ABOUT HEF

Achieving health equity requires more than improving individual health outcomes and expanding access to services. A vision for health equity demands that we directly engage the social determinants of health —societal factors that have been shaped by centuries of laws, public policies, behaviors, and practices that have worked together to produce the disparate outcomes we see today.

The Greater Washington Community Foundation is pleased to steward the historic $95 million Health Equity Fund (HEF) as part of its philanthropic family. The purpose of this transformative fund is to improve the health outcomes and health equity of DC residents. One of the largest funds of any kind focused on community-based nonprofits that serve District residents, the HEF also is the largest in The Community Foundation’s over 50-year history.

Mayor Muriel Bowser and Group Hospitalization and Medical Services, Inc. (GHMSI), an affiliate of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, established the Health Equity Fund, a $95 million donor-advised fund dispersed by the Greater Washington Community Foundation (GWCF). This fund aims to enhance health outcomes and equity for residents of the District of Columbia.

The HEF was established in 2021 as a result of the resolution of litigation among the District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB); Group Hospitalization and Medical Services, Inc. (GHMSI) – a CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (CareFirst) affiliate – and DC Appleseed Center for Law & Justice. In establishing the HEF, the parties created an innovative and impactful way of addressing DC’s racial health gap.

The Community Foundation administers all aspects of the giving program including providing grantmaking, financial management, investment oversight, data management, human resources administration, and compliance oversight, among other responsibilities.

The Community Foundation works with the Health Equity Committee, which oversees the HEF, as stipulated by the Memorandum of Understanding Between the Government of the District of Columbia and GHMSI. According to the Memorandum of Understanding, all funds are to be disbursed within five years.

The seven-member Health Equity Committee, which includes Dr. N. Elias, MD, MPH; Dr. Tollie Elliott; Wendell L. Johns; Lori Kaplan; Juan M. Jara; Kimberly Harris, and Courtney R. Snowden. The Committee and the Greater Washington Community Foundation provide strategic guidance and management services, ensuring the Health Equity Fund operates according to terms of the settlement agreement.

The Health Equity Committee, in partnership with The Community Foundation, developed a grantmaking strategy, approves slates of proposed grant recipients, monitors the HEF's investments, ensures compliance with HEF's governing policies, and reviews all financial and program evaluation reports.

The impact of the Health Equity Fund goes far beyond the funding provided.

“The more we take time to listen to each other - as partners in this work – the better we can understand from each one what success looks like and how we, as a philanthropic partner, can provide support that goes beyond the dollar figures,” shared Dr. Marla Dean, Senior Director of the Health Equity Fund.

This principal has been established from Day 1, thanks in part to The Community Foundation’s partnership with the American Institutes for Research (AIR), who serves as the evaluation partner for the Health Equity Fund. AIR and The Community Foundation have hosted several Idea Summits, where nonprofit partners had the chance to network and work together collaboratively to identify the outcomes and actions they hoped to see over the next few years.

From the outset, nonprofit partners have expressed excitement about being part of a “cohort” for change in the District of Columbia. Even though many nonprofit partners often compete for the same limited resources, bringing them together in this space has created opportunities for collaboration and discussion that many say is invaluable to the work that they do.

“The fact that we can come together and collaborate as one is so inspiring,” one nonprofit partner shared. “It helps build power and confidence in the knowledge that we are not alone in this work to enact change.”

In April 2024, The HEF held is first summit, With Equity and Economic Justice for All, at the beautiful Riverside Baptist Church in Southeast DC. The event brought together more than 200 changemakers from across the area for a day of music, speakers, and deep conversations around the pursuit of health equity, economic justice, and liberation in the Greater Washington region. “We are here today to imagine a world where everyone can experience physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing,” The Community Foundation’s President & CEO Tonia Wellons shared in her introduction to the Summit. “A world where everyone can thrive in a non-extractive economy and a world where harm has been repaired and everyone can be made whole.”

“It’s easy to step into a space and merely provide healthcare,” added Dr. Tollie Elliott, member of the Health Equity Fund’s governance committee. “However, if we want to create a truly impactful, innovative system, we need to start doing things differently -- departing from the traditional route and enacting truly transformational work to make lives better in the District of Columbia.” Click here to learn more about the Health Equity Summit.

The Health Equity Committee in partnership with The Community Foundation gathered community and stakeholder input, identified goals and priorities, developed a grantmaking strategy based on input and an analysis of available data on the nonprofit and philanthropic landscapes, and created competitive grantmaking processes focused on catalyzing innovation and disruption.

To date, the Fund has awarded over $35 million dollars in grants to over 100 District-based non-profit organizations engaged in activities that impact the social and structure determinants of health in the District:

The inaugural grant round in September 2022 awarded $9.2 million to 32 DC nonprofit organizations with a focus on economic mobility and wealth building in DC’s historically underinvested communities including cash transfer initiatives, housing rehabilitation projects, wealth creation programs, and other innovative projects. Click here to learn more about the inaugural grant round.

The second grant round announced in June 2023 awarded $12.5 million – the largest single grant round in The Community Foundation’s history - to 14 DC based nonprofits working on health advocacy, policy, and systems change initiatives. Click here to learn more about the second grant round.

In that spirit of collaboration and partnership, in October 2023, The Community Foundation announced its third and largest ongoing grant round to date, $55 million to invest in innovative demonstration projects that promote economic mobility and build community wealth in DC. The grant round is open through March of 2026 to proposals with two or more partner organizations.

“We recognize that the most innovative work occurs through partnerships between organizations,” shared Dr. Marla Dean, Senior Director of the Health Equity Fund.

“We hope that this grant round will provide a catalyst for transformative partnerships that will reshape some of the most pressing obstacles to health and wealth for DC residents.”

The fourth grant round announced in March 2024 awarded $1 million to the DC Office of the Attorney General’s and the Office of Safety and Neighborhood Engagement’s 38 grant partners through the Advancing Peace (GWCF), Leaders of Tomorrow (OAG) and Gun Violence Mini Grants (OSNE) initiatives. Click here to learn more about the fourth grant round.

The fifth grant round announced in June 2024, awarded $10 million to 40 DC nonprofit organizations with a focus on economic mobility and wealth building in DC’s historically underinvested communities.