Member Post: Expanding the Way We Look at Health

April 8, 2013
Carolyn Link of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation

Carolyn Link of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation

Grantmakers often must look beyond a narrow reading of their missions and collaborate across sectors to maximize their impact. Carolyn Link, executive director of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation, shares here what that means for the Blue Cross Foundation as it seeks to improve health in Minnesota.

In 2006, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation introduced Growing Up Healthy: Kids and Communities, a statewide grantmaking initiative to improve the health of Minnesota’s children in low-income communities through a focus on social and environmental determinants of health. At times, we were met with puzzled looks when we explained that there’s a community component to good health beyond the responsibility of the individual — that housing, indeed, has something to do with health. And that early care and learning experiences affect health for life. Even the idea of collaborating across these sectors — creating partnerships and working together on a community condition toward a common goal — was new to some.

The goal of the initiative is to build strong and connected communities where children can thrive and grow up healthy by working at the intersection of health and two or more of the following key health determinants:

  • Early childhood development
  • Stable, affordable housing
  • The environment

To date, the foundation has invested $4.4 million across 30 grantees and spent $1.1 million on evaluation, convenings and other consulting. Commitments to current grantees extend through 2014 and total $1 million.

The initiative uses a two-pronged approach to the grantmaking, through planning grants followed by implementation grants. While working in collaboration sounds like a great idea, we all know that it isn’t always easy. Because it takes time to develop relationships, we offer a $25,000, one-year planning grant to one organization to lead community partners in developing place-based projects that address health and at least two of the three determinants: early childhood education, housing and the environment.

At the end of the planning period, grantees develop a community supported by a written implementation plan for three additional years of funding of up to $150,000.

Next Steps

The initiative was designed to roll out in three phases. The first phase is complete, with a summary report available including lessons learned. In the second phase of the initiative, we added a collaborative leadership training program to assist grantees with skills and tools to develop and implement action plans that are grounded in the needs of the community, have broad-based support and can lead to sustainable change for children. This included grantee site visits, three two-day residential retreats and individual technical assistance through face-to-face visits at grantee sites and by telephone and email.

Currently, we are reviewing the lessons learned during the first two phases. We’ve been encouraged by the progress of these projects and are planning for 2014 and beyond.

Interested in seeing more of the Blue Cross Foundation’s work in Minnesota? Check out Twin Cities Public Television’s program on Growing Up Healthy here.

A longer version of this post originally was published in the Health and Environmental Funders Network blog, Giving InSight.


The Top Ten Posts of 2012

December 27, 2012

fireworksAs the year quickly draws to a close, here’s a look back at some of the most popular content on the Philanthropy Potluck Blog in 2012.

Have a look to get a refresher or catch up on the ones you missed!

  1. Measuring the Value in Social Media Dashboards, metrics and insights for measuring internal and external values, while always tying it all back to high-level organizational goals.
  2. Visualizing Philanthropy: Storytelling with Data Takeaways from an MCF program with Cole Nussbaumer, people analytics manager at Google.
  3. Connect for Health with the Blue Cross Foundation The launch of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation’s innovative grant program that engaged the community through a voting process.
  4. Performance Measurement: No More Excuses A first look at the new PerformWell website, designed to give nonprofits accessible, valid tools for evidence-based measurement of their work.
  5. Diversity and Donors of the Future The first blog post from Lissa Jones, MCF’s new director of diversity, equity and inclusion, looks at 12 key giving trends for nonprofits.
  6. Social Media Engagement Lessons From Knight Foundation Why are foundations seeing limited engagement from their grantees on social media? Knight Foundation’s Elizabeth Miller shared tips to turn that around.
  7. Sandy Vargas Recognized as Outstanding Citizen The Minneapolis Foundation president and CEO was honored by The Caux Round Table.
  8. The Best Free Ways to Collaborate Online Tools for project management, file sharing, online meetings and more. Also see the longer feature in Giving Forum.
  9. Karen Kelley-Ariwoola Lauded for Community Contributions A celebratory send-off for Kelley-Ariwoola as she stepped down from her role at The Minneapolis Foundation after 18 years of service.
  10. Striving to Reduce the Achievement Gap A look at the Twin Cities Strive initiative and its future impact on education grantmaking in the state.

Join the conversation: What were your favorite blog posts of 2012?

Photo cc MJIphotos


Championing Good Oral Health for Children

August 30, 2012

The Early Childhood Dental Network is a nine-county, multi-disciplinary collaborative project.

While researching strengths and gaps in early childhood care and education in west central Minnesota communities, MCF member West Central Initiative (WCI) heard a common plea,

“We need better access to dental care for our children!”

WCI, working with 35 regional organizations, has turned that challenge into the Early Childhood Dental Network (ECDN).

The group educates children and their caregivers about the importance of good oral health.

Collaborative members are also working to increase access to oral health care, especially among low-income children. More than 40% of children in the region qualify for a Minnesota health care program, but most dentists in the area do not accept public payments for care.

Read more about how the group used mobile outreach clinics to brighten the smiles of 1,600 children during the last 12 months.

That, and much more, in the summer issue of Giving Forum on collaboration — online and in your mailbox now.

