Foundation work in long-term care.

Health foundations have invested in services, research, and advocacy to improve the financing and delivery of long-term services and supports. This article describes some of the broad array of approaches they have taken--in such areas as aging in place, assisted living, "culture change" in nursing homes, quality improvement, augmenting the workforce, and paying for care.

Foundations' roles in transforming the mental health care system.

This paper highlights topics explored in a meeting of health grantmakers and mental health experts convened by America's HealthTogether in February 2006. The meeting's aim was to review the evidence on the burden of mental illness, explore the causes and consequences of a poorly functioning mental health care system, and stimulate discussion about philanthropy's role in responding to a national call for transformation of that system. The meeting identified several priorities for foundation work.

Child health: fertile ground for philanthropic investment.

Children and youth are the focus for many foundations and corporate-giving programs working in the health field. Total foundation giving targeted to children and youth more than doubled during the late 1990s; in 2000, health accounted for 25 percent of philanthropic dollars invested in this population. This funding covers a broad range of child health issues but clusters in four key areas-promoting healthy behavior, improving access to care and expanding insurance coverage, strengthening mental health services, and addressing the broader determinants of health.