Equity in Access

All people deserve to be healthy and experience wellness. And all Californians should be able to receive the health benefits and services they need to live healthy lives. We believe that health care is a human right. While California has made significant progress in expanding quality, affordable health care coverage and access, we recognize that due to systemic racism, persistent health disparities remain for people of color. Therefore, we center racial justice in our work as we work toward high-quality universal health care that expands the ability of all Californians, especially people of color, to obtain necessary health care and related services.

Our Equity in Access portfolio champions health care coverage and access for all and defends the rights of immigrants to enjoy access to health services, coverage and other benefits. All people, regardless of immigration status, deserve access to public benefits. Our portfolio also supports the rights of women to access comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care services.

The Equity in Access portfolio makes grants under three goal areas. To be eligible for funding, your organization’s work must fit into at least one of these goal areas:

Universal Coverage and Access to Care
System Transformation
Priority Populations (note: priority populations goal area is not accepting unsolicited applications for funding at this time)

Universal coverage and access to care.

All Californians should have the ability to see a medical provider when and how they need to. That’s why we support policy, advocacy, organizing, and other efforts to expand and improve the Medi-Cal program. But laws and policies don’t implement themselves. It takes a lot more work to make these rights real. If people without health insurance don’t know their eligible for health coverage programs, or how to sign up or use their benefits, we are not making progress on universal coverage and access to care. That’s why we invest in organizations that reach out to communities to both educate and help eligible people sign up for health insurance, help patients retain coverage from year to year, and facilitate full use of benefits. But there are still other barriers in place that make it difficult for people of color and immigrants to access needed high-quality health care. Making health care rights real also means having the access to comprehensive services for staying healthy, such as oral and behavioral health services, as well as having medical providers close by. It also means having providers that understand ones’s language and culture. That’s why we support the ecosystem of community health centers and clinics providing safety net primary care services for low-income individuals in our state. We also provide funding to non-nonprofit organizations supporting community health centers and clinics through technical assistance, capacity building, and other services.

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What We Fund

The universal coverage and access to care goal area only provides funding for the following types of organizations and work:

Core or project support grants for public policy, research, organizing, and communications efforts to supporting expansion or improvement of health coverage programs (including oral health care services)such as Medi-Cal or Covered California).
Core or project support grants for nonprofit organizations providing outreach, enrollment, utilization, and navigation services for health coverage programs including Medi-Cal and Covered California.
Medi-Cal and Covered California.
Community health centers and clinics providing a range of primary care services such as federally qualified health centers, FQHC Look-Alike clinics, rural health clinics, and free clinics with established sites and regular hours.
For smaller and mid-sized clinics, we generally provide core operating grants to sustain services or build organizational capacity.
For larger clinics, we generally provide project support grants to address health-related social needs of patients.
Core or project support grants for community health centers and clinics providing oral health care services and serving as a dental home for low-income adults and seniors (can be dental-only clinics or primary care clinics that offer dental services).
Core or project support for other nonprofit organizations providing support for community health centers and clinics such as statewide and regional clinic consortia.

What We Don't Fund

We recognize that there are many types of organizations providing important safety net health care services. However, we are simply not able to fund all of these worthwhile organizations.

Organizations other than community health centers and clinics that provide health care services.
Specialized clinics or other organizations such as those that focus on mental health, substance use disorder treatment, vision care, or on specific diseases or conditions (such as cancer).
General health education on chronic diseases or conditions such as diabetes, heart disease.
Dental clinics or programs that focus solely or predominantly on children/pediatric dentistry, unless they seek to expand their capacity to serve low-income adults and seniors.

Organizations providing health system navigation assistance and services, unless the organization also has a substantial health coverage outreach, education, retention and utilization program.

Grantee Organizations We've Funded

Maternal and Child Health Access
Los Angeles
$300,000/2 years

Core operating support for public policy efforts to ensure effective and equitable health and dental coverage for low income birthing people in California.

California Coverage & Health Initiatives
Sacramento
$300,000/2 years

For core operating support to sustain health care coverage outreach, enrollment, retention and utilization services to low-income Californians.

3C Community Clinic
Los Angeles
$225,000/2 years

Core operating support to provide comprehensive primary care services to low-income individuals and families in Los Angeles.

Dientes Community Dental Care
Santa Cruz
$225,000/3 years
Core operating support to sustain comprehensive oral health services for uninsured and publicly insured low-income adults and seniors throughout Santa Cruz County.

System transformation.

To realize our vision, we will have to help transform the health care system. But what does transforming the health care system require? It requires designing and implementing new models of health care that take a whole-person view while integrating the patients’ clinical and social needs. This also includes intentionally allocating resources and interventions to improve health and wellness for Black, Brown, and indigenous communities that are due justice for past systemic harm. Transforming the health care system also means improving the programs currently in place, such as making Medi-Cal and Covered California easier to access for those who need it. Transformation also requires reimagining how direct service providers collaborate and partner to better meet the needs of community residents. State and local government agencies, , community-based organizations, safety-net health care providers, managed care plans, and hospitals, all need to work better together to improve health and equity for vulnerable populations.

