Adding Value to Our Grantmaking

By Cristina M. Regalado

The grantee stories in this edition of our magazine echo the mission and goals of the Foundation and highlight how – through the Responsive Grantmaking Program – we are working to improve the health of the people of California. Since implementing the program in 2001, the majority of our grants have been for core operating support. We also prioritize funding for underserved populations, including low-income individuals, people of color, youth and residents of rural areas. It’s at the heart of what we do.

Yet, while grantmaking is clearly our primary function, TCWF has, over the years, found the considerable value of employing multiple tactics to go beyond the grant.

For instance, as many of our readers who have attended one of our conferences or health advocate retreats know, there is power in convening grantees and other nonprofits. Last year alone, more than 1,800 people attended our 12 sponsored events. Over the years, we have brought together grantees – service providers, advocates, researchers, policymakers and others from diverse sectors – who have told us they appreciate the opportunities to network and learn with their peers and to forge unexpected alliances in the effort to improve the health of underserved Californians.

Through the agendas – driven by grantees who propose workshop discussions and lead sessions – participants share their knowledge and learn from peers about trends, challenges and opportunities. Our grantees have told us they leave energized, bringing back concrete ideas to fortify their work and broaden their networks.

In the cover story on the following page, you’ll find another tactic that has proved successful – regranting to intermediary organizations. Our $1 million grant to the Liberty Hill Foundation – to build the capacity of grassroots, minority-led health and/or human services organizations – extends our reach into the community to provide emerging groups, or those that may not yet be ready for a TCWF grant, with technical assistance in grant-proposal writing, fund development, strategic planning and other management areas.

This grant also strengthens our longstanding commitment of addressing the particular health needs of the underserved through the provision of capacity-building to nonprofits that serve primarily ethnic minority populations.

The California Wellness Foundation sees itself as a service organization whose role is to be instrumental in the success of the nonprofits that we fund. Employing multiple tactics to reach this goal is an important strategy in improving the health of the people of California.