Policy and Advocacy Resources
Overview of the 119th Congress
A detailed overview of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, including leadership in both houses and key committee and subcommittee members.
Overview of the Executive Branch
A detailed overview of the U.S. executive branch, including the White House, Cabinet, and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including organizational charts of key members of the White House policy team and HHS leadership.
Congressional Staff and Member Outreach
A detailed overview of how congressional offices, committees, and leadership are staffed. In addition, it provides recommended best practices for meeting with Members of Congress and their staff.
Grantmakers In Health’s five-year strategic plan elevates leadership and influence as one of four strategic pillars for our work. GIH seeks to take a more active role in defining the key issues that will advance better health for all. We are also supporting health philanthropy with the thought leadership and programming to create lasting impact by influencing advocacy, policy, and funding in targeted areas.
This policy agenda identifies our public policy priorities for the coming year. Informed by health funders, these priorities will guide our programming, influence decisions related to issuing public statements on timely policy issues, and focus our emerging advocacy efforts. We hope these priorities will also inspire the field of health philanthropy and encourage greater collaboration and commitment to common policy goals among funders. We look forward to working with funders and others to advance this agenda.
GIH Health Policy Update Newsletter
An Exclusive Resource for GIH Funding Partners
In an effort to help our Funding Partners better understand the changing health policy landscape in the new administration and Congress, Grantmakers In Health (GIH) is expanding the GIH Health Policy Update newsletter to three issues per month. Working in collaboration with Leavitt Partners, a leading health care policy consultancy, we are adding new installments of the newsletter on the first and third Wednesdays of the month, while we will continue to partner with Trust for America’s Health on the installment released on the second Wednesday of the month.
GIH Advocacy for the Reauthorization of the Older Americans Act (OAA)
The OAA provides critical services that address the social drivers of health for older adults. Grantmakers In Health (GIH) and Grantmakers In Aging (GIA) are partnering to engage funders in advancing the reauthorization of this important piece of legislation.
Upcoming Policy & Advocacy Events
Resources from Policy & Advocacy Events
Recently Featured
Voter Engagement Messaging and Activities for Private Foundations
The Alliance for Justice’s Bolder Advocacy initiative has released a new collection of resources specifically geared to help private foundations get engaged in the upcoming election. Private foundations can help get out the vote in a number of ways and these guides clarify what activities are permissible.
GIH Fall 2020 Virtual Convenings
To protect the health and well-being of the GIH community during the COVID-19 pandemic, Grantmakers In Health will convene both the Terrance Keenan Institute for Emerging Leaders in Health Philanthropy and the Fall Forum virtually this year.
Reflections from 2020 Andy Hyman Award for Advocacy Recipient
My organization, the Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative (MCHI) Education Fund, has made tremendous progress in expanding access to quality, affordable health care and improving public health. These achievements have only been possible because of our great fortune to work with a bold philanthropic community that is invested in strategic advocacy and public health.
Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation: 2020 Census Funder Survey Report
The Census Subgroup and Funders Census Initiative have surveyed their funder networks to document how philanthropic institutions and the organizations they support are adjusting their work in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Advocacy in an Election Year
As elections approach, foundations across the country are considering how to best raise awareness of issues ranging from health equity and climate change to immigration reform and criminal justice.Health foundations tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code—which includes both private foundations and community foundations—must comply with IRS rules requiring 501(c)(3) organizations to remain nonpartisan
Building an Evidence-Base for Gun Violence Prevention: Research and Data Needs
Gun violence prevention research is woefully underfunded, receiving significantly less research funding and scientific attention compared with other leading causes of death. Using a methodology that calculated expected levels of research investment based on mortality rates, one study estimated that between 2004 and 2015 gun violence received just 1.6 percent of the federal research support projected and had 4.5 percent of the volume of publications anticipated.
