“Philanthropy can play a foundational role in fostering belonging, community, and connection among our young people.”
– Dr. Sejal Hathi, Director, Oregon Health Authority
On Day 2 of the GIH Annual Conference on Health Philanthropy, the sun emerged and highlighted Portland’s natural beauty. Attendees kicked off this warm summer day with a power walk, networking breakfasts, breakout sessions, and quick takes before the annual Terrance Keenan and Andy Hyman Awards Plenary Luncheon, which honored two incredible leaders in health philanthropy and equity.
In the afternoon, attendees could attend film screenings on pressing health issues or conscious breathing, sound bath, or tea blending wellness sessions. To close out this dynamic day, attendees heard from youth mental health advocates at our plenary and then attended an off-site reception at Ecotrust, a collaborative nonprofit working to create economic opportunity, social equity, and environmental well-being in Portland. Read more about this bright, warm, and inspiring convening in Day 2’s recap!
The Kids Are Not Alright: Strengthening Child Well-Being
One in seven youth experienced a major depressive episode in the last year. However, mental health conditions are preventable and treatable, and young people are talking about mental health more openly than ever. In today’s afternoon plenary, expert panelists asked funders to think about youth mental health boldly, courageously, and differently.
Panelists discussed how their own mental health advocacy was born from lived experience. Dr. Sejal Hathi, Director of the Oregon Health Authority, struggled with an eating disorder for much of her adolescence. The guidance and support of her providers made her want to be a physician and policymaker. Cherrial Odell, a Youth Mental Health Lived Experience Expert and Advocate, attempted suicide as a teenager. She joined the Inspiring Children Foundation, a nonprofit based in her home city of Las Vegas that empowers youth struggling with mental health, and is now a mental health advocate and student at Stanford University. Melissa Stafford Jones, President and CEO of Public Health Institute, began her career amid the start of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and has family with mental health and addiction issues. Her experiences inspired her to pursue a more holistic, prevention-oriented, and cross-sector practice in public health.
Over the last 15 years, there has been an increase in youth struggling with behavioral health issues. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the trend, particularly for Black, LGBTQ+, and Native American youth. Additionally, young people are struggling with loneliness and social isolation. A volatile landscape of polarization, partisanship, and conflict contributes to this growing trend in youth mental health issues. Young people feel the “weight of the world” living through a host of challenges that most adults have not had to contemplate. Panelists noted that peer support and adult mentors are essential to helping young people navigate mental health today.
Panelists shared how funders can ensure youth mental health is prioritized and destigmatized:
- Fund early childhood mental health programs, including healing and trauma-informed strategies in child care and preschool settings.
- Invest and build up the mental health workforce. We do not currently have culturally or linguistically appropriate providers to meet peoples’ needs.
- Listen to what young people and families need and organize services around what’s most important to them.
- Decrease stigma in adult populations and encourage mentorship.
- Know that collaboration does not happen organically. Cross-sector, cross-systems work is challenging, due to different policy frameworks and language, but strategic investments in infrastructure-building can help.
- Prioritize integrated services and resources to build stronger, more resilient communities.
- Recognize that addressing the crisis at hand and focusing on upstream prevention are both necessary.
Philanthropy can play a significant role in addressing the youth mental health crisis. As Odell shared, “Philanthropy literally saved my life.”
Centering People and Place in an Evidence-Based Approach to Address Black Maternal and Infant Health
Kathryn Terrell of the Cleveland Foundation opened the session by introducing the transformative work panelists are doing to support Black maternal and infant health and well-being in Cuyahoga County in northeast Ohio, where infant mortality rates are three times the national average.
Da’na Langford of Village of Healing, Jazmin Long of Birthing Beautiful Communities, and Heather Rice, a Professor at Cleveland State University, shared the collaborative work they are leading in Cleveland to transform the landscape of Black maternal and infant health through Black-led, Black-designed, and Black-delivered services. They emphasized why investing in strategies and solutions that foreground the expertise and knowledge of Black women and providers is so important in addressing the Black infant mortality crisis: “We fought to say this is a crisis impacting [the] Black community; we have to be at the table making decisions about solutions.”
