Upcoming Webinars
Values, Voice, and H.R. 1: When Should Foundations Speak Out?
The stakes for health remain high in 2026 as implementation of H.R. 1 ushers in harmful changes to health and social safety net programs. Foundations are increasingly speaking publicly about the damaging effects of these and other federal actions on the health of communities. This webinar will explore when and how to issue a public statement. Chrystal Okonta, Director of FGS Global’s Health team, will discuss key factors when crafting a public statement such as urgency, mission alignment, and organizational capacity. Kerry Jones Waring, Vice President for Communications at the Health Foundation for Western and Central New York, will share the foundation’s decision process, advice for crafting messages, and managing feedback.
Roundtable Discussion: Health Funders Communication and Policy Staff
Grantmakers in Health is pleased to host a second joint call for the GIH Policy Staff Learning Community and the GIH Communications Staff Learning Community. We will discuss the importance of communicating about policy changes in meaningful ways that engage communities and partners. In this informal conversation, we will swap strategies, illuminate solutions, and make connections. We will also use the time to dig in on a topic that was raised during the January 27 call: supporting policy, messaging, or other work related to the upcoming elections (such as governors’ races, mid-terms, ballot initiatives, etc.).
GIH Webinar Recordings and Resources
SNAP Funder Working Group: Food Security Data Collection
Our upcoming Working Group Call will focus on data collection opportunities following USDA’s decision to terminate the Economic Research Service’s (ERS) Household Food Security Survey. For more than 30 years, this survey provided the nation’s most consistent measure of food security, shaping our collective understanding of the drivers of food insecurity and informing key food and nutrition policy decisions. No existing data source offers the same level of insight, and its loss will make it harder to assess the impacts of H.R. 1’s SNAP cuts. Experts from the Capital Area Food Bank, Healthy Eating Research, and the Urban Institute will discuss why continued data collection—using consistent methods and metrics—matters and how funders can support this work.
CEO Working Group Webinar: New CEOs
Grantmakers In Health is pleased to convene the CEO Working Group in March for foundation leaders who have been in their position for less than five years. This will be an opportunity to discuss the challenges faced as new CEOs, with one another and sometimes with seasoned leaders in the field. These calls are open to GIH Funding Partner CEOs, Presidents, Executive Directors, or the highest-ranking health staff at multi-issue foundations. During these candid, confidential conversations, philanthropic leaders share information, swap strategies, raise concerns, and ask for one another’s advice. Reach out to Ann Rodgers to learn more.
Strengthening Maternal Mental Health in Rural Communities
We explored how maternal mental health is showing up across rural communities, how states are engaging in this new initiative, and where philanthropic strategies can play a meaningful role to advance maternal mental health in rural communities. The conversation drew on perspectives from national rural health infrastructure, community-based organizations, and physician-led public health work across rural regions of the country. Speakers reflected on persistent gaps and promising approaches, and highlighted strategies funders can support to strengthen rural delivery systems and promote more accessible, culturally responsive care for mothers and families. The session concluded with time for funder discussion and questions.
SNAP Strategy Funder Working Group: Strategic Communications Operations
Our Working Group Call focused on strategic communications opportunities. Elizabeth Wenk, Principal and Managing Director, and Nick Seaver, Senior Vice President and Co-Director of Training Programs at Burness, shared new insights from message testing about SNAP that highlights messaging that moves audiences, insights on which arguments resonate and counter opponents, and how different groups respond to these messages. The State Innovation Exchange (SiX) Food, Agriculture, and Rural Economies team shared what they are hearing from state legislators advocating for SNAP, and how funders can support state policymakers’ efforts to protect the program.
Responding to H.R. 1: Funder Opportunity to Help States Mitigate SNAP Coverage Losses
H.R. 1’s unprecedented requirement that states pay for a share of SNAP benefits based on their payment error rates will impose a massive financial burden on state budgets, forcing them to choose between cutting other programs and services, reducing SNAP eligibility, or even stopping participation in SNAP entirely.
To mitigate this threat, the Aspen Institute’s Financial Security Program and Social Finance have partnered to develop a proposal to help states effectively implement H.R. 1 and reduce some of the coverage losses and fiscal impacts. The concept, based on a successful model that supported states during Medicaid Unwinding, is to deploy small teams of digital services and process design experts directly to states or counties (depending on the type of SNAP administration).
Health Policy in 2026: What Comes Next?
Following a tumultuous year in health policy, GIH will continue to keep funders up to speed on legislative and administrative changes that will affect health access and impact health disparities. In this timely webinar, experts from Leavitt Partners provided an overview of what to expect from Congress and the administration in 2026 leading up to the midterm elections, focusing on key legislative priorities and executive actions to help funders navigate and engage on these changes. Speakers included Laura Pence and Sara Singleton from Leavitt Partners.
In 2025, Grantmakers In Health launched a new collaboration with Leavitt Partners for health policy monitoring services related to GIH strategic priorities, which includes regular webinars on timely policy topics.