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A Philanthropic Tree of Life: Seeding Health Equity through Influence and Innovation
Philanthropy can function as a living ecosystem for change rooted in equity, nourished by trust, and bearing the fruits of community well-being. The Direct Relief Fund for Health Equity (DRFHE), launched with $50 million in initial investments, exemplifies a transformative philanthropic model supporting nearly 200 community-based organizations across the United States. Acknowledging DRFHE as a “Tree of Life” offers a framework grounded in community-led, trust-based, and unrestricted giving that challenges traditional philanthropic paradigms. Therefore, this article describes the fund’s origins, strategic priorities, and outcomes, and introduces the DRFHE Tree of Life framework as a replicable model for equity-driven philanthropy.
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Health
GIH President and CEO Cara V. James offers reflections on the theme for the 2026 Annual Conference
GIH Joins Amicus Brief Opposing New Citizenship Verification Requirements
GIH joined organizations filing an amicus brief for the case brought by NY and other states seeking to stop the administration’s attempt to expand citizenship verification requirements under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 for programs administered by the Departments of Health and Human Services, Agriculture, Education, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, and Justice.
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.
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.
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.
Reports and Publications
Climate Change, Health, and Equity: Action Steps for Health Philanthropy
Climate change is one of the biggest health and equity issues of our time. The scale of climate change can be daunting, and some may think of the issue as the sole responsibility of federal, state, local, and tribal governments—however, philanthropy has an essential role to play.
Scan of the Field: Funder Approaches to Health Equity
Philanthropic investments in health equity are growing in response to increased national attention. In an effort to document and learn from this moment, GIH surveyed its Funding Partners at the end of 2020 to identify whether and how foundations altered their health equity programming and pivoted internally to foster more diverse and inclusive environments.
GIH Bulletin: October 2020
This year has placed a spotlight on many things, including the importance of leadership during times of crisis and uncertainty. I recently had the pleasure of welcoming the newest cohort of fellows to the Terrance Keenan Institute for Emerging Leaders in Health Philanthropy. We spent three afternoons together learning about each other’s leadership style, talking about how to foster more diverse and inclusive work environments, discussing how to advance health equity through the work of their foundations, and engaging community leaders in a discussion on power sharing and how to more effectively partner with community organizations to effect change.