Funder Approaches to Addressing the Critical Connection Between Youth Mental Wellness and Financial Wellness

Curious about the connection between mental well-being and financial security during adolescence and young adulthood?

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, most mental health conditions are diagnosed during the same life stage when young people are building the skills and accessing opportunities that shape their financial futures. Mental and financial well-being are deeply interconnected—each influences and reinforces the other.

When young people experience mental wellness, they’re better equipped to manage money, handle stress, make informed decisions, and seek help when needed. At the same time, financial security reduces one of the most common sources of stress that can contribute to anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges. Yet, despite these strong linkages, funders often treat mental health and financial well-being as separate priorities.

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Navigating Birth Justice and Reproductive Equity in Precarious Times: Insights, Challenges, and Strategies for Funders

The birth justice and reproductive equity landscape in the U.S. has continued to shift following the 2022 Dobbs ruling, which overturned Roe v. Wade. In addition to reduced abortion access, communities, birthing people, and the partners working with them are facing growing challenges to reproductive and perinatal care—including uncertainty around Medicaid and other public funding critical to sustaining services. 

This webinar will bring together health funders to share insights, experiences, and challenges encountered while supporting this work in an evolving landscape. The discussion will focus on how s funders are navigating the legal, policy, and funding changes and their investments that center the dignity, safety, and autonomy of birthing people and their communities. 

Please note this webinar will not be recorded as we want this to be a safe space for a candid discussion.  

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Jane Perkins of the National Health Law Program to Be Honored with the Andy Hyman Award for Advocacy

Jane Perkins, Litigation Director of the National Health Law Program (NHeLP) in Washington, DC, will receive Grantmakers In Health’s 2025 Andy Hyman Award for Advocacy.

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Maternal Health in American Indian/Alaska Native Communities: Challenges, Opportunities, and Pathways Forward

Maternal health is a cornerstone of any community’s well-being, yet American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) women face disproportionate challenges in achieving safe and healthy pregnancies. Historical inequities, systemic barriers, and the enduring effects of colonization have resulted in significant maternal health disparities within Native communities. However, these same communities are also sources of resilience, creativity, and innovation. Maternal health programs aimed at centering community in tradition, culture, and resiliency can offer unique, cross-sectoral solutions to complex systemic health barriers for AI/AN families.

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Requests for Proposals

Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation: March 2025

The Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation’s Spring 2025 grantmaking cycle opened March 1, 2025. All grant applications are submitted through AkoyaGo, the foundation’s grants portal. The foundation no longer requires a letter of intent for grant applications.

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Let’s Take Courageous Steps Together in 2025

At the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, this has been a challenging year for North Carolina, where we live and work. Hurricane Helene devastated the western part of NC and the surrounding region, and we endured an election that divided our state and nation.
We also know that we are not alone facing the challenges of 2024 and those we will take on in 2025. Many of us in the Grantmakers In Health (GIH) community are wondering how to persevere through these uncertain times. At the Trust, we acknowledge the heaviness of the moment—because we anticipate policy changes that will negatively impact people who are already being left behind.

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Postpartum Care Systems: Strategically Collaborating to Advance and Align Solutions Across Sectors

As state policymakers began extending continuous eligibility for postpartum Medicaid coverage from the 60 days following birth to the 12 months following birth in 2022, a small workgroup of
funders connected to explore what philanthropy’s role could be in strengthening maternal health outcomes
and how we might support effective implementation of the extension

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Q&A: How the Chicago South Side Birth Center is Championing a Better Approach to Maternal Health

Grantmakers In Health (GIH) recently spoke with Jeanine Valrie Logan, Founder + Lead Steward of the Chicago South Side Birth Center, and Shruti Jayaraman, Chief Investments Officer of Chicago Beyond, to learn how the Chicago South Side Birth Center and Chicago Beyond are working together to improve maternal health outcomes for mothers in one of Chicago’s most underserved communities. This interview has been edited for style and clarity.

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Biden-Harris Administration Announces $75 Million Investment in Rural Health Care

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced nearly $75 million to support health care services in rural America. Funding will launch new opioid treatment and recovery services in rural communities, strengthen maternal health care in the South, and help rural hospitals stay open.

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Developing an Equitable Nonprofit Ecosystem: A New Funding Framework for Emerging, BIPOC-Led Grantees

In philanthropy, it is standard due diligence practice to vet potential grantees on their list of current, past, and future funders as a way to mitigate our perceived risk. However, this approach can put many emerging, grassroots, and BIPOC-led organizations out of contention for initial funding. The John Muir Community Health Fund has shifted the way we fundamentally see risk, and instead, have embraced the opportunity to fund emerging organizations that address social determinants of health by providing monetary support, capacity building, and ultimately a proof of concept that propels grantees to long-term sustainability.

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