A message from Foundation President and CEO Dr. Amie Shei:
In the waning days of 2022, I wanted to share some reflections on this past year.
In the spring, the Foundation marked a significant milestone with the retirement of founding President and CEO Dr. Jan Yost following nearly 23 years of incredible service to this community. Her impact – both within the walls of the Foundation’s office and outside – is still felt deeply, and her unwavering dedication to improving health in Central Massachusetts continues to inspire me and to shape the ways in which I lead this Foundation.
Despite being a relatively small, regional foundation, we continue to have an outsized impact in the region and in the field of health philanthropy. In June, Dr. Yost was recognized for her many contributions to the field with the Terrance Keenan Leadership Award in Health Philanthropy at the Grantmakers In Health (GIH) annual conference. In October, I had the opportunity to serve as a faculty member at the GIH Terrance Keenan Institute for Emerging Leaders in Health Philanthropy and share my experiences with the next generation of leaders in health philanthropy as they seek to create a more just and equitable world. The Foundation’s grants and grantmaking approach were highlighted in presentations at the national conferences of the American Public Health Association and the American Evaluation Association this fall. And throughout the year, we consulted with other foundations interested in our grantmaking approach, elevating the importance of evaluation, advocacy, and community-driven strategies in achieving sustained impacts.
The Foundation’s grant awards totaled $3.4 million this year, our largest annual grantmaking distribution to date, bringing the cumulative impact to over $52 million in grants to 220 unique organizations since the Foundation’s launch in 1999. We have been fortunate to welcome several co-funding partners this year, which has enabled us to further expand our impact. And we are especially humbled that the Central Massachusetts Independent Physicians Association (CMIPA) Foundation entrusted us with a $500,000 gift earlier this year to invest in improving health in Central Massachusetts. That gift was applied towards this year’s Activation Fund, which funded a total of $900,000 in grants to 11 organizations. (The Foundation’s 501(c)(3) affiliate, The Health Foundation Fund, enables us to receive tax-deductible donations from individuals and organizations interested in contributing to our work.)
In addition, we invested an additional $1.8 million in our Round 5 Synergy Initiative projects in 2022. We persisted in raising awareness of regional inequities across Massachusetts, including but not limited to safe drinking water and rural transportation. We were relentless in our pursuit of legislative solutions to address long-standing drinking water inequities, and we came very close to securing financial assistance for low-income homeowners with contaminated private wells, as all Massachusetts residents deserve to have safe drinking water regardless of where they live. We continued to strategize with our partners on how best to support the educators and caregivers who care for some of the most vulnerable among us (e.g., children who have experienced trauma, including those in foster care). We also invested in the campaign to have the Community Preservation Act adopted in Worcester (which was successful in November and which will yield $3 to $4 million annually for local projects to create affordable housing, preserve open space and historic sites, and develop outdoor recreational facilities in Worcester) and in the effort to proactively prepare for and respond to the end of the federal COVID-19 public health emergency and the widespread MassHealth redetermination effort that will follow (more to come on this in 2023).
Within the organization, we welcomed a new Vice President for Programs (Kathy Mills, PhD) and celebrated the promotions of two long-serving team members (16 ½ years each!) to Director of Finance and Administration (Michelle Ewing) and Grants and Operations Manager (Daniel Germain). Our small but mighty team is rounded out by our talented Senior Program Officer (Jennie Blake, MSW).
A year ago at this time, I could not fully imagine all that would be in store for me and for the Foundation in 2022. I feel the same way now, knowing that 2023 will bring new opportunities, challenges, and partnerships that I cannot yet fathom, and I look forward to the new year with eager anticipation.
In closing, I share a brief passage from Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, which I included in my remarks at Dr. Yost’s retirement celebration in March:
“…I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come.”
Let us take a moment here to rest together, to rejoice in all that has been accomplished, and to recommit to the journey ahead. We have many more hills to climb. See you in 2023!
