The Kaiser Permanente Community Fund (KPCF) has awarded more than $2.5 million in grant funds to 20 organizations that improve health in Oregon and southwest Washington. Awarded annually, these grants address the “upstream” or underlying factors that impact community health.
Within the context of health care reform and improved health, the fund currently focuses on three specific social determinants of health: healthy beginnings and early childhood development, educational attainment and economic opportunity. These focus areas were selected for their ability to build on community momentum and their potential for long-‐term impact.
“For too many of us, conditions where we’re born, learn and live limit our choices and our opportunity to be healthy,” said Nichole Maher, president of Northwest Health Foundation. “The Kaiser Permanente Community Fund supports organizations that are tackling these conditions in innovative ways that are driven by the very communities they seek to impact. We’re honored to support exactly this kind of work.”
“Healthy people and communities depend on more than the care they get through medical offices and hospitals—good health starts where we live, work and play,” added Sue Hennessy, Vice President, Strategic Planning & Health Plan Services at Kaiser Permanente Northwest. “Prevention and early intervention work. Investing in communities is essential to improving the health of our population today and making health care more affordable in the long run.”
Each project selected for a KPCF grant seeks to make measurable improvements in health for individuals and families, while also improving the long-‐term health of communities. Projects range from creating opportunities for people with disabilities to enter the workforce, expanding educational programs for Latino youth and families in Washington County, Oregon, to creating healthier beginnings for children in Cowlitz County, Washington.
More information about the fund, and the projects listed below, can be found at www.nwhf.org/kpcf.
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Kaiser Permanente Community Fund, p. 2
The following organizations received grants:
Economic Opportunity
Craft3
Neighborhood Prosperity Initiative Business Loan Program
$172,500
Incight Company
Employ Abilities
$50,000
Latino Business Alliance
Latino Business Alliance's Capacity Building Project
$50,000
REACH Community Development, Inc.
Financial Empowerment
$50,000
Urban League of Portland
Workforce Program Capacity Building Project
$49,632
Verde
Living Cully: A Cully Ecodistrict
$200,000
Educational Attainment
Centro Cultural of Washington County
STEAM Expansion Project
$100,000
Coalition of Communities of Color
Advancing Racial Educational Justice across Oregon
$200,000
Latino Network
Juntos Aprendemos / Together We Learn
$200,000
LGBTQ Community Center Fund
Building a Safe School Certification Program
$50,000
OneAmerica
Building Power in Immigrant Communities
$50,000
Pathfinders of Oregon
Rockwood Youth Violence Prevention Initiative
$100,000
Playworks
Playworks Pacific Northwest
$200,000
Early Childhood (Healthy Beginnings)
Albina Ministerial Alliance
AMA House of Faith CHW Project
$200,000
Catholic Community Services
Fostering Hope Initiative
$200,000
Cowlitz County Community Network
Coordinated Prevention System for Healthy Starts
$161,095
Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon
Rockwood Food Opportunity Project
$180,052
Hacienda CDC
Portland Niños: Early Childhood Intervention and Advocacy
$50,000
Oregon Latino Health Coalition
Health Equity Initiative
$200,000
Oregon Oral Health Coalition
First Tooth -‐ Because Baby Teeth Matter!
$50,000
About KPCF
The Kaiser Permanente Community Fund is a philanthropic partnership between Kaiser Permanente Northwest and the Northwest Health Foundation. Funded by Kaiser Permanente Northwest and distributed by Northwest Health Foundation, the Kaiser Permanente Community Fund’s objective is to advance the health of local communities served by Kaiser Permanente Northwest.
The Kaiser Permanente Community Fund at Northwest Health Foundation was established with $28 million in 2004. To date, the Community Fund has awarded $22.5 million in public health grants to more than 170 organizations in Oregon and SW Washington. The fund was established to support community-‐ based efforts to enhance social factors that promote health equity and help eliminate factors that contribute to health disparities.
The Kaiser Permanente Community Fund is achieving real, effective health reform right here in the Northwest by addressing the critical factors that lead to healthier people and healthier places.
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The mission of the Northwest Health Foundation is to advance, support, and promote the health of the people in Oregon and Southwest Washington. The Foundation invests in the root causes of health through community-‐driven solutions and seeks to ensure that the voices of all people are represented in health policy discussions. More information can be found at www.nwhf.org.
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. Founded in 1945, the organization serves the health needs of more than 8.4 million people nationwide. More than 496,000 people in Oregon and Southwest Washington receive their health care from Kaiser Permanente. For more information, go to www.kp.org/newscenter.
