Healthy Communities Foundation

## Grantmaking Approach & Strategy

Healthy Communities Foundation (HCF) is a health conversion foundation born from the 1999 sale of MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn, IL. It operates as a community-informed, trust-based grantmaker serving a tightly defined 27-zip code footprint encompassing approximately 900,000 residents in Chicago and the western suburbs of Cook County — all within five miles of the former MacNeal Hospital campus.

Three-Program Architecture

HCF runs three distinct funding mechanisms that together form a spectrum from flexible to transformational:

1. General Operating Support (GOS) — The backbone of HCF's strategy. In 2024, HCF made its boldest move yet: launching 5-year, renewable partnerships with 32 organizations totaling $22.25 million over 2024–2029 (approximately $4.45M/year). This trust-based, multi-year unrestricted funding is rare among foundations of this size and signals a long-term commitment to organizational sustainability over project-by-project grants.

2. Responsive Funding — A flexible, rapid-response mechanism for emerging needs and urgent community health crises. The portal was closed for the remainder of 2025 while the foundation reassesses its annual cycle. Organizations with genuine emergencies can contact HCF directly.

3. Bold Investments — Invitation-only, large-scale grants for systemic change initiatives. HCF uses this mechanism to fund multi-stakeholder collaboratives, cohort-based capacity building, and policy change efforts it proactively identifies. Organizations cannot apply directly.

2026 Strategic Shift

HCF announced it will not open a new annual grant cycle in 2026 — a significant departure from prior years. The foundation is doubling down on its 5-year GOS partnerships (now in Year 2) and pausing new-entrant funding. For most nonprofits, this means the realistic near-term opportunity is the Responsive Funding portal (when reopened) or being identified for a Bold Investment.

Trust-Based Philanthropy

President Maria Socorro Pesqueira — recognized as a Notable Latino Leader by Crain's Chicago Business in 2024 — has championed trust-based philanthropy practices: multi-year unrestricted grants, simplified reporting, power-sharing with grantee partners. HCF actively uses racial and health equity as lenses across all grantmaking decisions, with a strategic focus on zip codes scoring lowest on social determinants of health.

## Funding Patterns & Historical Giving

Financial Scale (FY2024) - Total Assets: $117.5 million - Grants Paid: $12.1 million - Total Revenue: $11.3 million (primarily investment income and asset sales) - Total Expenses: $12.6 million (operating at modest deficit, drawing down endowment) - Endowment Base: ~$123 million (largest private health conversion foundation in Chicago area)

Historical Grant Volume (DB Records: 2022–2023) - 2022: 94 grants totaling $7.78 million (avg $82,726) - 2023: 105 grants totaling $7.65 million (avg $72,882) - Total in DB: 199 grants, $15.43 million, avg $77,533 - Since 2017 rebranding: ~$65 million total giving - FY2024 total (990 filing): $12.1 million — reflecting the new 5-year GOS cohort launch

Geographic Concentration Virtually all grants are Illinois-based: 198 of 199 tracked grants went to IL organizations ($15.42M of $15.43M). One California grant of $5,000. The service area is hyperlocal — Chicago west side and inner-ring suburbs.

Grant Size Distribution - Range: $200 – $276,500 (in DB records) - Median: ~$55,500 - Average: ~$77,545 - Most common: $50,000 - Large anchor grants: Several at or near $200,000–$250,000 for multi-year GOS partners

Top Recipient Organizations (2022–2023) - Illinois Coalition for Immigrants and Refugee Rights: $276,500 - The Chicago Community Foundation: $250,000 (IL Immigration Funder Collaborative) - Latino Policy Forum: $250,000 - Alivio Medical Center: $440,000 (2 grants) - Enlace Chicago: $405,000 (2 grants) - Mujeres Latinas en Accion: $404,706 (2 grants) - Erie Neighborhood House: $401,000 (2 grants) - Esperanza Health Center: $402,000 (2 grants) - Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN): $200,000 - Arab American Family Services: $200,000

Thematic Patterns - Heavy emphasis on immigrant and refugee health access - Strong support for Latino-serving community health organizations - Consistent funding of organizations combining healthcare delivery with social determinants (housing, legal services, economic mobility) - Repeat multi-year grantees dominant — relationship-based grantmaking

## Peer Comparison: Health Conversion Foundations in the Chicago Metro Area

Key Differentiators for HCF:

1. Largest asset base among peer health conversion foundations in the Chicago metro, at $117.5M vs. CMF's $102.3M.

2. Higher annual grantmaking intensity: HCF disbursed $12.1M in FY2024 vs. CMF's ~$5–7M range, making HCF more active relative to assets.

