Health Improvement Grants is sponsored by Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust. Focuses on equitable access to care, equitable health systems, and rural health solutions for North Carolinians with low incomes.

Grantmaking - Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust Our Approach to Grantmaking We invest our grantmaking dollars to support systems change efforts by recognizing the power that already exists in community and supporting their efforts to improve health, education, and economic outcomes.

We collaborate with communities with low incomes, communities of color, and foundation and system partners to increase our collective impact as we work for change. We name specific goals and strategies to guide our work because we believe focusing on outcomes is the most effective way to achieve long-term sustainable systems change. We believe equity is a process and an outcome.

Our grantmaking strategies include investing in data collection and research, advocacy and education, network building, capacity building, and convening. Activating Systems Change We’re interested in grant applications from organizations that are working to change the systems that have historically, and often intentionally, held people back.

This work can be focused on changing organizations within or across the system, or supporting a shift in the way that a community makes decisions about policies, programs, and the allocation of its resources.

At the organizational level, systems change support includes: Individual or organizational capacity building Quality improvement or organizational effectiveness Improved coordination and alignment within a body of work or across a system At the community, state, and federal level, systems change support includes: Advocacy and policy reform Research and public education Communications and community engagement Improving the built environment where people live, work, and play We know some of the best ideas have yet to be tried.

We support the development of fresh ideas and new ways to implement solutions or more disruptive systems change, including: Piloting and testing new ideas to gather evidence on their effectiveness Incubating and trying innovative strategies that while unproven, sow the seeds for change Types of Strategic Grantmaking All Trust grantmaking serves our guiding vision: thriving communities, thriving residents, equitable access to care, and equitable health outcomes.

Responsive grants enable us to be flexible and may serve emerging needs or lead to more outcomes-focused grantmaking. Our Grantmaking Strategies We leverage a variety of strategies to advance our goals. We use these across all programs, initiatives, and bodies of work.

Conduct community-based evaluation, research, and planning that engages residents in the process to collect data, identify gaps, and determine best practices to address goals. Build community, organizational, and individual capacity in areas with low incomes so that historically marginalized populations can participate in health improvement efforts.

Conduct broad-based communications, community education, and advocacy efforts that advance the goal. Implement community-led approaches to accomplish the goal. Pilot innovative approaches that potentially advance the goal.

Identify and promote state-level strategies that support place-based goals. Convene, facilitate, and coordinate stakeholders to collectively address the goal. This could include better coordination within and across systems and regularly convening community partners.