- Susan Stehling, MCF communications associate



Progress and Pitfalls in Twin Cities Health Inequities

July 3, 2012

How do race, income, education and neighborhood conditions affect health outcomes in Minneapolis and St. Paul? MCF member Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation  commissioned Wilder Research to find out, and just released an update to the 2010 report The Unequal Distribution of Health in the Twin Cities. The update has some good news but plenty of reminders of how far we have to go. Some of the more positive findings:

  • Life expectancy is higher for the Twin Cities (81 years) than it is for the country as a whole (76 years).
  • Life expectancy has also improved throughout the region since 2000, with the greatest increases made in the poorest neighborhoods.
  • Mortality rates improved among most racial and ethnic groups. A notable exception to this trend was in the U.S.-born African-American community.

But on the other hand:

  • Despite the narrowing gap, there is still an 8-year difference in life expectancy between the highest and lowest income areas in the Twin Cities.
  • Mortality rates for African-American and American Indian residents are 3 to 3.5 times higher than average for other racial and ethnic groups.
  • The percentage of residents living below the poverty level has increased in the last decade, which could threaten the gains that have been made in reducing health inequities.

The report notes that the Twin Cities region is becoming increasingly diverse, with one-third of residents projected to be people of color by 2035. As this trend continues, it becomes all the more important to shrink these inequities in health and other areas of our community.

You can download and read the full report on the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation website.


Controversial Report Finds Funding and Latino Community Priorities Mismatched

June 27, 2012

A recent study from Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP) has been receiving a lot of attention from funders. Foundation Funding and Latino Community Priorities: Gaps and Opportunities was released as part of the HIP Gamechangers Campaign. The study explores the priorities of funders and grantees targeting the Latino community and compares the identified priority areas to what areas are actually being funded.

The report began with the controversial claim that even as the Latino population of the United States has grown to 16 percent of the total populations and 23 percent of all children and youth, only 1.3 percent of U.S. foundation spending between 1990 and 2009 targeted Latino programs and organizations. A report by the Foundation Center has also addressed the issue, and sought to clarify the definition of the word “targeted” and the methodology behind the claim, stating that the percentage “does not represent all giving awarded by foundations that may have benefited Hispanic and Latino communities. It represents only that giving that was clearly described as intended to benefit Hispanics or Latinos.” Furthermore, the Foundation Center report explained, “It is not possible, given available data, to determine exactly what percentage of grantmaking by U.S. foundations benefits Hispanic or Latino communities. Additional research would be needed to create a more comprehensive estimate.”

In the HIP study, funders and grantees both agreed on six top priorities ranked in roughly the same order: education, jobs/economic development and economic justice, immigration, civil rights/social justice, children and youth, and health. Despite the similarity in recognized priorities, funding levels varied greatly. Health was identified as a major funding area in 74 percent of philanthropic respondents, but only 25 percent of surveyed individuals identified it as a Latino community priority. Immigration was identified by both funders and grantees as a top three priority but was ranked tenth in grants by program areas.

HIP believes the mismatch between funding and community priorities is caused by institutional resistance from senior management in the philanthropic community, overly specific grantmaking strategies and program objectives, and the limited capacity and small size of nonprofits that serve the Latino community. To address these issues, HIP provided four key recommendations:

  • Continue to conduct research and develop initiatives that address needs and opportunities in Latino communities in relation to specific grantmaking areas.
  • Offer customized consulting services to help foundations develop strategies for reaching Latinos.
  • Having long provided culturally competent technical assistance for grants to Latino groups, HIP should continue to provide capacity-building support and technical assistance for high-impact, grassroots Latino nonprofits, as it has demonstrated through the HIP Funders’ Collaborative for Strong Latino Communities.
  • Consider working with groups of funders to develop shared frameworks for tracking grantmaking data with realistic benchmarks for increasing funds benefiting Latinos over the next decade.

HIP also recommended to funders using the resources and information provided by the D5 Coalition to address issues in areas of leadership, action, funding, and data.

-Kaitlin Ostlie, MCF administrative assistant


Connect for Health with the Blue Cross Foundation

February 29, 2012

MCF member Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation just announced the Connect for Health Challenge. They will award twenty grants of up to $20,000, and one larger grant of up to $100,000 will be determined by Minnesotans in an online public vote.

Strong relationships with friends and neighbors mean people are more likely to be involved in their communities, perform better in school and live happier and healthier lives. That’s why Connect for Health will make grants to eligible nonprofits, schools and local units of government that help strengthen connections among neighbors and communities.

Through this challenge, the Blue Cross Foundation hopes to expand the base of organizations it engages with for grant opportunities, with an emphasis on reaching low-income populations and organizations in Greater Minnesota. It opens on April 17, with the last day to enter May 15. Learn more and sign up for email updates at the Connect for Health webpage.


Collaborating for Healthier Communities

February 27, 2012

Do you have an interest in how nonprofits, grantmakers and others are working together to create healthier communities?

If so, be sure to read the winter issue of Giving Forum, where you’ll find an article on how MCF members Park Nicollet Foundation and Greater Twin Cities United Way are collaborating with Children’s Dental Services, The Family Parnership, North Psychology and Portico Healthnet to offer medical care, dental care, mental health counseling and connections to social service agencies for children and youth in Brooklyn Center.

You’ll also learn how Park Nicollet Foundation is working in multiple west metro locations to provide free medical care to children who may not receive it otherwise.

- Susan Stehling, MCF communications associate


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