Kaiser Permanente Community Fund
An overwhelming body of research tells us clearly that health status is largely determined by factors outside of our health care system.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation covers the research well in their Overcoming Obstacles to Health report.
The United States ranks below most European countries in terms of indicators such as life expectancy and child mortality, as well as levels of inequality related to health status.
One of the leading advocates this area, Sir Michael Marmot, describes the issue well in this interview on the World Health Organisation website
Addressing social determinants of health is about compassion, fairness, and morality.
Social determinants also relate to health disparities around race, ethnicity, and socio-economics that exist in all areas of the nation, including the Northwest.
The Kaiser Permanente Community Fund (KPCF) at Northwest Health Foundation was established in late 2004 to advance the health of the communities served by Kaiser Permanente Northwest.
The Fund seeks to support community-based efforts to enhance social factors that promote health equity, and help eliminate those factors that contribute to health disparities.
Successful proposals have addressed topics as diverse as public safety, secure employment, environmental quality, social capital, affordable housing, and community organizing
A full list of previously funded projects can be found in our grants archive.
The Kaiser Permanente Community Fund is committed to promoting health equity and social justice through support of community-based organizations.
We know that people are getting sick everywhere from economic stress, poor nutrition, alcohol and drug abuse, unhealthy living situations, and many other factors that also lead people to die at relatively younger ages. We are looking for projects that try to prevent socially unheathy situations from happening in the first place or promote health in communities that need it.
If your organization is working in the KPCF funding region, and you have an idea for a project to improve your community’s health that is innovative, evidence-based, and collaborative, we invite you to apply for a grant in 2010.