RWJF

In collaboration with People's Television and in partnership with Upworthy, we invite you to join the exclusive virtual premiere of ‘From Hope to Home,’ a groundbreaking documentary series that illuminates the human impact of America's housing crisis. ? ? As RWJF continues its mission to dismantle structural barriers to health, this series exemplifies how community-driven solutions are key to shaping a future where every person has access to safe, affordable housing. Join us for the screening and Q&A panel moderated by Upworthy’s Vice President Lucia Knell and featuring housing experts from Grounded Solutions Network, Fair Share Housing Center, and Four Bands Community Fund. When: Tuesday, April 1, 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.?ET Where: Virtual? Register here: https://rwjf.ws/5WRL4s ? ? The premiere coincides with National Fair Housing Month, a time to elevate the importance of protecting all people from housing discrimination and promote equal opportunity. While the U.S. still has unfair systems that perpetuate racial wealth and homeownership gaps, the ‘From Hope to Home’ short film series underscores the message that everyone deserves housing that is affordable, safe, and accessible, so they can live their healthiest lives.

At a time when many of our shared values are under assault, it was energizing to be in conversation with Edgar Villanueva, RWJF Trustee and CEO of the Decolonizing Wealth Project and Glen Galaich, CEO of the Stupski Foundation, about encouraging our philanthropic peers to do more to respond to the moment we’re in. ? As a privileged white man, I feel motivated by my privilege to speak up, knowing the risk to those we fund is much greater than any I face. To that point, I was particularly inspired by Vanessa Priya Daniel’s closing remarks encouraging those of us in philanthropy to “sing in the key of courage.” If those with privilege don’t sing in the key of courage, then who??If we don’t speak out now, then when? ? All our stated values, principles, missions, and visions become shallow talking points if not put into action during times like these.?Admittedly, RWJF won’t get it all right.?But we are committed to doing what those with privilege should do during times such as these.?And we salute our peers who are doing the same.? ? With clarity and solidarity, we can build a better future for everyone in this nation. ? ? Watch the full recording of the fourth edition of #PhilanthropySoWhite here: https://lnkd.in/eyASQ7AT

Sharing Aaron Seybert's post about yesterday's executive order that eliminated the CDFI Fund. https://lnkd.in/eKQSJMZQ In 2024, Congress appropriated ~ $300M to the Fund. What does $300M buy in terms of kitchen table economics? Affordable homes built. Jobs created. Childcare slots available for working families. Increased revenue for small business owners. Utility bills savings. It adds up to more money for families to invest in what's important to them -- like music lessons, dental visits, fresh food or a family vacation. ?? Add your concrete, kitchen table example below and show the value that America's families get from a $300M investment. One example from a RWJF Borrower: A CDFI acquired 16 single family loans that were in default and at risk of foreclosure ?? All families received financial counseling. ?? 4 families avoided foreclosure, their kids stayed in school kept playing on their Little League team; their parents kept their jobs and kept paying property taxes that fund public education in their community. The American Dream of homeownership preserved. ?? Follow Impact Investments at RWJF for more about RWJF's investments in CDFIs.

Advancing health equity hinges on understanding the missteps of our past and doing better into the future. As the Foundation continues its Truth, Repair and Transformation (TRT) process, we are working to redress harmful patterns in our work and build deeper trust and accountability to communities most impacted by health inequities.? RWJF is embarking on the next step of this process by establishing the TRT Wisdom Council. This advisory group of leaders in public health, racial, economic, and gender justice, community organizing, and reparative philanthropy will partner with us to deepen our still emerging practice of truth-telling and centering repair and transformation on communities most affected by structural racism and other barriers to health, so that our work across grantmaking, investments, and internal culture is more impactful for all.? As fundamental truths about this country’s legacies of colonization and racial capitalism are challenged, even as these same harmful legacies are now being consolidated, I’m proud to lead a TRT process and with partners committed to learning from history, telling the truth, and pursuing equity. The work of ushering in a just, equitable future has never been more critical.?? ? Thank you to our Wisdom Council members for holding us accountable to truth, repair and transformation as essential conditions in the pursuit of a future where health is no longer a privilege, but a right, for everyone. Read more about the TRT Wisdom Council and other updates from our TRT work: https://rwjf.ws/ik1fX5??

