GIH Bulletin

Health philanthropy is a complex, ever-evolving sector. New health foundations continue to emerge, bringing additional assets to communities across the country.

Our board retreat is a wonderful opportunity to examine important trends in the field of health philanthropy and consider ways GIH can be most helpful in supporting the field’s evolving needs and priorities. A key topic of conversation at this year’s gathering was the role of health philanthropy and GIH in responding to gun violence.

A few weeks ago, I was the moderator for a conversation about “Building, Protecting, and Promoting Evidence to Achieve Health Equity,” between Rich Besser of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Bob Ross of The California Endowment. The foundations share a commitment to health equity, but their approaches to achieving it vary in interesting ways.

As we prepare for the 2018 annual conference, Navigating Currents of Change, I have been thinking about foundations and community leadership. Leadership has many dimensions. It includes setting priorities, taking risks, and exercising a foundation’s voice to communicate its positions.

This year’s conference theme, Navigating Currents of Change, recognizes that we are in a period of intense social change that challenges funders from several directions—all at once. And we want to hear from you.

In my last several Bulletin letters, I’ve written about issues that are top of mind with current and past GIH board members. This series concludes with a look at the health care workforce, a pressing and complex issue that encompasses aspects of quality, equity, and delivery system reform.

In the immediate aftermath of natural disasters like hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, people require help with food, water, physical injuries, housing, and other survival concerns. Longer term, their needs are more complex—and less visible.

In our 35th anniversary survey of GIH board members and board alumni, several identified the social determinants of health as a primary challenge—now and in the future—for health philanthropy.

As part of our 35th anniversary celebration, we reached out to GIH board members and board alumni to share their advice to health funders about the primary challenges that philanthropy should be tackling. As described in my July letter, several pointed out the contributions health funders have made—and can continue to make—to policy change.