Cambia Health Foundation

Cambia Health Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Cambia Health Solutions, a regional health care company that serves as the parent of Regence BlueCross BlueShield plans across Idaho, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. This corporate origin shapes the foundation's character in concrete ways: it operates with disciplined strategic intent, aligns closely with Cambia's commercial health equity mission, and consistently favors grantees who demonstrate measurable systems-level impact over one-off program support.

The foundation is currently in year four of a defined five-year whole-person health strategy. That strategy flows through three pillars: Resilient Children and Families (behavioral health access for pregnant individuals, caregivers, and children up to age 8); Healthy and Connected Aging (independence, community connection, and kinship caregiving for older adults); and Health Care Workforce (integrated care team training, provider diversity, and behavioral health pipeline development). All three share a non-negotiable throughline — whole-person health, meaning the inseparable integration of physical, behavioral, and social determinants for underserved populations.

The foundation's legacy Sojourns Scholar Leadership Program — a $65 million, decade-long investment in palliative care leadership that cultivated 108 scholars — released its culminating evaluation in March 2026, effectively signaling program conclusion. Former Sojourns grantees (UCSF, Seattle Children's Hospital, Center to Advance Palliative Care, VitalTalk) should reframe their work within the three active focus areas rather than expecting palliative care funding to continue.

The application pathway is strictly RFP-driven. The foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals and does not require a letter of inquiry. Each annual cycle releases 2-3 RFPs (one per focus area) through an online portal (apply.yourcausegrants.com), staggered across the year. In 2026, the Health Care Workforce and Healthy and Connected Aging RFPs both closed April 9, 2026; a Resilient Children and Families RFP was expected to launch in April 2026, with remaining funds in that area disbursed through an invitation-only process.

First-time applicants should understand that Cambia prizes integration above all. A workforce proposal that trains community health workers without explicitly connecting to behavioral health integration or underserved-population outcomes will not be competitive. The strongest proposals name specific underserved communities by geography, describe measurable health equity outcomes, demonstrate a model that blends clinical, behavioral, and social care, and budget with a 10% or lower indirect cost rate.

Cambia Health Foundation's annual giving has followed a significant declining trend over five years: from $10.6 million in FY2020 and $10.2 million in FY2019 down to $7.7 million in FY2023 and $6.2 million in FY2024 — a 41% reduction from peak. Partner count tracked the same direction, falling from 107 organizations in 2023 to 96 in 2024. The December 2025 grant round alone distributed $1.2 million across 28 organizations, averaging approximately $43,000 per recipient in that cycle. This is not financial distress — the foundation's total assets grew from $83.4 million (2020) to $100.6 million (2024) — but rather a deliberate strategic consolidation toward fewer, longer-term, higher-impact relationships.

The foundation's balance sheet is sustained by corporate parent contributions: Cambia Health Solutions contributed $14.2 million in FY2023, $5.0 million in FY2022, and $18.7 million in FY2021. Net investment income added $4.1 million in FY2023. The endowment alone would not sustain current giving levels — parent company infusions are structurally essential and reflect Cambia's broader corporate social investment strategy.

Grant sizing across 41 individually documented grants spans $5,000 to $991,750, with a median of $75,000 and an average of $116,344. Most community-facing grants fall in the $50,000–$200,000 band. The high end is reserved for multi-year, multi-installment flagship investments, historically concentrated in the now-concluded Sojourns program: UCSF Division of Palliative Medicine received $2.5 million across five grants, Seattle Children's Hospital Foundation received $2.1 million across five grants, and the Center to Advance Palliative Care received $863,000 across three grants.

Geographic distribution across 277 historical grants favors Washington (73 grants, 26%) and Oregon (64 grants, 23%), with Utah at 35 (13%) and Idaho at 23 (8%). The remaining 30% spread across California, New York, Massachusetts, DC, and Virginia — almost entirely Sojourns-related national palliative care infrastructure. As Sojourns concludes, expect geographic concentration to intensify within the four-state footprint. Oregon Community Foundation ($1.275M, 3 grants), Oregon Business Council ($1.0M, 2 grants), and University of Washington ($997K, 12 grants) anchor the relationship-based portion of the portfolio.

The following table compares Cambia Health Foundation to four peer foundations matched by comparable total assets and NTEE classification, drawn from IRS EO Master File data. Annual giving figures beyond Cambia are not publicly reported by comparison peers at the time of this report.