Their collaboration is already making a profound impact. The Village of Healing Center is the first and only clinic for Black women in Cuyahoga County and serves as a venue for women needing access to gynecological, ante-partum, and post-partum care. The center opened in 2022 with a goal to service 40-50 Black women and ended up providing care to 463 Black women with a 94 percent full-term birth rate. Birthing Beautiful Communities is a community of birth workers who support pregnant women at highest risk for infant mortality to deliver during the perinatal period and trains, prepares, and employs women to become Perinatal Support Doulas. Dr. Rice’s research provides evaluation support for both community organizations, showing how Black doulas and midwives positively impact the birthing outcomes of Black women.
Panelists offered several key learnings for funders:
- We know what the community needs because we are the community. Allow us the opportunity to do what we do.
- Network amongst one another to support our work.
- Make yourself accessible. When we send an email and make a call, friendliness and accessibility ease the process.
- General operating funding is most effective because it allows us to hire the staff we need to provide our great services.
“We are unapologetically Black in everything we do. When you save Black women, you save everyone else,” Da’na said, underscoring their collaborative.
This session was designed by the Cleveland Foundation.
Amplifying Immigrant Voices and Experiences
The KFF Racial Equity and Health Policy Program provides timely and reliable data and policy analysis on health and health care disparities affecting people of color and underserved groups. KFF, in collaboration with the LA Times, recently conducted a large-scale, nationally-represented survey of immigrants to help fill data gaps in the U.S. immigrant experience. The survey showed that most immigrants feel they are better off as a result of moving to the U.S. However, they still have a large set of challenges, including accessing culturally competent health services and experiencing anti-immigrant harassment and mistreatment. These challenges are particularly heightened for Black and Hispanic immigrants and those with limited English proficiency.
One out of seven immigrant adults report being uninsured, including half of likely undocumented immigrant adults. Wide-ranging state coverage policies also make a big difference in coverage rates. With this type of data, the LA Times identified the stories that could deepen understanding of the immigrant experience in the U.S. For those looking to conduct this type of survey, KFF offered a few takeaways:
- Data is key for identifying and addressing health disparities but remains incomplete for some groups.
- This type of methodologically rigorous survey requires a significant investment of resources.
- A community-informed approach strengthens the analysis and usefulness of the findings.
- Data increases understanding with policymakers and media can help support more informed policy decisionmaking that reflects the community.
Following the survey overview, members of the National Immigration Law Center, Asian Pacific Fund, Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, and KFF joined for a rich discussion on health, community engagement, and the importance of data to increase visibility, amplify immigrant voices, and offer a path to policy change and community action. The panelists shared that building coalitions and cross-sector partnerships can lift up stories that typically go under the radar and make health care challenges for immigrants real. Speakers highlighted that funding should not be limited to a specific or narrow scope: “We’re all immigration funders.”
This session was designed by KFF.
A Community-Centered Approach to Gun Violence Research Grantmaking
Every seven minutes someone is killed by a gun in the United States. It is clear that gun violence is a public health emergency, and philanthropy needs to step in to fund those most impacted. Angelina Ruffin, Managing Director at Kaiser Permanente Center for Gun Violence Research and Education, a collaboration with The Health Alliance for Violence Intervention, presented findings from the Center’s landscape analysis of recent funding for gun violence research. The Center invites people who have lived experience with gun violence to be part of the solution. Founded in 2023 from a multi-million dollar grant from Kaiser Permanente, the Center intends to do grantmaking differently. To date, they have distributed seven million dollars in grants across 30 organizations focusing on community intervention and firearm suicide prevention.
The Center recently partnered with Heath Resources in Action to understand the funding landscape. They scanned federal and philanthropic organizations to see what types of institutions received gun violence research grants. Most of the funding went to academia, and nonprofits comprised less than 25 percent of the recipients. The takeaway: Those most impacted by gun violence are not receiving the funding.
