Advancing Health and Creating Lasting Impact: MacKenzie Scott’s Grants to Health Foundations
In 2019, MacKenzie Scott announced that she was stepping into the world of philanthropy to give away her multi-billion-dollar fortune “until the safe is empty”. She has kept her word—to date, she has given away $16.5 billion. Her initial process for choosing which organizations would receive grants was shrouded in mystery. From 2019 to 2023, Scott used a process she termed “quiet research” to identify possible grantee organizations. The lucky organizations received a call from Scott’s consultants, who let them know they were receiving a grant for immediate use however they would like to spend it. In the Fall of 2022, Grantmakers In Health (GIH) became one of those grantee organizations, along with more than 20 health foundations. Two additional GIH Funding Partner organizations received gifts in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
Prevention and Women’s Health: Can Philanthropy Make a Difference?
This GIH Issue Focus makes the case for funding in prevention and women’s health and describes approaches being taken by grantmakers.
Youth Mentoring: Creative Strategies for Promoting Youth Health
This GIH Issue Focus describes the methods and strategies of youth mentoring programs, research findings on program effectiveness, and foundation support of youth mentoring programs.
Strategic Initiatives: Finding Your Niche
This GIH Issue Focus answers common questions about strategic initiatives and provides examples to highlight the wide variety of health grantmaking being conducted through these initiatives.
Victims of Our Own Success: Will Immunization Remain the Paradigm of Effective Prevention?
Based on a GIH roundtable meeting, this Issue Brief examines the critical issue of childhood immunization and highlights the work of grantmakers and national experts who have made a major commitment to this issue. The explores the many factors influencing public acceptance of childhood immunization and the importance of ensuring and conveying accurate information to the public and policymakers. Current and potential roles for health philanthropy are also discussed.
Strategies for Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health
This Issue Brief, based on a May 2000 Issue Dialogue, begins by documenting disparities for six health conditions targeted by the federal government and explores some of the underlying causes of health disparities. The report presents examples of philanthropic strategies, as well as federal and state initiatives, and offers conclusions about the challenges foundations are likely to face in working to eliminate health disparities.
Prevention & Women’s Health: Making the Health Care System More Responsive to Women
Based on a 1999 GIH meeting with experts in community health, research, and government, this Issue Brief examines prevention and women’s health. Taking an expansive definition of prevention, the report looks at health issues as they affect women across the life span. In addition to providing examples of various grantmaking strategies to improve women’s health, the report concludes with 21 lessons for health grantmakers.
Youth Mentoring: A Social Development Approach to Youth Health Promotion
When health is defined as the absence of illness and injury, youth fare well. But when that definition is broadened to include emotional, social, and environmental health issues, it becomes clear that youth face significant health problems and health risks. This Issue Brief highlights the work of grantmakers who are supporting mentoring as a strategy for addressing the root causes of adolescent health problems and promoting healthy youth development.
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