Address: 810 Third Ave., Suite 220, Seattle, WA 98104
Phone: 206.788.8900
Email: csbarbaro@grouphealthfoundation.org 
Web: www.grouphealthfoundation.org 

Group Health Foundation, a 501(c)(4), was formed with proceeds from Kaiser Permanente’s acquisition of Group Health Cooperative in 2017. The mission of the Foundation is to shape and accelerate efforts to improve health equity and advance community aspirations for a vibrant, healthy future in Washington. The Foundation’s core values are equity, learning, partnership, commitment, courage, and accountability. 

Program Information: In preparation for its long-term strategy development process, the Foundation developed a learning agenda focused on five key areas of exploration: equity; community engagement; the regional landscape; statewide health indicators; and emerging approaches, promising innovations, and proven practices.

Financial Information:

Total Assets: $1.8 billion FY18

The Foundation’s Evolving Equity Agreements:

During our first 18 months as an organization, we have focused considerable energy on our leading values of equity and learning. The agreements below acknowledge those areas where we have shared understanding and collective agreement. As our work gets more complex, we will return to these agreements to ground our efforts. We intend to revise and expand these agreements over time. 

  • Equity is a journey—for us as individuals, for the organization as a whole, and toward well-being as defined by those impacted by inequity.
  • We embrace equity and expect to be uncomfortable as we take this journey. We understand that the path will be challenging, inspiring, bumpy, imperfect, non-linear, and growth-filled.
  • Equity is the presence of opportunities to develop one’s full potential. We take a strengths-based approach that recognizes the resilience and strengths of all people and communities, and endeavor to be restorative in how we do our work.
  • Equity is not equality. Equity acknowledges that everyone is not starting from the same place. We understand the potential implications on our spending—that funding may be distributed differentially rather than “equally,” in a way that supports issues and communities where health disparities are notable.
  • We will be more successful in achieving equity if communities are at the center of this work. We expect to inform our efforts through convening, listening, learning alongside community, incorporating feedback from constituents, and using data. We will share data with communities to learn if it resonates with their lived experiences. And, based on community assets, culture, and data, we will support communities to frame problems, solutions, and approaches.
  • We will work to be mindful of power dynamics. As a funder, we recognize that we can intentionally or inadvertently influence certain conditions, both positively and negatively. We will be cognizant of our role and positioning, and strive to elevate the power and voices of our communities and partners. We will seek feedback about our efforts and take seriously what we hear.
  • Equity’s journey is rooted in history and projected into the future. The Seven Generation Principle—standing in the present and looking three generations behind and three generations forward—reminds us of the need to acknowledge historical context, including historical trauma and oppression, and consider the conditions we hope to cultivate for future generations.
  • We recognize the foundational role that racism plays in perpetuating inequity. Racism has been this nation’s burden since (and preceding) its inception, and it continues to permeate our institutions and interactions today. Further, too many people must endure the amplifying effects of multiple forms of oppression in their lives. Acknowledging racism’s role does not ignore the many other forms of oppression and bias. In advancing equity, we are dedicated to rooting out all forms of oppression and bias.
  • We are committed to sharing our evolving equity frameworks, our progress, our mistakes and challenges, and the lessons we learn along the way.

 

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