Advancing Health Equity and Fostering Collaboration through Black Maternal and Child Health Initiatives
When basic social needs go unmet, they become the principal drivers of health disparities. Recognizing this, the Health Foundation of South Florida has been advancing a collaborative approach that brings together health systems and community-based organizations and paves the way for implementing promising social interventions. Through this approach, the Health Foundation seeks to drive improved health outcomes and greater coordination to address unmet health-related social needs within clinical care settings.
Building Stronger Early Childhood Systems: Reflections from Western Montana
What happened when a regional health foundation team embarked on a road trip and drank 600 cups of coffee with their neighbors? They discovered that Western Montanans were tired of band-aid solutions and frustrated with interventions that always seemed to arrive too late. People wanted to focus on prevention to address problems at their roots. They hoped to see more collaboration between organizations and across sectors and emphasized that solutions should be locally born and cultivated, focusing especially on kids in their earliest years.
Birth Equity Funders Summit: Aligning Strategies to Advance Equitable Birth Outcomes
This summit, designed exclusively for funders, provided comprehensive strategies, tools, playbooks, and deep learning opportunities, while fostering immediate implementation and collaboration. Acknowledging the underrepresentation of professionals from ethnically marginalized backgrounds, including BIPOC grantmakers, we supported, empowered, and created a safe space for these voices. Participants took away tangible insights and clear expectations for advancing equitable birth outcomes.
Joan Alker of the Georgetown Center for Children and Families to Be Honored with the Andy Hyman Award for Advocacy
Joan Alker, Executive Director and a cofounder of the Georgetown Center for Children and Families (CCF) in Washington, DC, will receive Grantmakers In Health’s 2024 Andy Hyman Award for Advocacy.
Blue Shield of California Foundation: January 2024
Lack of paid family caregiving and medical leave policy at the national level makes the United States a global outlier. In the absence of a national guarantee, more than a dozen states have passed and implemented necessary paid family and medical leave.
Cara V. James in KFF Health News on Child Care Gaps in Rural America
Grantmakers In Health (GIH) President and CEO Cara V. James was quoted in a KFF Health News article on January 2, 2024, titled “Child Care Gaps in Rural America Threaten to Undercut Small Communities.” The piece outlines the state of inequitable child care access, how this gap negatively impacts the sustainability and longevity of rural communities, and policy aimed at reducing costs and combatting workforce shortages.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation & Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan: November 2023
The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan announced a call for proposals through the Advancing Maternal Health Equity initiative. Michigan Regional Perinatal Quality Collaboratives and partners can apply to receive support for initiatives aimed at preventing maternal mortality and morbidity.
The Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation: September 2023
Applications for The Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation’s 2023 Fall Grant Cycle are now open until October 2. Technical Assistance sessions will be available September 11-25.
Birth Equity Funders’ Summit: 2022 Report
The 2022 Birth Equity Funders’ Summit brought together over 100 funders in person and 35 virtually to reflect on the role of philanthropy in reducing racial disparities in birth outcomes and identify opportunities to better collaborate and align in service of this goal. This report serves as an overview of the event, as well as offers key takeaways and practical recommendations for funders.