Explore Health Equity and Social Justice Topics

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Better Health Through Better Philanthropy - Grantmakers in Health

Building the Evidence: Investing in Research Supporting the Need for Healthy and Active Schools

Those leading our education system today face an enormous amount of pressure, from funding issues to curriculum changes, from absenteeism to state assessment scores. With so much to consider and so much to fit into each school day, leaders are often forced to make decisions that de-prioritize an important aspect of a child’s development: physical activity. Following discussions with numerous stakeholders, the Kansas Health Foundation found that a critical missing piece in making the case for the importance of physical activity at school was timely, state-specific data linking student fitness and academics.

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Better Health Through Better Philanthropy - Grantmakers in Health

Starting Early: Obesity Prevention in Early Childhood

In late 2009 The Boston Foundation shifted its health grantmaking focus from access to prevention in order to address the rising tide of preventable chronic illness and the escalating health care costs stemming from the obesity epidemic.

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Better Health Through Better Philanthropy - Grantmakers in Health

Health Impact Assessments– A Pathway to Health Equity

Health impact assessments offer an approach that helps build robust collaborations between health and other sectors by providing timely, accurate, and relevant information intended for use in real-time decisionmaking.

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Public Policy and the Equity Agenda

While a number of leading organizations have called for health in all policies, imagine if the field went a step further to call for health equity in all policies.

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Making Health Happen for Our Sons and Brothers

In April 2013, leaders from The California Endowment (TCE) and more than two dozen philanthropic foundations pledged to form an alliance to strengthen the sector’s investment in creating greater opportunities and wellness for black males and other males of color.

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Better Health Through Better Philanthropy - Grantmakers in Health

Working at the Intersection of Healthy Eating, Active Living, and Violence Prevention

This field note describes Kaiser Permanente’s work at the intersection of obesity prevention, violence prevention/reduction, and, increasingly, social and emotional health. It focuses on Kaiser’s experience in advancing multidimensional community-based prevention efforts in Northern California, one of seven regions where it is undertaking this work.

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Reports and Publications

GIH Bulletin: January/February 2026

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.

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GIH Bulletin: November/December 2025

GIH President and CEO, Cara V. James, delivered these remarks on Protecting the Freedom to Give at the closing of the 2025 Health Policy Exchange, in Arlington, Virginia.

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Behavioral Health Strategies

GIH conducted a survey in late 2024 on funder engagement in behavioral health. This fact sheet, based on a sample of 139 health funders, summarizes the current trends, gaps, successes and challenges for funders. It also highlights philanthropy’s continued commitment to behavioral health while also signaling concern about the upcoming funding environment.  

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