Over the last two decades, health funders have embraced public policy engagement as a high-yield strategy to advance their missions. Most health funders believe that systemic change is needed to achieve a just, equitable, and healthy society and such change requires meaningful reforms across multiple public policy domains, including health care, housing, education, employment, criminal justice, environmental protections, and economic development.
Fair and constructive policy advancements fundamentally depend on a healthy democracy. Two intersecting and interdependent systems comprise democracy in the United States:
- a political system of representative government, which includes the legislative, executive, and judicial branches at the federal, state, and local levels; and
- a collective system of self-governance, which includes how individuals interact with each other and their political system through many forms of civic engagement.
Philanthropic interest in and support for efforts that strengthen democracy have grown in recent years. Both the Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation (FCCP) and Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE) have seen their memberships expand beyond foundations that have traditionally identified as “democracy funders” to include issue-oriented funders that recognize that an open, fair, and inclusive democracy is foundational to their strategic goals. Grantmakers In Health (GIH) has similarly observed growing attention to civic engagement within the field of health philanthropy.
In order to explore investments in civic engagement by health funders, GIH conducted interviews with representatives of 14 foundations that are currently GIH Funding Partners (i.e., philanthropic organizations that support GIH’s work). Interview respondents represent a convenience sample of health funders who are actively engaged in supporting civic engagement efforts. These foundations may not be representative of the wider field of health philanthropy, nor do they constitute a comprehensive list of health funders that support civic engagement efforts.
In selecting organizations to interview, GIH was intentional in choosing funders with diverse characteristics in terms of asset size, geographic focus (i.e., foundations operating at national, state, and local levels), geographic location, and tax status (i.e., private foundations and public charities). While most respondent foundations have organizational missions focused on health, some have missions that are more broadly framed.
This article summarizes the key themes that emerged from these interviews exploring why and how health funders are investing in civic engagement. The examples provided are illustrative and do not fully describe the work supported by any of the foundations referenced or their grantees. (author introduction)
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