Address: 777 Third Avenue, 23rd Floor New York, NY
Web: www.cabrinihealth.org
Email: communications@cabrinihealth.org
The Mother Cabrini Health Foundation (MCHF) originated from the 2018 sale of Fidelis Care, a nonprofit health insurer, inspired by the bishops of the Catholic dioceses to increase health care access for New Yorkers. The foundation’s namesake, Sr. Francis Xavier Cabrini, known and loved by many as Mother Cabrini, arrived in New York in 1889 on a mission to help immigrants. She dedicated her life to providing for those most in need. As the first American saint, she serves as a powerful example of the Catholic values and principles that ground MCHF’s work.
The foundation’s mission is to provide grants to improve the health and well-being of vulnerable New Yorkers, bolster the health outcomes of diverse communities, eliminate barriers to care, and bridge gaps in health services.
MCHF supports low-income and underserved individuals in New York. Its priority populations include immigrants; justice-involved individuals; low-income individuals and families; older adults; people with disabilities; veterans; young children, pregnant women, and new parents; and youth and young adults.
Program Information:
MCHF’s grantmaking supports the following program areas:
Access to Health Care: Supporting programs that advance comprehensive and equitable access to healthcare in every region of New York State, centered around affordability, accessibility, capacity, and acceptability.
Basic Needs: Addressing challenges individuals and families face that impact their ability to achieve good health and well-being. Our Basic Needs Program aims to support the following essentials so New Yorkers can build healthy lives: Access to Benefits and Social Services, Economic Stability and Mobility, Housing, Food & Nutrition.
Health Care Workforce: Supporting the development and implementation of innovative and effective health care workforce initiatives to improve access to care, health equity, quality of care, and cultural and linguistic competency in the health care delivery system. The Access to Healthcare Program supports pipeline and recruitment, education, career progression, and retention.
Mental and Behavioral Health: Ensuring individuals are provided with affordable, high-quality, culturally appropriate mental and behavioral health support, services, and treatment within nurturing communities. The Mental and Behavioral Health program supports interventions and treatment; capacity and access; and education, awareness, and treatment.
General Fund: Supporting programs that do not fit within the programs above but that advance the health and well-being of its priority populations.
MCHF recently launched the Nursing Initiative, which is a multi-pronged, holistic approach to help hospitals that provide care to underserved patients to deliver high quality of care and address nursing workforce challenges by developing healthy, supportive work environments. The initiative will support hospitals that substantially serve high-need patient populations with up to $5 million each to pursue accreditation through the Magnet Recognition Program or Pathway to Excellence Program and to implement nurse residence and/or virtual nursing programs. The first round of Nursing Initiative grants will be awarded in 2025.
Financial Information:
Total Assets: $3,696,300,000 (FY23)
Amount Dedicated to Health-Related Grants: $157,400,000 (FY23)
Special Initiatives and/or Representative Health and Human Services Grants
Community Food Advocates (CFA)—This grant supports CFA to maximize universal school meals in New York by breaking down barriers to student participation. CFA addresses the barriers to school meals by facilitating the implementation of the Cafeteria Enhancement Experience in New York City, which transforms cafeterias into student-friendly spaces and results in a 35 percent increase in student participation in school meals; addressing the underutilization of school breakfast in New York City; providing support for New York City families on the summer program, which provides cash resources for meals during the summer; providing information and technical assistance to school districts, schools, parents, and students across New York on the benefits of universal school meals; identifying research projects to support statewide universal school meals; and supporting the Youth Food Advocates internship for students to gain experiential learning opportunities. ($400,000)
Le Moyne College—This grant supports the Health Advancement Resource Center (HARC), which helps internationally trained medical graduates (IMGs) access employment in the local health care sector. HARC helps clients overcome the social, financial, and academic barriers confronting IMGs who cannot participate in the regional health care sector because of low proficiency in English, lack of recognized credentials, or other factors. ($1,275,000)
Northwell Health—This grant supports Northwell Health to collaborate with faith leaders and faith-based organizations (FBOs) to bring high-quality mental health services, education, training, and related supports to underserved communities. Individuals in need of mental health care often face barriers to access, including stigma, lack of availability of mental health providers, adverse social conditions, regulations, and the cost of care. While faith leaders are driven to address the mental health needs of their community, many feel ill-equipped or have compromised their own health and well-being when attempting to help. Northwell will embed a social worker and case manager within three faith-based communities in Manhattan, Queens, and Long Island, New York to provide counseling and referrals for services. Lay counselors will also be trained to deliver low-acuity interventions under the supervision of the embedded clinicians. Clergy will be supported through mental health forums, and training will be provided to clergy and community members on mental health first aid and stress first aid. ($500,000)
Home Care Association of New York State (HCA)—This project addresses persistent gaps in care many New York residents face, which has been exacerbated by health personnel shortages. The system fragmentation and workforce issues are more significant in rural regions and small communities where health system resources are already stretched. To address this, HCA and Iroquois Healthcare Association partnered to develop collaborative programs of community medicine and paramedicine in seven rural locations in New York: Hudson Valley, Southern Tier, Finger Lakes, Mohawk Valley, and three sites in the North Country region. Community paramedicine is a model of care where Emergency Medical Technicians and paramedics assume expanded clinical roles to fill in gaps of care due to workforce shortages, ensuring that vulnerable, isolated individuals receive the services they need. ($1,700,000)
The Mother Cabrini Health Foundation and GIH
As a new foundation, Mother Cabrini Health Foundation (MCHF) has benefited tremendously from its membership in GIH, which puts the collective experience of health funders across the country at its fingertips. MCHF Program Officers regularly attend webinars to stay fresh on the latest discussions in health philanthropy, and GIH’s conferences have helped the team grow its network of peers. Additionally, GIH has supported the professional development of staff through the Terrance Keenan Institute for Emerging Leaders in Health Philanthropy. GIH plays a critical role in fostering community among health funders, sparking discussion, and advancing health equity.
Role of Philanthropy in Meeting Pressing Needs
“At the heart of our work at the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation is a core belief in the dignity of all people. Our mission translates this core belief, which in our case flows from our commitment to Catholic values, but which is also affirmed by many outside this tradition, into specific actions. We exist to support and advance the health and well-being of precisely those New Yorkers whose dignity is at risk of being overlooked or denied and who too often encounter rejection or discrimination by people and systems. They are our focus, and it is a privilege to utilize the resources of this foundation in service to them.”
–Monsignor Greg Mustaciuolo, CEO