Cambia stands out among similar-asset foundations for the transparency and accessibility of its RFP-driven process — a meaningful differentiator in a cohort where invitation-only access is the norm. Highmark Foundation is the closest true organizational peer (health insurer corporate philanthropy, similar asset scale), though it operates in the Mid-Atlantic and Appalachian region rather than the Pacific Northwest and is considerably less transparent about its application process. Vibrant Village Foundation offers the strongest geographic overlap with Cambia, though its rural community development mandate is broader than Cambia's health-specific and behavioral health integration focus. For Pacific Northwest health organizations, Cambia's openly competitive RFPs represent a rare access point not typically available through comparable-asset regional foundations.

The foundation entered 2026 with notable momentum. In March 2026, it released a comprehensive independent evaluation of the Sojourns Scholar Leadership Program, documenting 108 scholars across a decade of palliative care workforce development — a capstone publication signaling the program's formal conclusion after $65 million in cumulative investment since 2007. In January 2026, the foundation awarded $100,000 to Idaho Botanical Gardens for horticulture therapy programming, an unusually creative investment that signals growing openness to nature-based healing approaches within the whole-person health frame.

The December 2025 grant round was the largest single announcement of the year: $1.2 million distributed to 28 organizations, bringing the foundation's four-year cumulative investment to over $6.7 million. Health Care Workforce recipients included Aviva Health, Community Council of Idaho, HealthPoint, La Clinica, and Seattle University. Resilient Children and Families recipients included Akin, Children's Institute, and Indigenous Birth Justice Network. Healthy and Connected Aging recipients included Jewish Family Service, National Alliance for Caregiving, and Portland State University.

In June 2025, foundation president Peggy Maguire and Regence jointly committed $500,000 to the James Beard Public Market's Nutrition for All Initiative, due to open summer 2026. In May 2025, six organizations received nearly $280,000 for kinship and grandfamily caregiver support. The 2024 Community Impact Report (released March 2025) confirmed $6.2 million in investments to 96 partners — down from $8.1 million to 107 partners in 2023. Leadership remains stable under board chair and president Margaret (Peggy) Maguire, with program execution guided by Leslie Foren (Director of Program Strategy) and Kathleen Pitcher-Tobey (Foundation Operations Director).

Monitor the RFP calendar obsessively. Cambia does not accept unsolicited proposals — the sole pathway is a published RFP. Visit cambiahealthfoundation.org/applicant-resources/current-funding-opportunities.html at least monthly, as RFPs for each of the three focus areas are released at different points in the year. Missing an RFP window means waiting a full year.

Lead with whole-person health integration, not program description. The foundation's defining filter is whether your work integrates physical, behavioral, and social care — not just addresses one. A behavioral health nonprofit that embeds therapists inside a federally qualified health center serving Somali refugees in Seattle will outcompete a stand-alone mental health clinic every time. Use the foundation's exact language: whole-person health, integrated care, health equity, underserved populations, social determinants.

Be geographically specific. Name counties, zip codes, or tribal lands within Idaho, Oregon, Utah, and/or Washington. The foundation serves these four states exclusively (aside from national palliative care infrastructure that is no longer funded). A proposal describing "Pacific Northwest communities" without specificity signals poor fit.

Mind the 10% indirect cost cap. This is non-negotiable and must be built into your budget before you open the portal. If your organization's negotiated indirect rate exceeds 10%, document your methodology for calculating allowable direct costs carefully.

One application per RFP per organization. If your work genuinely spans the Health Care Workforce and Healthy and Connected Aging focus areas, contact Leslie Foren (Director of Program Strategy) or Kathleen Pitcher-Tobey (Foundation Operations Director) before applying. Staff will direct you to the most appropriate RFP rather than allow a duplicate submission.

Submit well before the deadline. The April 9, 2026 deadline was set at 5:00 PM Pacific Time with no extensions. The apply.yourcausegrants.com portal can experience submission-hour traffic; build in buffer time.

Build toward repeat funding. The foundation's grantee history shows strong repeat relationships: University of Washington (12 grants), OHSU Foundation (8 grants), University of Utah (8 grants). First grants tend to be in the $50,000–$100,000 range; multi-year relationships scale to $200,000+. Use early grants to build an outcomes track record, and engage staff during post-grant reporting to demonstrate impact before the next cycle opens.