Learning from the Kaiser Permanente Community Fund

Fifteen years ago, Kaiser Permanente and Northwest Health Foundation created a fund to support community-led and collaborative efforts to improve health. The Kaiser Permanente Community Fund invested $32 million total in 207 projects led by 146 different organization in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Together, we learned what worked and what didn’t, adjusting the Fund based on our learnings. Now, as the Kaiser Permanente Community Fund is paying out the last of its grants, we want to share those learnings. We know we’re better grantmakers because of this years-long process. And we hope other funders can benefit from it, too.

Over the next few months we’ll share stories, infographics, data and analysis that encompass our Kaiser Permanente Community Fund journey and the lessons we’ll carry forward into future initiatives.

Sign up for our enews list, and/or follow us on Facebook and Twitter, to follow along with our learnings.

We are hiring a facilitator to lead UnWind

The Kaiser Permanente Community Fund at Northwest Health Foundation (KPCF) seeks a facilitator to lead UnWind. UnWind will convene two cohorts of leaders three times over a period of 18 months. These leaders will come from organizations that have applied to and/or been funded by KPCF and Northwest Health Foundation (NWHF). At the convenings, they will:

1. Individually and collectively reflect upon movement longevity;
2. Collectively identify and analyze challenges to collaboration, including both communications and relational challenges;
3. Practice and develop the skills to address personal and organizational conflict in support of building unity, trust and a broader movement for change; and
4. Build deep, trusting relationships across race, geography and disability.

To Apply: Submit responses to the questions asked in the Request for Qualifications (linked below) to Community Engagement Officer Eduardo Moreno at eduardo@northwesthealth.org by 3pm on Thursday, February 22, 2018.

Introducing Our Final Round of KPCF Funded Partners

The Kaiser Permanente Community Fund (KPCF) at Northwest Health Foundation is pleased to award $1.9 million in grant funds to 10 organizations improving health in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Awarded annually since 2004, these grants address health where it begins, in our schools, neighborhoods and workplaces – long before we ever see a doctor.

 The following organizations received grants this year:

EARLY LIFE

• Community Alliance of Tenants
• The Trauma Healing Project
• Western States Center

EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

• Boys & Girls Club of Portland Metropolitan Area
• Healthy Living Collaborative of Southwest Washington
• OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon

ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY  

• Disability Art and Culture Project
• Evolve Workforce & Property Management
• Micro Enterprise Services of Oregon
• Oregon Health Care Interpreters Association

At Northwest Health Foundation, we believe everyone should have the opportunity to lead a vibrant, healthy and fulfilling life. The best way to make that vision reality is by investing in communities. People know what holds their communities back, and they have good ideas about how to remove the barriers they face. Our job is to support communities to harness the talents and act on their ideas.

If you're interested in learning more about these amazing organizations and the work they are doing, please follow us on Twitter! We'll be highlighting each of our new funded partners in the coming weeks.

Announcing Our New KPCF Funded Partners!

The Kaiser Permanente Community Fund (KPCF) at Northwest Health Foundation is pleased to award more than $1.6 million in grant funds to 12 organizations improving health in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Awarded annually since 2004, these grants address the “upstream” or underlying factors that impact community health. 

For the last four years the Fund has focused on three specific social determinants of health: early life & childhood development, educational attainment and economic opportunity. This year's organizations include:

EARLY LIFE & CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT 

• Centro Latino Americano
• Community Education Worker Steering Team
• Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO)
• Native American Youth & Family Center (NAYA)
• Partnership for Safety and Justice

EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

• Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO)
• Latino Network
• Momentum Alliance
• OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon

ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY  

• Clackamas Workforce Partnership
• Family Forward Oregon
• Huerto de la Familia

For too many of us, conditions where we’re born, learn and live limit our choices and our opportunity to be healthy. The 12 organizations listed above are tackling these conditions in innovative ways that are driven by the very communities they seek to impact. We’re honored to support this kind of work and look forward to the effect these organizations will have on the health of our region.

If you're interested in learning more about these amazing organizations and the work they are doing, please follow us on Twitter! We'll be highlighting each of our new funded partners in the coming weeks.

Announcing our new KPCF Funded Partners

The Kaiser Permanente Community Fund (KPCF) is pleased to award more than $2.5 million in grant funds to 19 organizations that improve health in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Awarded annually since 2004, these grants address the “upstream” or underlying factors that impact community health. 

