Health Equity - 2022

Many of us were asking what we can do to promote a more equitable society. The Health Equity Community Impact Circle was intended for 5-10 donors to learn more about systemic biases that perpetuate marginalization, reflect on their abilities to effect change, and move beyond transactional philanthropy to transformational work. 

The global pandemic exposed and exacerbated health disparities in the US.  According to the CDC, “health equity is achieved when every person has the opportunity to attain his or her full health potential and no one is disadvantaged from achieving this potential because of social position or other socially determined circumstances.  Health inequities are reflected in differences in length of life; quality of life; rates of disease, disability, and death; severity of disease; and access to treatment.” 

Members were provided the space to travel their own path, with the expectation that they would challenge themselves, seek greater understanding of creative approaches to philanthropy, explore the true social determinants of health, and commit to using funds so that the whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts.

The circle was to meet monthly for six months. Each group member was to contribute $5,000 (donor-advised funds may be utilized) to non-profit organizations of their choosing by the end of the cycle, plus $600 for the circle’s facilitation and learning materials, bringing the sum of the group’s investment to health equity to over $25,000.

By the end of the cohort, members would learn: 

1. The history of philanthropy and how their current giving supports equity in health. 

2. The history of health disparities in the US and the role of social determinants on health. 

3. Sources of innovation and progress within the health equity movement, including nonprofits, government initiatives, startups, and community groups. 

4. Directly from nonprofit experts and leaders in this space. 

5. How to create a philanthropic plan that reflects their impact goals.