To ensure those traditionally excluded are intentionally included in grants and research, the Center focused on operationalizing equity in grantmaking. They did this by ensuring the application was accessible, flexible, and validating. They determined targeted outreach strategies, activating non-traditional channels like Black and Brown-owned radio stations, going directly to community and faith-based organizations, and hosting pre-grant information sessions. Those interested in alternative forms of grantmaking should educate leadership teams that it can be challenging to be the first funder of an organization, but the rewards far outweigh the risks.
This session was designed by The Health Alliance for Violence Intervention.
Beyond a Risk Framework: Building a More Equitable Nonprofit Ecosystem
Jelissa Parham, Executive Director of the John Muir Community Health Fund (CHF), kicked off the session by showing how CHF has intentionally shifted their evaluation of risk and, instead, embraced the opportunity to support emerging organizations beyond funding: “If we don’t fund these organizations, they might not exist.”
The new CHF Funding Framework begins with relationship building and then turns to organizational resilience, furthering connections and collaborations for their grantees and reframing success and investment return. As a result, the model propels grantees to sustainability and builds an ecosystem of diverse nonprofits that can support and learn from one another as emerging, community-based organizations. Parham asked the audience to reflect on the question that drove the creation of this model within CHF: Does the way you’re funding align with your values, and is your racial equity commitment fully embedded in your work?
Carrie Frazier, Founder/Executive Director of Village Keepers, Inc., a nonprofit that offers holistic wraparound family services in East Contra Costa County, CA, shared the impact of the CHF on their organization. Through the support of coaching, seed funding, impact measurement, and future planning, Village Keepers has opened an African American family wellness center. In two years, they have served over 500 people and have saved at least two lives through their health screening and referral services. With CHF’s partnership, they plan to open a mobile van clinic to reach more people in 2024.
“It takes a village to support a family,” says Frazier, “and we build our services around this value.”
This session was designed by The John Muir Community Health Fund.
Terrance Keenan and Andy Hyman Awards Plenary Luncheon
Conference attendees eagerly gathered to celebrate two innovators in philanthropy at our annual luncheon. The Terrance Keenan Award recognizes health grantmakers whose work is distinguished by leadership, innovation, and outstanding achievement. To honor Terrance’s legacy of courageous leadership, GIH presented the 31st Terrance Keenan Award to the founding and newly-retired President and CEO of the Sunflower Foundation in Kansas, Billie Hall. 22 years ago, Hall advanced the pioneering idea of trust-based philanthropy, or investing in catalytic concepts to produce positive change. Her visionary risk and disruptive innovation challenge us all to leverage the power of philanthropy to achieve health equity.
Upon receiving the award, Hall shared six big reflections on her own journey in philanthropy, from her first day as CEO at her dining room table to her last day as a significant thought leader in philanthropy:
- Know Your Foundation’s Origin and History
- Intentionally Build a Leadership Circle
- Mission Matters
- Think Deeply About What Diversity Means
- For Successful Health Philanthropy, Know the Power of Convening and Advocacy
- Understand the Importance of Vision
Her main goal has always been for people to connect, learn, and share. Hall recently realized this vision through a newly renovated powerhouse in Kansas that gives nonprofits the space to recognize their catalytic potential. Terrance Keenan believed in the freedom to fail and the freedom to persist, and Hall shared that this should be a North Star for emerging leaders in the field.
GIH then presented the Andy Hyman Award for Advocacy to Joan Alker, Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families (CCF) and a Research Professor at Georgetown University. For 25 years, Alker has dedicated her career to addressing issues that affect low- and moderate-income children and families in America. Alker and her work at CCF has helped millions retain Medicaid during the “unwinding” of protections that had barred states from dropping people during the COVID-19 pandemic.
From the stage, Alker thanked the CCF team as “the story behind her story” and their state partners around the country. She shared the privilege of knowing Andy Hyman and his impact on her through his unwavering commitment to the cause of health justice, his love of family, and his beautiful smile. Joan asked us to hold Andy’s spirit, which encapsulates our conference theme Bold Results Through Courageous Action, in our work as philanthropists.
