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What Do We Stand For?
One year ago, as we were just one month into the new administration, I wrote that “At a moment when so much has been described as ‘unprecedented,’ and so much of what we value is being attacked, we need to ask ourselves as individuals, organizations, and a field, what do we stand for? What values do we hold, and what will we do and say to defend them?” Today, the answers to these questions are needed more urgently than ever.
Medicaid and Community Violence: Pathways to Sustainable Care
American cities are witnessing historic declines in gun violence. In recent years, cities like Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Chicago have all seen precipitous drops in homicides, with some reaching multi-decade record lows (Washington Post 2025). While there are many causes of this decline, experts in the field point to community violence intervention as driving the trend.
GIH President and CEO Cara V. James Joined The Rural Impact Podcast for a Conversation about the Intersections of Policy and Philanthropy
On December 4, 2025, Cara V. James, President and CEO of Grantmakers In Health (GIH), was featured in an episode of The Rural Impact podcast. She joined Michelle Rathman, host of The Rural Impact and strategic communications advisor in health care policy, for a conversation on the intersections of policy and philanthropy, challenges with rural health funding, and more. “Policies that are impacting rural communities are…
Roles for Philanthropy as Medicaid Changes Take Effect
For those of us who have worked toward health equity, who have spent the past few years building toward incremental gains and pushing for larger change, the events of this year can feel like one big backslide. At times, it’s overwhelming. Yet this is not the time to get bogged down by the size of the challenge or by analysis paralysis. From where I sit, I see five roles that philanthropy can play in the rollout of changes to Medicaid.
Acting with Urgency: Stupski Foundation Accelerates Its Spend-Down Grantmaking
In this interview, Grantmakers In Health’s Maya Schane spoke with Dan Tuttle and Sulma Gandhi of the Stupski Foundation about the foundation’s spend-down strategy and acceleration of grantmaking in 2025 in response to federal policy changes.
Closing Remarks: 2025 Health Policy Exchange
President and CEO of Grantmakers In Health (GIH), Cara V. James, delivered closing remarks at the 2025 Health Policy Exchange, “Protecting the Freedom to Give” in Arlington, Virginia.
Reports and Publications
Health Policy Update: December 2023
The Health Policy Update is a new monthly newsletter produced in collaboration with 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.
GIH Bulletin: November/December 2023
Firearm injuries are a serious public health problem, killing more than 47,000 Americans each year and becoming the leading cause of death for children and teens in the United States in 2020. Given the impact and complexity of this health crisis, Grantmakers in Health (GIH) hosted a first-ever preconference session focused on firearm violence in advance of the June 2023 GIH Annual Conference on Health Philanthropy. Session speakers briefed partners on the causes of gun violence and provided an opportunity for health funders to learn more about potential solutions through a public health lens. This Issue Brief provides highlights of the meeting’s proceedings and previews GIH’s plans to convene a funder learning collaborative on firearm violence prevention to continue the peer learning and sharing that began at the preconference session.
Public Health Approaches to Firearm Violence Prevention
Firearm injuries are a serious public health problem, killing more than 47,000 Americans each year and becoming the leading cause of death for children and teens in the United States in 2020. Given the impact and complexity of this health crisis, Grantmakers in Health (GIH) hosted a first-ever preconference session focused on firearm violence in advance of the June 2023 GIH Annual Conference on Health Philanthropy. Session speakers briefed partners on the causes of gun violence and provided an opportunity for health funders to learn more about potential solutions through a public health lens. This Issue Brief provides highlights of the meeting’s proceedings and previews GIH’s plans to convene a funder learning collaborative on firearm violence prevention to continue the peer learning and sharing that began at the preconference session.