recognizing the critical role midwives can play in combatting New Jersey’s maternal mortality crisis, the Burke Foundation and the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute are partnering to increase the role of midwives in New Jersey births.

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Burke Foundation and the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute Launch the Maternal Infant Health Hub Advisory Board

Recognizing the critical role midwives can play in combatting New Jersey’s maternal mortality crisis, the Burke Foundation and the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute are partnering to increase the role of midwives in New Jersey births.

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Achieving Better Health for All Requires Transforming the Way We Do Business

This year has been an exciting time of renewal and transition at Grantmakers In Health. We celebrated our 40th anniversary and began implementing an ambitious five-year strategic plan, that included work to identify when and how GIH would use its voice to advance policies that support better health for all and at long last returned to in-person convenings with our annual conference, Fall Forum, and other events.

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