Contribute to the Philanthropic Growth and Impact Fund
Featured Resources
bi3 Article: Trust-Based Philanthropy is Grounded in Mutual Accountability and Learning
A new article shows how applying a trust-based philanthropy lens helps funders capture the full impact of grants, describes how bi3 evaluates initiatives, and how building funder-grantee relationships grounded in power-sharing, transparency, and mutual accountability helps achieve greater impact.
New Competency Model for Foundation Program Officers Released
The Dorothy A. Johnson Center on Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University has released a competency model for foundation program officers.
Taking A cultivate approach to Improve Community Health
Health foundations are increasingly recognizing that their mission is not simply to award grants to deserving nonprofit organizations, but rather to play a catalytic role in improving the conditions that influence health, especially at a population level.
Explore Philanthropic Growth and Impact Topics
Recent Items - Advocacy Strategies
Latest Resources
Honoring Community Voices to Enhance Health Grantmaking
In philanthropic circles we spend a lot of time discussing the importance of how foundations can meet the needs of and strengthen communities. We expect our grants and program support will prompt change and improve lives, but how often do we end up doing things “to” a community as opposed to working “with” a community to achieve common goals?
Doing a Lot with a Little: The Gulf Coast Fund
“Doing a Lot with a Little” is an occasional series of the GIH Bulletin showcasing small foundations that have creatively leveraged resources to achieve meaningful change.
Making Money in the Nonprofit Sector: Social Enterprises to Support Missions
During the economic downturn, America’s social sector organizations are rising to the challenge. One way in which organizations are investing in a more sustainable future is through social enterprise. The Social Enterprise Alliance (2009) defines a social enterprise as “an organization or venture that achieves its primary social or environmental mission using business methods.”
A National Foundation Undertakes a Regional Strategy in the South
The Health Reform Program of the Public Welfare Foundation supports advocacy so that the voices of the people served by the health care system can be informed and effective. Poverty, health disparities, and underfunded advocacy capacity describe the South.
Collaborating Where Health Happens
At the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), our mission is to improve health and health care for all Americans. But improving health for the most vulnerable requires acknowledging that factors such as poverty, violence, inadequate housing, and education contribute to poor health.
The Value of Interdisciplinary Research Networks
In this time of economic hardship, foundations – like us all – are searching for the most creative and productive strategies for getting the most out of constrained budgets. Many foundations that support research, as well as health care delivery, have become aware that in attempting to understand complex issues related to human health, behavior, and well-being, it is often most useful, even necessary, to employ an interdisciplinary approach.
Reports and Publications
2024 Health Equity Survey: Understanding the Changing Landscape
In 2024, Grantmakers In Health (GIH) surveyed its Funding Partners to understand how their health equity work has evolved. The survey consisted of 40 questions including demographic information, program focus areas, partner engagement, organizational strategy, priority population, successes, and challenges. This report summarizes findings from the Health Equity Survey titled, “Understanding the Changing Landscape.”
Diversity in the Leadership, Staff, and Boards of Health Philanthropy
A new Grantmakers In Health survey of health funder leadership, staff, and boards found that health funder organizations are more racially and ethnically diverse than the broader field of philanthropy.
Advancing Health and Creating Lasting Impact: MacKenzie Scott’s Grants to Health Foundations
In 2019, MacKenzie Scott announced that she was stepping into the world of philanthropy to give away her multi-billion-dollar fortune “until the safe is empty”. She has kept her word—to date, she has given away $16.5 billion. Her initial process for choosing which organizations would receive grants was shrouded in mystery. From 2019 to 2023, Scott used a process she termed “quiet research” to identify possible grantee organizations. The lucky organizations received a call from Scott’s consultants, who let them know they were receiving a grant for immediate use however they would like to spend it. In the Fall of 2022, Grantmakers In Health (GIH) became one of those grantee organizations, along with more than 20 health foundations. Two additional GIH Funding Partner organizations received gifts in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
Trustee Resources
Explore this page to browse resources, publications, and events related to foundation trustees.