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What We Fund

The system transformation goal area only provides funding for the following types of organizations and work:

Community based nonprofit organizations, community health centers and clinics, government agencies, or multi-stakeholder collaboratives working at a local level on an innovative model for improving services to Medi-Cal beneficiaries or other low-income populations to address the social determinants of health. Examples of work we are interested in supporting includes:
- Efforts on CalAIM implementation.
- Multistakeholder collaboratives to address social determinants of health like the California Accountable Communities for Health Initiative.
- Community referral networks or technology solutions to improve the system of health and social services referrals and case management to individuals in need.
- Efforts to develop sustainable models for nonprofit organizations or government agencies to employ community health workers/promotores to transform the health system.
Organizations working on policy, advocacy, communications, or research efforts or providing technical assistance and capacity building to achieve system-level change or transformation in the health care delivery or public health systems to advance health and racial equity or increase resources for primary prevention efforts.

Grantee Organizations We’ve Funded

Take a look at these grantee organizations to get a better sense of what we fund.

Community Partners
Los Angeles
$1,500,000/3 years

Core operating support for the California Accountable Communities for Health Initiative to become a statewide backbone to spread, scale, and sustain Accountable Communities for Health, multi-sector collaboratives that center community voice in improving community health outcomes and equity.

Transitions Clinic Network
San Francisco
$275,000/2 years

Project support for Transitions Clinic Network to transform health care and social service systems for the justice-involved population in California.

Center for Strategic Partnerships
Los Angeles
$250,000/2 years

Project support to launch a consortium of community-based organizations providing community health worker services to improve the health and well-being of Los Angeles County residents.

Priority populations.

We want to overturn decades of injustice so that communities too long ignored receive both the health care and social services they need. And we want to see communities of color, immigrants, and low-income communities treated with respect and dignity by all governmental and private institutions.

Because California is a border state and home to the highest number of immigrants, it is important that we pay attention to immigrants’ needs. We’re determined to champion the rights of immigrants. That means supporting organizations that are working to advance and defend immigrant rights, beating back deportation efforts, supporting new arrivals at the California-Mexico border, helping to counter the surge in negative narratives about immigrants, and challenging the rise in racially charged attacks and threats against immigrants.

In this portfolio, we also support comprehensive access to sexual and reproductive health care services, which have been under intense attack during the past few years. In particular, we strive to ensure that women and birthing people of color have bodily autonomy and are treated as the experts in their health care needs.

Please note we currently are not accepting unsolicited letters of interest for the priority populations goal of this portfolio.

More Information

What We Fund

Policy, advocacy and direct service efforts to defend immigrant rights.
Communication efforts to create positive narratives about the role of immigrants in society.
Policy, advocacy, communication and direct service efforts to improve access to comprehensive reproductive health care including abortion services and systems change efforts to improve birth outcomes for Black women and birthing people in California

Grantee Organizations We’ve Funded

Take a look at these grantee organizations to get a better sense of what we fund.

National Immigration Law Center
Los Angeles
$1,000,000/5 years

Core operating support to promote the rights, opportunities and health of low-income immigrant and refugee families in California and across the nation.

Black Alliance for Just Immigration
Brooklyn, NY
$300,000/2 years

Transgender Law Center
Los Angeles
$300,000/3 years

Core operating support for the Border Butterflies Project to provide health, legal, humanitarian, and social services for LGBTQ migrants at the California-Mexico border.

Essential Access Health
Los Angeles
$400,000/3 years

Core operating support to protect and expand access to sexual and reproductive health care services for low-income Californians.

ACCESS Reproductive Justice
$200,000 / 3 years

For core operating support to engage in policy advocacy and community outreach and to operate the reproductive healthline for people seeking abortion services in California

California Coalition for Black Birth Justice
$500,000/ 3 yearsFor project support for the

California Coalition for Black Birth Justice to strategically coordinate various efforts to accelerate birth justice for Black families across California.

Our Equity in Access portfolio champions health care coverage and access for all and defends the rights of immigrants to enjoy access to health services, coverage and other benefits. Watch the above video to learn more.

Managing Director Earl Lui

Earl Lui is a managing director at The California Wellness Foundation. In this role, he provides leadership to the Equity in Access portfolio as well as leadership for the Economic Security & Dignity portfolio.

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PROGRAM Director Jeffrey S. Kim

Jeffrey S. Kim is a program director at The California Wellness Foundation where he currently manages grantmaking related to the Economic Security & Dignity portfolio.

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PROGRAM OFFICER Monica Gomez

Monica Gomez is a program officer for the Equity in Access and Economic Security & Dignity portfolios.

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CalWellness Foundation Jessica Headshots

PROGRAM OFFICER Jessica Martinez Pulido

Jessica Martinez Pulido is a program officer at The California Wellness Foundation for the Equity in Access and Economic Security & Dignity portfolios.

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PROGRAM Coordinator Brad Henry

Brad Henry is a program coordinator at The California Wellness Foundation where he provides program and administrative support related to grantmaking under the Equity in Access and Economic Security & Dignity portfolios.

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Program areas currently accepting letters of inquiry

Read this blog to learn more.

Community Well-being

Open

Youth Justice
Community Environments

Not Accepting

Violence Prevention and Healing Justice

Economic Security and Dignity

Open

Economic Mobility & Wealth Creation
Economic Safety Net

Not Accepting

Post Secondary Education & Health Professions Training

Equity in Access

Open

Universal Coverage and Access to Care
System Transformation

Not Accepting

Priority Populations

Leading for Power and Change

Open

Equity in the Nonprofit Sector
Reimagining Social Justice

Not Accepting

Mobilizing Movements and Power Building