Explore Health Equity and Social Justice Topics

Latest Resources

Reports

Funders Together for Housing Justice: March 2026

A new publication has been released: Caring Collectively: How Health Funders Can Step into the Movement for Housing Justice to End Homelessness. It is designed to support how health-focused foundations can engage in housing justice work in ways that align with their existing priorities.

Read More →

39 Funders Collaborate on Comment Letter in Support of Health Professionals

The U.S. Department of Education recently published a proposed rule that would narrow the definition of which graduate programs qualify as “professional degrees” for federal student loan purposes, affecting how much students in certain health fields may borrow. Finalizing this rule will result in reduced access to care (especially in rural and other underserved communities), by making graduate education less affordable, disrupting health workforce pipelines, and creating obstacles for students to enter essential health and human-services professions.

Read More →

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.

Read More →

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.

Read More →
Reports

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation: January 2026

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation released a chart pack which provides an overview of the public coverage programs in Massachusetts, explains the key Medicaid and Marketplace provisions in H.R.1, and elevates what is known about how these provisions will impact the coverage landscape and the health care delivery system in Massachusetts.

Read More →

Practicing What We Preach: Three Tips for Putting Equity at the Heart of a Successful Application Process

Every step of the grant application process
— from initial outreach to final award notification — provides opportunities for funders to either reinforce inequities or dismantle them. The grant application process is often the first barrier that organizations encounter when seeking funding. If designed without an intentional focus on equity, the application process can advantage well-resourced organizations, while disadvantaging equally or better qualified organizations that have fewer resources.

Read More →

Reports and Publications

Harnessing 21st Century Technological Innovation to Promote Health

Technology has progressed by leaps and bounds since the turn of the 21st century, especially for consumers. Digital health innovations are rapidly being imagined, developed, and explored worldwide. While the potential of these technological tools is exhilarating, many questions remain regarding their development, efficacy, implementation, and place in the larger scheme of health grantmaking.

Read More →

Addressing the Health Needs of LGBT Elders

This Issue Focus article is adapted from an October 30, 2013 GIH webinar discussing the health issues and challenges face by LGBT elders and how grantmakers are supporting efforts to improve related services, policies, and research.

Read More →

Foundation Strategies to Promote Healthy Eating and Active Living

Growing recognition of the nation’s obesity epidemic and its profound impact on population health has led an increasing number of health funders to identify the promotion of healthy eating and active living (HEAL) as a strategic priority. Anecdotal reports from Grantmakers In Health (GIH) Funding Partners suggest that as the level of investment committed to HEAL has increased over time, the nature of funded interventions has also changed considerably. In order to test these perceptions, GIH conducted this scan of the field to gain a clearer understanding of health foundations’ strategic approach to HEAL. Funded by The Colorado Health Foundation, the study considers foundations’ history with, current strategies for, and future plans regarding HEAL-related investments, as well as prevailing views on the value and effectiveness of these efforts.

Read More →