For the last three years the fund has focused on three specific social determinants of health: early life & childhood development, educational attainment and economic opportunity. This year's organizations include:

Early Life & Childhood Development

• Black Parent Initiative
• Catholic Community Services of the Mid-Willamette and Central Coast
• Multnomah County Health Department, Community Health Services
• Northwest Regional ESD Foundation
• NW Down Syndrome Association
• Oregon Oral Health Coalition
• ROSE Community Development Corporation
• Western States Center

Educational Attainment

• Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO)
• Muslim Educational Trust
• Open Meadow Alternative Schools
• CAPACES Leadership Institute
• Native American Youth and Family Center
• Salem-Keizer Coalition for Equality

Economic Opportunity  

• Family Forward Oregon
• Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
• Janus Youth Programs, Inc.
• Portland African American Leadership Forum
• The Rosewood Initiative

For too many of us, conditions where we’re born, learn and live limit our choices and our opportunity to be healthy. The 19 organizations listed above are tackling these conditions in innovative ways that are driven by the very communities they seek to impact. We’re honored to support this kind of work and look forward to the effect these organizations will have on the health of our region.

If you would like to learn more about these organizations and the amazing work they are doing, please follow Northwest Health Foundation on Facebook. We will be highlighting each of our new funded partners in the coming weeks.

We're looking for communications support services

Northwest Health Foundation will select one communications firm, or multiple individual contractors, to provide the following communications support services to our Kaiser Permanente Community Fund grantees. 

Communications Support Services

1) Communications consulting

2) Graphic design

3) Copy writing

Applicants to the RFP can apply to provide one or all of these services. Please submit your applications by October 1. 

Two Funding Opportunities: Kaiser Permanente Community Fund & Learning Together

2014 Kaiser Permanente Community Fund Cycle

We are excited to announce the 2014 Kaiser Permanente Community Fund Grant cycle!

The cycle will open on April 10. Organizations and/or collaboratives must submit their intent to apply by noon on May 14 and their Letter of Inquiry by noon on May 23. To learn more,  visit the KPCF page and join us for one of four information sessions during the last two weeks of April.

We are now accepting applications for Learning Together and Connecting Communities.

Northwest Health Foundation is pleased to announce a funding opportunity to strengthen the capacity of communities o­f people with disabilities to self-organize, and to build relationships with organizations and communities for a broader conversation about disability, race/ethnicity and geography. 

Northwest Health Foundation wants to:

• learn more about efforts in Oregon and Southwest Washington that are engaging and led by people with disabilities;
• promote self-determination and build relationships among and with these communities;
• and inform the Foundation's organizational practices.

Learn more here.

Hello from our new Community Engagement Officers

We are excited to introduce you to our newest team members!

Jen Matheson and Michael Reyes Andrillon will help guide our grantmaking and community building.

We recorded their hellos this week. They'll be traveling throughout Oregon and SW Washington meeting our past, current and future partners. Meet them in this video, or in your community this Spring!

2013 Year in Review

2013 WAS A MOMENTOUS YEAR OF CHANGE FOR NORTHWEST HEALTH FOUNDATION.

We supported more than 30 community partners in their efforts to fluoridate Portland's water.

We welcomed new colleagues, took on new challenges, and set a long- term direction for the foundation. We committed to deeper partnerships, true statewide & SW Washington service, and a nimble foundation focused on action. Below is a snapshot of our 2013 activities.  None of these are possible without the work done by our many community partners committed to advancing a broad vision of community health across Oregon and SW Washington. Thank you!

WE CLARIFIED OUR COMMITMENT AND SET OUR DIRECTION.

• Our board of directors committed to a long-term endowment strategy to serve our communities for generations to come.
• We recommitted ourselves to serving our entire service area of Oregon and SW Washington and set about building relationships in new areas.
• We adopted a five-year strategic initiative, Healthy Beginnings, Healthy Communities, to guide our endowed investments through 2018.
• We joined with Kaiser Permanente to focus the Kaiser Permanente Community Fund in three key areas of economic opportunity, educational attainment and healthy beginnings.
• We committed to using all of our tools and resources to further our mission including Mission-Related Investments and explicit minority and women contracting policies.

NWHF President Nichole Maher joins Grout Elementary students in a game of foursquare during a Playworks site visit.

WE CELEBRATED OUR PAST AND WELCOMED OUR FUTURE.

• We celebrated the contributions and future of departing staff members and welcomed new staff leadership.
• We built a board and staff that is representative of Oregon and Southwest Washington by age, race, geographic roots, and LGBTQ identities.
• When asked by them, we joined an organized, committed coalition of community organizations working to fluoridate Portland's water.
• We committed to increasing our policy advocacy capacity and investments to change health outcomes.
• We honored health care transformation in making our final investments  within our committed healthcare reform cohort.
• We supported 150 Community Advisory Council members in attending the Coordinated Care Organization's Summit.

WE PURSUED LEARNING IN NEW COMMUNITIES.

• We pursued deeper understanding of the continuum of disability to increase relationships and opportunities to partner.
• We chartered the Board Community Engagement Committee and Equity Committee to oversee, advise and engage in our work across Oregon’s diverse communities.
• We sponsored a task force to bring stakeholders on both sides of water fluoridation to study actionable oral health improvement programs.

 We visited 17 counties to hear their vision for health.

WE INCREASED OUR REACH.

