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Spotlight: Celebrating Civic Health Month!
Eileen Salinsky, Program Advisor, Grantmakers In Health August is civic health month and an opportune time to reflect on organizational and individual commitments to civic engagement. A growing body of research has established a relationship between civic engagement and health outcomes, such as improved access to health care services, lower rates of chronic diseases, longer…
Fair Maps For Better Health Outcomes
Non-Partisan Redistricting Advances Community Health Priorities. Without Fair Representation, Community Priorities Can’t Compete. It’s no coincidence that some of our most gerrymandered states have some of the worst health outcomes. Philanthropy can’t solve health inequities alone. But supporting community-led work to secure fair districts can help change the system – and strengthen our democracy – by allowing communities to choose responsive lawmakers who will fight for better health policy.
To Build a Healthier Nation, We Must Have a Fair Count
Every decade, the Census Bureau fulfills a constitutionally-mandated count of every person living in the
United States. Data derived from the Decennial Census and the ongoing American Community Survey form the statistical backbone for public health, hospitals, insurance, and dozens of federal and other government programs. This data is also an important tool for funder decision-making. For funders focused on health equity, quality data is needed to provide a better understanding of health disparities and the advancement of health equity goals.
The Crucial Role of Philanthropy in Nurturing Equitable Local Journalism
In an era marked by profound societal divisions, the role of local media in fostering democratic health stands as a cornerstone of informed civic engagement. From critical issues like health care and housing to economic opportunity and climate impacts, local journalism is the bedrock upon which communities build their understanding and response. Yet, the field faces challenges beyond the well-documented financial crisis facing local newsrooms, encompassing deep-rooted inequities in newsroom composition and the narratives they convey.
A New Philanthropic Approach to Supporting the Health and Capacity of Rural Communities
To understand health and wellness in rural America, it has been suggested that you need to find a trusted intermediary inside the region that is walking hand-in-hand with the community. Aspen Institute’s Community Strategies Group describes this type of intermediary as a Rural Development Hub. Rural Development Hubs focus on advancing an asset-based, wealth-building approach to rural community engagement and economic development. This inherently includes increasing the health and wellness of the community and its residents; increasing local ownership of all types of assets from cultural, social, financial to political, attracting external resources and funding; and it always includes low-income, under resourced people and places. Hubs seek to transform regions by treating root causes of multigenerational poverty and disease by shifting the balance of power and developing a stronger power base in the community and with those most impacted by the issues at hand.
Driving Change through Public-Private Collaboration at Age + Action 2024
On May 7, 2024, Grantmakers In Health (GIH) and Grantmakers In Aging (GIA) cohosted a funders-only meeting at the National Council on Aging’s Age + Action 2024 conference. The session, “Driving Change through Public-Private Collaboration,” focused on bridging connections between the public and private sectors to improve the health and well-being of older adults in…
Reports and Publications
Health Policy Update: August 21, 2025
In an effort to help our Funding Partners better understand the changing health policy landscape in the new administration and Congress, Grantmakers In Health (GIH) is expanding the GIH Health Policy Update newsletter to three issues per month. Working in collaboration with Leavitt Partners, a leading health care policy consultancy, we are adding new installments of the newsletter on the first and third Wednesdays of the month, while we will continue to partner with Trust for America’s Health on the installment released on the second Wednesday of the month.
Health Policy Update: August 6, 2025
In an effort to help our Funding Partners better understand the changing health policy landscape in the new administration and Congress, Grantmakers In Health (GIH) is expanding the GIH Health Policy Update newsletter to three issues per month. Working in collaboration with Leavitt Partners, a leading health care policy consultancy, we are adding new installments of the newsletter on the first and third Wednesdays of the month, while we will continue to partner with Trust for America’s Health on the installment released on the second Wednesday of the month.
Health Policy Update: July 16, 2025
In an effort to help our Funding Partners better understand the changing health policy landscape in the new administration and Congress, Grantmakers In Health (GIH) is expanding the GIH Health Policy Update newsletter to three issues per month. Working in collaboration with Leavitt Partners, a leading health care policy consultancy, we are adding new installments of the newsletter on the first and third Wednesdays of the month, while we will continue to partner with Trust for America’s Health on the installment released on the second Wednesday of the month.