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.

Read More →

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.

Read More →

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.

Read More →

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.

The Power of Partnerships in Improving Health Care Access and Outcomes

Partnerships are essential to improving health care access, and outcomes, and forming partnerships require listening, learning, transparency, and flexibility.

Read More →

Resolutions for a Revolution in Philanthropy

Heading into the new year, we are now asking one another, “What risks did our foundations take during these past two years that we may want to continue? What has philanthropy done differently over the last two years that perhaps has made our sector more effective, inclusive, and responsive? We highlight three ways our foundations changed for the better during the pandemic, strategies funders are using to support building or shifting power to nonprofit partners.

Read More →

Homelessness and Health Equity: Health Funders’ Alignment and California’s Next Medicaid Waiver

California has a new plan under its recently-approved Medicaid waiver that builds on innovations implemented in recent state programs and is centered on health equity, especially for people experiencing homelessness.

Read More →
Transitions

Philanthropy @ Work – Transitions – January 2022

The latest on transitions from the field.

Read More →
Reports

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation: January 2022

Racism and Racial Inequities in Health: A Data-Informed Primer on Health Disparities in Massachusetts serves as a foundational resource to broaden the collective understanding of racial and ethnic health inequities and disparities. The primer is intended to support discussion about how our healthcare system and other systems that impact health enhance or undermine health, and to facilitate the development of solutions to strengthen those systems to serve all Massachusetts residents.

Read More →