Sacramento and Merced – Today, Sierra Health Foundation Center for Health Program Management announced nearly $500,000 awarded to 27 organizations working to improve health and reduce health disparities in the San Joaquin Valley through policy and systems change. A full list of organizations that received funding through the San Joaquin Valley Health Fund can be found here.

The San Joaquin Valley Health Fund was launched in the fall of 2014 to strengthen the capacity of communities and organizations in the Valley and is supported by Sierra Health Foundation, The California Endowment and the Rosenberg Foundation. Following the launch, a San Joaquin Valley Health Fund Briefing Paper and Mapping Report were released highlighting the Valley’s challenges and opportunities.

In December 2014, the Center for Health Program Management received 100 proposals totaling approximately $1.9 million in requests in response to the first release of request for proposals. Proposals were received from all eight targeted San Joaquin Valley counties – Fresno, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Tulare. Approximately 20 percent of the proposals were for programs related to access to health services, 20 percent for healthy youth development and 20 percent for community safety. The remaining proposals focused on issues ranging from housing to food security.

“Now is an opportune time to invest in the San Joaquin Valley,” said Sierra Health Foundation Center for Health Program Management President and CEO Chet Hewitt. “Each of the selected grantees provided powerful proposals and we look forward to working with them to improve health equity in their communities.”

“It’s important for funders to support and embrace the fine work that is happening in the San Joaquin Valley,” said The California Endowment President and CEO Robert K. Ross, MD. “These grantees are working toward sustainable change and improved health outcomes. We must support them in their efforts to advance their capacity to the next level.”

“We are pleased to be a partner in the San Joaquin Valley Health Fund to advance equity in the region,” said Rosenberg Foundation President Tim Silard. “By addressing severe inequities, and promoting civic participation and systems change, these grantees are ultimately helping to ensure the future prosperity of all Californians.”

All awarded organizations will participate in grantee meetings and an initiative-wide evaluation. The first San Joaquin Valley Health Fund grantee learning community meeting will take place on March 26 Fresno.

For more information about the San Joaquin Valley Health Fund, please visit the Center for Health Program Management’s web site here.
The Center for Health Program Management works to reduce health disparities in underserved communities. With commitment, creativity and collaboration, the Center promotes efforts to eradicate health inequities across California. www.shfcenter.org

Sierra Health Foundation is a private philanthropy investing in and serving as a catalyst for ideas, partnerships and programs that improve health and quality of life in Northern California through convening, educating and grantmaking. www.sierrahealth.org

The California Endowment is a private, statewide health foundation with a mission to expand access to affordable, quality health care for underserved individuals and communities, and to promote fundamental improvements in the health status of all Californians. www.calendow.org

The Rosenberg Foundation is a private philanthropy that believes that in order for democracy to thrive in our state and nation, every person in California must have fair and equitable opportunities to participate fully in the state’s economic, social, and political life. www.rosenbergfound.org