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.).
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.
GIH Webinar Recordings and Resources
Optimizing the Role of CBOs in Public Health Insurance Outreach and Enrollment
In 2009 The Colorado Trust launched a three-year, $3.3 million strategy to enroll traditionally hard-to-reach populations of eligible children into public health insurance programs. This webinar described the successes and challenges of that outreach and enrollment strategy, focusing on the findings of a multiyear evaluation study.
Leveraging Federal Matching Funds
This webinar reviewed the general concept of matching federal funds, identifying the advantages, the challenges, and a few model approaches.
U.S. Health in International Perspective: Shorter Lives, Poorer Health
A new report from the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine synthesizes available research, taking an in-depth look at this disadvantage in health and lifespan. On this webinar, we heard from the report’s editors about key findings and discussed implications for the work of health grantmakers.
Social Innovation Fund
This webinar was an interactive panel discussion, moderated by Grantmakers for Children Youth & Families and Grantmakers In Health that provided the latest update on SIF and see a demonstration of the platform.
California Environmental Quality Act Reform: A Discussion with Environmental and Public Health
On this webinar, participants learned more about the environmental health and public health communities’ strategy to defend and protect the California Environmental Quality Act.
Advancing Policy Advocacy through General Operating Support Grants
This audioconference discussed how foundations are effectively managing general operating support grants to advance health policy goals.
The Intersection of Creativity, Health, and Aging
On this webinar, we explored how creative arts programs programs positively influence health outcomes, how funders are investing in programs, and the opportunities for health funders to collaborate and support this important field of work.