Upcoming Webinars
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.).
SNAP Funder Working Group: Food Restriction Waivers
This Working Group Call will examine the rise of state waivers restricting the type of food that can be purchased with SNAP benefits, how retailers are navigating these changes, and what we might learn from the evaluations. To date, USDA has approved food restriction waivers in 22 states and incentivized waiver applications by tying them to increased funding for the Rural Health Transformation Program. USDA claims that these waivers are meant to “restore nutritional value in SNAP.” However, five SNAP recipients in Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee, and West Virginia sued the department in March, challenging these restrictions as harmful, unlawful, and burdensome.
Speakers from the National Governors Association, the National Grocers Association, and the University of Illinois Chicago will discuss the state-level decision-making process to apply for a waiver, the impact of these waivers on retailer participation in SNAP, and the public and private evaluation methods being used to assess whether the restrictions have any meaningful impact on nutrition for participants. The Center for Science in the Public Interest will also share strategic thinking about how they are exploring opportunities to engage in this continuously evolving political climate.
CEO Working Group Webinar
Grantmakers In Health is pleased to convene the CEO Working Group to discuss challenges in our work and opportunities for collaboration as we move forward to achieve our health missions. These calls are open to GIH Funding Partner CEOs, Presidents, or Executive Directors. 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.
Passed in July 2025, H.R. 1 is now entering its implementation phase, with significant implications on state operations and budgets—particularly related to changes in Medicaid and SNAP programs. In this webinar, we will explore H.R. 1 implementation with two organizations that are dedicating resources to tracking its impact and supporting states as they respond. Speakers include: Alison Betty of alignco, Patti Boozang of Manatt Health, and Timothy Shaw of Aspen Institute.
GIH Webinar Recordings and Resources
Maternal Mental Health and Immigrant and Refugee Women, Parents and Communities
Pregnant and parenting immigrant, migrant, and refugee women are navigating a landscape marked by uncertainty, fear, and systemic exclusion—conditions that profoundly affect their physical and mental health during the perinatal and postpartum periods and throughout their lifespan. Amid increasingly punitive immigration policies, including family separation, detention, and deportation without due process, these women and their families face extraordinary challenges that endanger their mental health and wellbeing and that of their children. Compounding these harms are policy barriers such as the public charge rule, attacks on birthright citizenship, and exclusion from health coverage and other vital services. These stressors contribute to a growing but under-recognized crisis in maternal mental health, with long-term consequences for families and communities.
Roundtable Discussion for Health Funders’ Policy Staff
A growing number of health funders employ staff whose responsibilities focus exclusively or predominantly on public policy engagement. Do you lead your organization’s policy or government affairs work? During our roundtable discussion we connected with peers, explored pressing issues, and shared experiences to engage communities in setting funders’ policy priorities. Jennifer Tolbert, deputy director of KFF’s Program on Medicaid and the Uninsured and the director of State Health Policy and Data at KFF, joined the call to speak about how the provisions in the 2025 budget reconciliation law will likely affect states and other policy trends related to Medicaid and state budgets.
CEO Working Group Webinar: August Convening
Grantmakers In Health was pleased to convene the CEO Working Group to discuss challenges in our work and opportunities for collaboration as we move forward to achieve our health missions under the new administration. Experts provided an overview of recent legislation, the impact on health and health care, and what foundation leaders can do to support communities and nonprofits in the next six months. Speakers included Joan Alker of Georgetown Children and Families and Sara Singleton of Leavitt Partners.
Health Care Policy in 2025: What Comes Next?
President Trump signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” into law on July 4, 2025, enacting historic cuts to Medicaid, the ACA marketplace, SNAP, and more – via work requirements, copays, and stricter eligibility verifications. According to analysis from the Congressional Budget Office, the new law will increase the number of people without health insurance in the United States by 11.8 million by 2034. Health policy experts warn that these changes will exacerbate health access issues, worsen health disparities, and threaten the financial viability of rural hospitals. In this webinar, experts from Leavitt Partners provided an overview of the recent legislation, the impact on health and health care, and what foundations can do to support communities and nonprofits in the next six months. Speakers included Laura Pence, and Sara Singleton from Leavitt Partners, and Kristina Ramos Callan from Health Management Associates.
GIA Member Meetup: Public Funding Cuts & Philanthropy
Cohosted with Grantmakers In Aging
We discussed how philanthropy is responding to public funding cuts. Funders shared what their organizations are doing to support grantees that are being impacted by reductions in public funding. Finally, we brainstormed strategies with other funders and shared how GIA and GIH can help.