Health

We recognize that the path to healthy communities involves aligning and integrating systems to better serve the health of people with low incomes. Over the past 10 years, our Health Program has partnered with communities to make sure people have access to resources that support health such as safe, affordable housing, fresh food, clean air primary care and economic opportunities. To continue our work to increase health in America’s neighborhoods, we will build equity-focused systems of health.

An equity-focused system of health offers everyone an opportunity to have a healthy life regardless of race, gender or income. To achieve health equity in the United States, we must work across sectors to influence institutions, advance policies and develop leaders with the ability to transform systems to support the health and well-being for people of color in low-income communities. 

We invest through these focus areas:

INTEGRATION OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

In partnership with the Human Services Program, we bridge the health and human services sectors to create more seamless, effective, and sustainable interventions that advance social and economic mobility and improve the health and well-being of people and communities. 

INSTITUTIONAL INVESTMENTS IN COMMUNITY HEALTH

We aim to influence the investment policies and practices of institutions to create equitable and sustainable economies that contribute to healthy communities. We also build the capacity of community-based organizations to absorb and deploy investment.

COMMUNITY-DRIVEN SOLUTIONS

We partner with communities to drive locally determined solutions and policies that influence systems, services and practices to create equitable conditions that improve well-being. Through community-driven solutions, we will support communities to improve housing quality and stability, environmental conditions and food systems. Improving these conditions promotes health equity among people in low-income neighborhoods and fosters improved health for entire communities.

Grant opportunities are listed on the Health Program focus area pages, linked above, and on the Current Funding Opportunities page.

As we evaluate proposals, we look for efforts that:

• Adopt an explicit equity lens.
• Represent genuine community priorities.
• Build community leadership and power.
• Facilitate cross-sector partnerships and connections to achieve the community’s vision of health.
• Link practitioners to objective evidence and science.
• Promote community or population health.
• Direct resources to upstream solutions.
• Promote access to opportunities that can improve health.
• Employ effective communication strategies.
• Evaluate and disseminate the impact of health initiatives, programs and investments.

We rarely fund:

• Projects that are primarily focused on direct health or social services.
• Health education, promotion or counseling programs.
• Research projects.
• Organizations with annual budgets of less than $250,000, except when invited or when specified during a formal request-for-proposal process.
• Construction or renovation of facilities, including the acquisition of medical equipment.
• Projects whose total cost is less than $100,000, except when invited or when specified during a formal request-for-proposal process.

We use a full array of funding and investment tools to foster change, including project grants, operating support, planning grants and program-related investments. Program-related investments may take the form of direct loans, guarantees that provide credit support to borrowers or linked deposits. (Learn more about our social investing.)

Most of our grants span 1-3 years. We also use resources to convene partners to learn and lead. And, in certain situations, when project proposals offer opportunities to advance the goals of multiple teams, those teams will jointly fund the proposal.

We accept and review inquiries for some grants on an ongoing basis. There is no deadline. Other portions of our portfolio are developed through a time-limited, request for proposal process.

We announce Kresge’s grant opportunities on our website and through our weekly newsletter. You may be notified of these opportunities by subscribing to our newsletter, or by following @kresgefdn and/or @kresgehealth on Twitter.