2025 Encoding Health Equity Summit - Funding Health Equity: The Role of Philanthropy During Challenging Times-Funding Health Equity: The Role of Philanthropy During Challenging Times

Video Transcription

Video Summary

Two accomplished panelists, Katherine Haynes and Lori Safran, discuss their work in philanthropy during the session. Katherine, a senior program officer at the California Healthcare Foundation, focuses on improving California's healthcare system, particularly for underrepresented communities and Medi-Cal enrollees. Her portfolio advances black health equity and addresses maternal mortality disparities, with a strong emphasis on integrating equity into healthcare quality.<br /><br />Lori, a senior VP at the Commonwealth Fund, is driven to transform healthcare. Her foundation focuses on a high-performing U.S. healthcare system through policy and system changes, concentrating on cost, coverage, equity, and care delivery. Lori's efforts in maternal health emphasize community-led birthing models and standardizing postpartum care.<br /><br />The panelists highlighted challenges in navigating vulnerable grantees, especially those reliant on federal funds in potentially unwelcoming regions. They emphasized philanthropy's roles in funding, convening, evaluating, and advocating.<br /><br />The discussion also touched upon the vast philanthropic ecosystem that supports different causes, and the need for partnerships beyond traditional boundaries, citing potential collaborations with life science companies. Both Katherine and Lori underline the importance of evidence-based approaches and the critical role of research in shaping future philanthropic strategies.

Keywords

philanthropy

healthcare equity

maternal health

policy changes

community-led models

federal funding

partnerships

evidence-based research