• We created an open sponsorship process to expand our support for community events in rural communities, communities of color and organizations led by and serving people with disabilities.
• We visited communities in Benton, Clackamas, Clark, Clatsop, Coos, Cowlitz, Curry, Deschutes, Douglas, Jackson, Klamath, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Pacific, Washington and Yamhill Counties to build relationships and understand their vision for health.
• Beyond statewide-impact grants, we made grants serving more than 63% of counties in our service area of Oregon and SW Washington.

OUR FUNDED PARTNERS

Innovation Fund

American Leadership Forum of Oregon
The ARC of Benton County
Basic Rights Oregon
Center for Intercultural Organizing (CIO)
Chinook Indian Nation
City Club of Portland
City of Brookings
Committee for Safe and Successful Children
Consejo Hispano del Lower Columbia
Coos County Public Health
Forest Grove School District
The Jessie F. Richardson Foundation
Klamath Crisis Center
Klamath Youth Development Center
Leightman Maxey Foundation
The Lund Report
McKenzie River Gathering Foundation
Miracle Theatre Group
Muslim Educational Trust
Oregon Public Health Institute
Oregon Voice
Playworks
Portland State University Foundation
Potlatch Foundation
Togo Community in Oregon

Health Care Reform

American Academy of Family Physicians - Oregon Chapter
American Heart Association
Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO)
Association of Oregon Community Mental Health Programs
CAUSA Oregon
Center for Intercultural Organizing (CIO)
Central City Concern
Children First for Oregon
Coalition of Community Health Clinics
Health Care for ALL - Oregon
Human Services Coalition of Oregon
Main Street Alliance of Oregon
NAMI-Oregon
NorthEast Oregon Network
Oregon Action
Oregon Center for Public Policy
Oregon Coalition of Local Health Officials
Oregon Developmental Disabilities Coalition
Oregon Foundation for Reproductive Health
Oregon Latino Health Coalition
Oregon Primary Care Association
Oregon Public Health Association
Oregon Rural Health Association
Oregon School-Based Health Care Network
Oregon State Public Interest Research Group (OSPIRG)
Portland Youth and Elders Council
Sisters of the Road
The Next Door Inc.
The-TREE Institute
Tobacco-Free Coalition of Oregon
Urban League of Portland
We Can Do Better

Kaiser Permanente Community Fund

Albina Ministerial Alliance
Catholic Community Services of the Mid-Willamette and Central Coast
Centro Cultural of Washington County
Coalition of Communities of Color
Colin McCormack
Cowlitz County Community Network
Craft3
Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon
Hacienda Community Development Corporation
Incight Company
Latino Business Alliance
Latino Network
LGBTQ Community Center Fund
OneAmerica
Oregon Latino Health Coalition
Oregon Oral Health Coalition
Pathfinders of Oregon
Playworks
REACH Community Development, Inc.
Urban League of Portland
Verde

Water Fluoridation

Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO)
Center for Intercultural Organizing (CIO)
Coalition of Communities of Color
Healthy Kids, Healthy Portland
Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO)
Latino Network
Native American Youth and Family Center
Oregon Latino Health Coalition
Oregon Voice
Upstream Public Health
Urban League of Portland

Sponsorships

All Hands Raised
Asian Health and Service Center
"Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce of Oregon and Southwest
Washington (APACC)"
Basic Rights Education Fund
Bay Area Hospital
Cascade Pacific Resource Conservation & Development
Catholic Community Services of the Mid-Willamette and Central Coast
CAUSA Oregon
Center for Women, Politics & Policy, Portland State University
City of Portland Bureau of Transportation
City of Vancouver
CoActive Connections
Coalition of Community Health Clinics
"Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Portland Alumae Chapter"
DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon
Ecotrust
Familias en Accion
Family Access Network Foundation
Family Building Blocks
Financial Beginnings
Future Generations Collaborative
Highlands Neighborhood Association
Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber
Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO)
Incight Company
International Center for Traditional Childbearing
J Bar J Youth Services
Ke Kukui Foundation
Kukatonon Children’s African Dance Troupe
Latino Network
Legacy Health System
LGBTQ Community Center Fund
Mano A Mano Family Center
Momentum Alliance
Native American Youth and Family Center
North Coast Food Web
Office of Rural Health, OHSU
Old Mill Center for Children and Families
Options for Southern Oregon
Oregon Area Jewish Committee
Oregon Oral Health Coalition
Oregon Public Health Association
Oregon Public Health Institute
Oregon School-Based Health Care Network
Organizing People, Activating Leaders (OPAL)
Playworks
Providence Milwaukie Foundation
Red Lodge Transition Services
ShelterCare
Skamania Klickitat Community Network
Southern Coos Health Foundation
Spect-Actors Collective
Ten Rivers Food Web
The Asian Reporter Foundation
United Way of Jackson County
Urban League of Portland
We Can Do Better
Willamette Farm and Food Coalition
Womenspace, Inc.