Address: 8230 Montgomery Rd Ste 300, Cincinnati, OH 45236
Phone: 513.458.6600
Web: www.interactforhealth.org
Email: info@interactforhealth.org
Interact for Health serves a diverse region in and surrounding the Greater Cincinnati, Ohio region with a population of 2.4 million people. Interact for Health believes that it shouldn’t matter where you live, how much money you make, or what your race or ethnicity is—everyone should have the ability to shape their communities and access the resources they need for good health.
The foundation was started in 1997, when ChoiceCare sold its health maintenance organization to Humana for $221 million, and the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati was created, serving a 20-county region in Southwestern Ohio, Northern Kentucky, and Southeastern Indiana. The foundation was charged with changing the way health care was delivered—especially for under-resourced communities. Today, over 25 years later, this work continues for the organization known as Interact for Health, with a commitment to advance health justice, improve mental health and well-being, and support community power building in communities with historic underinvestment.
The foundation’s mission is to ensure people in this region have a just opportunity to live their healthiest lives. In 2022, Interact for Health launched a strategic plan that kicked off a new era of community-led health initiatives focused on closing long-standing gaps in lifespan and health in the Greater Cincinnati, Ohio region. This shift has allowed Interact for Health to strengthen trust-based relationships with partners and better understand the communities’ needs.
In 2023, it dedicated approximately $8 million to grantmaking in its community, with 37 percent of grants going to organizations with Black or Hispanic leadership and 57 percent to new partners. As it continues to advance its strategy in 2024, it strives to continue its leadership in youth mental health, deepen connections and impact in rural communities, and advance policy and systems change to improve health and well-being.
Program Information:
Interact for Health focuses on three areas: mental health and well-being, community power building, and policy and systems change. Interact for Health focuses on groups that are facing the greatest barriers to health and well-being. Its priority populations include: Black, Hispanic, LGBTQ+, children and families with low incomes, and rural communities.
Financial Information:
Total Assets: $250 million (FY23)
Amount Dedicated to Health-Related Grants: $8 million (FY23)
Special Initiatives and/or Representative Health and Human Services Grants
The Rural Changemaker RFP—Part of Interact for Health’s first-ever Rural Investment Strategy, it provides strategic funding that enhances and supports grassroots work addressing community-identified challenges and inequalities related to health in 14 rural counties. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and awarded three times annually—with selection based on input from Rural Community Councils. Additional funding has been dedicated to rural event sponsorship, which brings Interact for Health’s total 2024 investment in the Rural Investment Strategy to $1 million. ($800,000)
Safe and Supported Spaces for Youth—This program is an evolution of Interact for Health’s youth mental health work and a response to what it heard youth asking for in its community. Grants are dedicated to investing in systems change to create or improve environments for youth to promote a sense of mattering, belonging, and good mental health. ($1.6 million)
Local Policy RFP—This RFP aims to advance local policy and advocacy efforts focused on addressing the social, economic, and environmental factors that shape health. Grants are dedicated to addressing community-identified challenges and building momentum across the policy and advocacy continuum for long-term, sustainable change that will shift environments to better support health in its communities. ($500,000)
Interact for Health and GIH
Interact for Health has been a member of the GIH network for 25 years, and the insights and networks have been invaluable. Two years ago in Miami, Florida at the 2022 GIH Annual Conference on Health Philanthropy, Brian Castrucci’s keynote call to action on policy work helped to “breathe fire” into Interact for Health’s emerging strategic focus on policy and system change. He even came to Cincinnati, Ohio to share a similar presentation with local funders that has spurred more action and interest in local policy work, especially around eviction prevention.
Strategic Changes in Grantmaking Direction
“When we asked our community what we should prioritize ahead of launching a new strategic plan, the response around mental health was overwhelming, especially for youth. This work is urgent and necessary, and the trends of the past few years are a call to all of us to listen to the young people in our lives and center their needs. I’m especially excited that we have co-created a 25-person Youth Action Council as part of our collaborative work on youth mental health in the region. We know that: ‘those closest to the problems are closest to solutions’ and the Youth Action Council is one way we are living out that value.”
–Kate Schroder, President and CEO of Interact for Health