How would SNAP benefit cuts impact people in your community? This new analysis shows that if broad cuts to SNAP move forward, benefits will fail to cover the cost of a modestly priced meal in *every* county in the U.S. No one in this country should be going hungry, especially our kids and grandkids—and this study goes to show just how critical SNAP is to food security nationwide. I’m grateful to the researchers and data visualizers at the Urban Institute for putting this together. Explore the data to see just how wide the gap is between the maximum SNAP benefit and the average cost of a meal in your state: https://lnkd.in/ez8PHnwq

Owning a home can help families achieve greater economic stability, improve wellbeing, and contribute to better health. But sometimes, when a home or property is passed down to family members without the proper paperwork or estate plans, it can be hard to prove who owns it. Right now, more than $32 billion worth of property across the nation is tied up in heirs’ property, leaving too many families missing the wealth-building potential and security that inheriting property can offer. Addressing heirs’ property, otherwise known as “tangled titles,” is one crucial way to preserve homeownership for millions of people across the U.S., especially Black and Brown families. The Howard University Heirs’ Property and Estate Planning Clinic helps clients untangle their titles and trains the next generation of lawyers to have the skills needed to address heirs’ property challenges, prevent Black property loss, and protect the accumulation of generational wealth. RWJF is proud to support this work as part of our Impact Investments strategy to advance health and racial equity through homeownership preservation. Stay connected to our work by following Impact Investments at RWJF.

Every person deserves safe, respectful, and dignified care across the full spectrum of reproductive health. Black midwives have long been the heart of maternal care, ensuring that birthing people, their babies, and families are nurtured with skill, wisdom, and care. On Black Midwives Day, we honor the legacy of the Grand Midwives—the caretakers and community pillars who brought generations into the world during slavery and into emancipation. Even in the harshest conditions, they caught babies, cared for mothers, and maintained ancestry records. Their wisdom and holistic approach to birth sustained families when hospitals were out of reach, and their traditions continue to shape midwifery today. Now, Black midwives and birthworkers are carrying forward this legacy by ensuring safe births and reimagining what community-centered care can be. I’m proud to commemorate this incredible community of caregivers by sharing some of their stories: https://lnkd.in/gbaWkEJZ?

Research isn’t done just for the sake of it. Every life-saving vaccine, every treatment for cancer or heart disease, and every health-promoting policy that we take for granted today exists because researchers dedicated their careers to studying and finding solutions to these problems. But right now, the research that makes this kind of progress possible is under attack. Here are just a few examples we’ve seen this year: - Drastic cuts to medical research. - Erasing data and clinical guidelines from the CDC’s website. - Banning entire words like “women,” “disability,” “Black,” and “socioeconomic” from federal grant proposals. Fewer grants mean fewer breakthroughs. Slashing indirect costs—which pay for lab space, internet, and electricity—means that some research teams will struggle to keep the lights on. Literally. For now, these cuts have been blocked by a judge, but the fight isn’t over. And if researchers can’t access the data they need or are forbidden from naming the inequities they study, how can they identify solutions to address them? Suppressing information and censoring language doesn’t make problems go away—it only ensures they remain unaddressed. These attacks undermine decades of progress toward health equity and threaten not just researchers, but every person who benefits from medical breakthroughs, public health advancements, and evidence-based policymaking. We cannot afford to turn our backs on science and progress. If we want a future where health is no longer a privilege for some, but a right for all, we must act now to protect and defend the research that makes that future possible.

Please join RWJF for a live conversation on Monday, March 17, at 3:30 P.M. EST to explore the complexities of intergenerational caregiving in immigrant families. Register now for this important conversation between Adriana Cadena, MPA of the Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition, henny ohr of Refugee & Immigrant Voices in Action (RIVA), and me! Sign up here: https://bit.ly/4i9rwa4