ANNUAL REPORT 2021
Why does economic inclusion result in better health outcomes? Why does structural racism persist? Why does philanthropy sometimes perpetuate injustice for organizations led by people of color? Why do we get up and do what we do? Why are we relentlessly committed to health equity? Throughout 2021, “why” was the central question guiding Health Forward Foundation. As we examined our opportunities to have the greatest impact possible on the health of our communities, we had to first identify the “why” of our work.
Why?
Health Forward associates spent many hours thinking, discussing, creating, and listening to our partners and community members, and then recreating. The result is a new purpose and a new five-year purpose plan that recasts our leadership, advocacy, and resources to achieve health equity and secure a fair and just region.
Energized and strengthened through our listening, reflection, and creativity, Health Forward is eager to get to work. In 2022, we are continuing our support of direct health services and launching new initiatives to change systems that result in communities characterized by racial equity and economically just systems — necessary elements for health equity. As we take this moment to reflect on 2021, we are energized by the possibilities of the future and the knowledge that we aren’t in this alone. Our region is blessed to have a mounting health equity movement that is establishing shared vision, shared value, and gaining new partners each day across many sectors. When we work together, we have no doubt that inclusive, powerful, and healthy communities will rise. QIANA THOMASON
President/CEO, Health Forward Foundation
A LETTER FROM
QIANA THOMASON
W YA N D OT T E C O U N T Y T R A N S P O R TAT I O N We partnered with Uber Health and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, COMMUNITY Kansas, to provide free transportation for residents H E A LT H in select ZIP codes. Funding provided free rides WO R K E R to access health care providers, government agencies, social service offices, case managers, TO O L K I T and other resources. After five years of engagement with KC CARE Health Center and the Priority ZIP codes were selected Department of Population Health at through consideration of vaccination University of Kansas Medical Center, rates, incomes, population, the we launched chwtoolkit.org to help number of families under program managers further develop the poverty level, and the their existing community health number of children who worker programs. missed childhood vaccinations.
2021 HIGHLIGHTS KANSAS C I T Y H E A LT H EQUITY LEARNING AND A C T I O N N E T WO R K We partnered with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), the KC Health Collaborative, and more than 50 organizations to establish a new learning and action network that is catalyzing an antiracist, equity-centered, and culturally responsive health ecosystem. Network participants include people with lived experience, communitybased organizations, health systems, Federally Qualified Health Centers, Community Mental Health Centers, public health departments, and health plans.
HEALTH FORWARD’S N EW
PURPOSE AND STRATEGIES
PURPOSE STATEMENT
Every day we work to support and build inclusive, powerful, and healthy communities characterized by racial equity and economically just systems.
PURPOSE AREAS AND PLATFORM Our new purpose areas are built on a platform that advances racial equity and economic justice by supporting cross-sector efforts, shaping community understanding, and leveraging Health Forward’s capital resources.
PEOPLE
STRATEGIES • Strengthen capacity and effectiveness of partners to provide whole-person care • Advocate for policies that improve health • Advance equitycentered innovation and infrastructure across the community health ecosystem • Champion an inclusive and culturally responsive health sciences workforce
POWER
PLACE
STRATEGIES
STRATEGIES
• Advance capacity building, leadership development, and connectedness
• Advance safe, healthy, and affordable housing and homeownership
• Advance participation in democracy
• Advance digital access, literacy, and equity
• Enhance communitydriven efforts to redistribute and share power
OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS, THE CHANGES WE SEEK WILL RESULT IN: • A high-quality, equitable community health ecosystem • Strong community organizations and voices • Equitable and just places that foster health and economic advancement
GRANTMAKING AND INITIATIVES Funded 176 organizations Across 264 grants Totaling $23.4 million Healthy Communities
41 grants // $3.6 million
Mental Health
41 grants // $4.5 million
Safety Net
30 grants // $6.75 million* *Awarded in January 2022
Applicant Defined Grants
98 grants // $4 million
Special Initiatives
54 grants // $4.5 million
> Includes 15 Policy and Civic Engagement Grants totaling $1 million > Includes 14 grants totaling $211,000 to support Missouri Medicaid enrollment > Includes 15 grants totaling $146,100 to support vaccine education in communities of color and rural areas
FINANCIALS STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS * 2 02 1
2 02 0
130,520,522
84,801,094
0
25
41,976
1,715
847,907,401
805,912,355
16,619,562
22,615,637
Special Initiative Projects
687,793
238,478
Grant Support
1,135,684
939,667
Operating Expenses
5,647,553
5,055,701
Total Expense
24,090,593
28,849,483
Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets
106,471,904
55,953,351
REVENUES Net Investment Revenue Public Support & Contributions Other Revenues Total Assets
EXPENSES Grants**
INVESTMENT RETURN
NET ASSETS
In 2021, Health Forward’s investment portfolio returned 14.9 percent, equating to approximately $130 million in investment earnings, ending the year at $953 million in value. One-year performance is attributed largely to the strong performance of equity markets, which have also supported Health Forward’s trailing ten-year return of 9.3 percent. (Note: values reflect third quarter valuations for non-marketable investments. Final valuations will be available later this year.)
Health Forward’s net assets increased by $106 million in 2021, primarily driven by the return-on-investment assets; however, operating and grants budgets also experienced positive variances on a full-year basis. Health Forward met all its stewardship goals including grants and administrative spending allocations. *2 021 amounts are preliminary, final results will be available later this year. ** To allow for 18-month Safety Net transition grants, these figures do not include $ 6.75 million that was rolled forward to the 2022 budget.
KC M O O F F I C E O F RACIAL EQUITY AND R E C O N C I L I AT I O N
2021 HIGHLIGHTS
We partnered with the City of Kansas City, Missouri, through a $129,511 grant to support the establishment of the Office of Racial Equity and Reconciliation and to establish an Equity Task Force to help the city achieve racial equity in all policies. In its first three years, the Office of Racial Equity and Reconciliation will oversee the Equity Task Force, create a framework to review current and past policies through a racial equity lens, conduct community outreach, and benchmark best practices from other communities to design a framework for equitable policymaking in Kansas City.
VA C C I N E E D U C AT I O N We continued to support partners in their ongoing work to provide equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccines, including MISSOURI partnering with REACH Healthcare MEDICAID Foundation and Wyandotte Health Foundation to create the Vaccine ENROLLMENT Education Equity Fund supporting $146,000 We co-funded the successful lawsuit in vaccine outreach and educational efforts defending the constitutional rights of focused on Black, Latino/a/x, immigrant Missouri’s expansion population to enroll and refugee, and rural communities. in Medicaid. We also awarded 14 nonprofit We also contributed $250,000 organizations a total of $211,000 in grants to to collaborate with the Missouri ensure Missourians were informed about the Foundation for Health on a opportunity to enroll, and organizations were able statewide vaccine to quickly and efficiently assist newly eligible Medicaid education campaign. enrollees. As a result, our partners estimate that they reached 92,000 eligible people, and close to 7,300 people received some form of enrollment assistance.