Alker highlighted advocacy as an essential component of meaningful change in a country with such a unique system and challenges. She underscored two lessons learned from her first job at the National Coalition of Homelessness that still informs her advocacy work today:
- There are dire consequences of red tape for people most in need of care.
- Reducing the distance between the speaker and audience is key in order to make an impact on the minds of decisionmakers.
Alker encouraged the audience to envision a day when no one in the U.S. goes without health insurance and to work towards the protection and innovation of programs, like Medicaid, through our funding and advocacy work.
Communicating Effectively About Health in a Time of Polarization
The United States is polarizing faster than other democracies. Our political identities are merging with religious, racial, geographic, and ideological identities. The strength of these “mega-identities” is increasing the rate of polarization and has fueled misinformation and an eroding trust in public health. This session asked attendees to consider research-based communications practices to improve community health outcomes.
Everyone has a role to play in public health communications. With this in mind, the de Beaumont Foundation and CommunicateHealth led research to gauge the plain language messages that can drive support and understanding of public health. Not surprisingly, many respondents had difficulty explaining what public health is and what public health workers do. While no single core message moved people, the research yielded several critical insights:
- Participants related to values of public health (protection and prevention), but didn’t see these values in action.
- Gaps in understanding public health are deep, wide, and persistent.
- There are complex and systemic factors linked to distrust in public health.
When creating messages, start with concrete examples of public health that are not health care (ie, laws that prevent people from drunk driving). Emphasize objectivity and frame public health as empowering freedom of choice. Continue to humanize the field of public health and focus on competencies and values, like being open, transparent, and fair. Additionally, panelists suggest that we need to build an understanding of public health over time by considering how different communities perceive it, taking a relationship-centered approach, and establishing partnerships with trusted community messengers.
They also asked attendees to consider how jargon can lower trust with those who don’t understand it. One tool to ensure people understand your messages is “winning words”—the words and phrases people understand intuitively and that are easily repeatable. Use active verbs, familiar phases, and vivid words to clarify your message. Attendees then had time to practice using the tools and practices offered by reviewing their own organization’s grant application or website.
This session was designed by the de Beaumont Foundation and supported by the Missouri Foundation for Health.
Making a Meaningful Impact in Indian Country Health Workforce
Erik Stegman, Chief Executive Officer with Native Americans in Philanthropy, facilitated a panel discussion about the common pitfalls and solutions for philanthropy to make a difference in the American Indian / Alaska Native health ecosystem.
Erik Brodt, Director of the Northwest Native American Center of Excellence at Oregon Health and Science University, and funding partners Stone Hudson from Meyer Memorial Trust and Erin Borla from the Roundhouse Foundation emphasized the need to prioritize philanthropic investment in an American Indian and Alaska Native health workforce and the importance of building relationships with Native communities in that process.
American Indian and Alaska Natives are most likely to serve under-resourced communities, and yet are the most underrepresented in the health care industry. Over 40 percent of U.S. medical schools don’t have a single Native person in the entire student body. With the highest concentration of first-year medical students in the country, Brodt’s program at OHSU is reversing this trend by walking each student through their journey in health care. To build partnerships between institutions and Native communities, “the first step is forming meaningful partnerships and learning what Native communities have already been doing for decades,” Brodt shared.
Panelists offered recommendations for forging meaningful action-oriented partnerships:
- Firmly root your work in relationships for any kind of meaningful systems change. Being in person and showing up to Native communities where they live makes a difference.
- Relationships have to be understood at the institutional level and not be contingent on any one individual working at a foundation or funding body.
- Reframe how we talk about risk, impact, and fiscal responsibility. These are arbitrary barriers that we put up in our work to the detriment of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities.
- Move away from how funders have historically assessed impact and align funding with tribal values, elevating tribal sovereignty and self-determination.
This session was designed by the Oregon Health and Science University.
Fun fact: Oregon was the first state to expand free health insurance for all low-income people, regardless of immigration status.
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