3. Multi-year, unrestricted funding: HCF's 5-year GOS cohort ($22.25M commitment) is more ambitious than typical project-grant peers. CMF offers 1–2 year grants with reporting requirements.

4. Racial and immigrant equity focus: HCF explicitly centers Latino, immigrant, and BIPOC-serving organizations as priority grantees — a more explicit equity frame than most peer foundations.

5. Trust-based philanthropy model: Simplified reporting, power-sharing practices, and relationship-based grantmaking distinguish HCF from more transactional health foundations.

6. Tighter geography, deeper investment: HCF's 5-mile radius constraint means it funds fewer organizations but with more substantial, longer-term commitments than geographically broader peers.

## Recent Activity & News (2024–2026)

2024: Landmark 5-Year Cohort Launch HCF's most significant grantmaking move in its history: launching 5-year renewable partnerships with 32 organizations, committing $22.25 million in unrestricted general operating support over 2024–2029. This move doubled down on trust-based philanthropy and locked in relationships with the foundation's highest-impact anchor partners.

2024: $6.98 Million Annual Grant Round In 2024, HCF invested $6.98 million to strengthen health equity across Chicago and the western suburbs — its largest single-year grant round. This included both the first-year GOS cohort payments and additional one-year grants to emerging partners.

2025: $6.235 Million Awarded - Year 2 of 5-year GOS partnerships: $4.45M to 32 anchor organizations - One-year grants: $1.785M to 37 organizations - Responsive Funding portal closed for remainder of 2025

2026: No New Annual Cycle HCF announced it will not open a new annual grantmaking cycle in 2026. The foundation is focused on deepening its commitment to existing 5-year partnerships (Year 3) and not accepting new or returning applications for one-year grants. This is a strategic consolidation phase.

Leadership Recognition President Maria Socorro Pesqueira was named a Notable Latino Leader by Crain's Chicago Business in 2024 and has been a featured voice at national philanthropy conferences including SXSW (2022) and Grantmakers in Health events.

Financial Context The FY2024 990 filing shows $12.1M in grants paid against $11.3M in revenue — HCF is intentionally drawing down its $117.5M endowment to maintain grantmaking levels during a period of lower investment returns. Total expenses of $12.6M reflect active spending despite revenue constraints.

Advocacy Position HCF is a member of Grantmakers in Health and the Illinois Immigration Funder Collaborative, reflecting its commitment to both healthcare access and immigrant rights as intertwined health equity issues.

## Application Tips & Strategy

Current Status (April 2026) HCF is NOT accepting new general grant applications in 2026. The annual one-year grant cycle has been suspended, and the Responsive Funding portal is closed. However, organizations should still prepare thoroughly for the next cycle opening.

For the Next Cycle Opening:

1. Live in the geography — demonstrate it with data HCF funds only organizations where at least 20% of individuals served live in the 27-zip code service region (western Cook County suburbs and Chicago near west side, within 5 miles of Berwyn/MacNeal Hospital). Pinpoint your service ZIP codes and quantify what share falls within HCF's footprint. This is a hard eligibility cutoff.

2. Center racial equity and immigrant health explicitly HCF's grant history is dominated by Latino-serving organizations, immigrant rights groups, and BIPOC-led community health providers. Frame your work through an explicit racial health equity lens — not just "underserved populations" but named communities (Latino, immigrant, Muslim, Black, etc.) with specific disparities your work addresses.

3. Request general operating support if eligible HCF strongly prefers GOS over project grants. Multi-year GOS partners receive substantially larger grants ($200K+) than one-year project applicants ($50K median). Make the case for why sustained organizational investment — not project funding — will advance health equity.

4. Demonstrate community leadership and trust HCF's trust-based model means they want to fund organizations with deep community roots, lived-experience leadership, and authentic relationships. Board and staff diversity, community advisory roles, and participatory decision-making will strengthen any proposal.

5. Address social determinants directly HCF funds healthcare access AND the underlying social determinants — housing instability, food insecurity, legal status barriers, economic mobility. Organizations bridging clinical care with social services are especially competitive.

6. Engage before applying Given HCF's relationship-based model, attending community convenings, following their blog, and connecting with program staff before submitting a formal application significantly improves outcomes. Cold applications from unfamiliar organizations are less competitive.

7. Build toward Bold Investment potential Bold Investments are invitation-only, but organizations can position themselves by: building a track record as a one-year grantee, participating in HCF convenings, demonstrating systems-change potential, and being visible in policy and advocacy spaces HCF monitors.

8. For emergencies: contact directly With the Responsive Funding portal closed, HCF has indicated it will consider urgent emergency requests submitted via direct contact (administration@hcfdn.org, 708-443-5674). Document the urgent need clearly.