2023 Annual report
Welcome to our 2023 Annual Report
From our board chair and president
On behalf of our board of directors and our team, we are pleased to share with you Point32Health Foundation’s 2023 Annual Report—which reflects the promise of community power and the wisdom of following community lead.
Centering community and building trust are core values in how we do our work.
We act on what we hear, what we learn and how community wants us to respond. This means expanding outreach to organizations led by and serving communities of color; easing administrative requirements for grants and continuing to be mutually accountable in our investments. We’ve made it simple for nonprofit organizations to engage with our team. We model inclusive language and behaviors to reduce implicit bias. We hold ourselves accountable. All this to advance equity and fulfill our purpose to “work with communities to support, advocate and advance healthier lives for everyone.”
As the philanthropic arm of Point32Health, and its family of companies, including Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Tufts Health Plan and Care Partners of Connecticut, we continue to build on the legacy and reputation established through a long history of authentic engagement and trust.
What follows are the stats and stories of Point32Health Foundation’s investments—159 grants totaling $8.1+ million in 2023. The stories embrace a new narrative but an old truth, that those most proximate to the issues find creative solutions to have deeper impact.
Thank you for walking with us on this journey to being a stronger, more relevant Point32Health Foundation.
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Nora Moreno Cargie
President, Point32Health Foundation
Vice President, Corporate Citizenship, Point32HealthGreg Shell
Chair, Point32Health Foundation
Partner, Goldman Sachs
Our purpose
Point32Health Foundation works with communities to support, advocate and advance healthier lives for everyone.
Community investments in five states
$8.1M to 159 organizations in 2023
to organizations supporting healthy aging, including changing inequitable policies and systems
to increase access to affordable, nutritious food and create a more just, resilient and sustainable food system
to community-based mental health programs
to advance social and racial equity
Our north star
Communities that thrive, are great places to grow up and grow old, and everyone experiences equitable health outcomes.
Trust-based approach centers community
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What is trust-based philanthropy?
By adopting the practices of trust-based philanthropy, Point32Health Foundation has committed to listening and engaging in ways that are relevant to reaching our north star.
Rooted in the idea of trusted and open relationships, this approach centers what communities want and need. By redefining power dynamics, evolving partnership roles and building mutually accountable relationships, we advance equity in aging – the Foundation’s key multi-year philanthropic focus.
We meet community organizations where they are, remain responsive and transparent, and engage in relevant ways.
Photo courtesy of Leadership Rhode Island.
Bold commitment to food justice
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Funding solutions for today and tomorrow
Point32Health and Point32Health Foundation stepped up in response to the White House Challenge to End Hunger and Build Healthy Communities. Point32Health Foundation grants totaling more than $1.5 million went to 46 community organizations addressing food insecurity in New England. Point32Health expanded its matching gift and volunteer time off programs to amplify colleague contributions to nonprofit organizations doing this work.
Stories from community
Where all of us can belong
“New Hampshire communities are surfacing real solutions to our most persistent challenges.” And the New Hampshire Center for Justice and Equity is building on these insights to create a “vibrant, flourishing, just and equitable N.H. for all.” The group fosters connection by convening and organizing; supports “policies and programs that reflect N.H.’s realities and values” by informing and educating; offers training to strengthen and support the justice and equity network; and distributes resources to build and bolster communities.
Photo courtesy of New Hampshire Center for Justice and Equity.
$100,000 | two years
Of, by and for community
A New Bedford, Mass., initiative is rooted in community and committed to getting resources to the people who need them most. In collaboration with the New Bedford Health Department, YWCA, and Health Resources in Action, Partners In Health (PIH) is convening a Health Equity Community of Practice with trusted community leaders from more than 70 organizations. The group works to understand community needs, build advocacy capacity and advance policy and systemic change collectively. Three health priorities have emerged from this work—access to healthcare, mental health and civic engagement—grounded in root cause analysis and local evaluation of the social determinants of health. With community at the forefront, tangible policy change is the goal. PIH hopes to use the health equity community of practice model in other communities around the country.
Photo by Zack DeClerck / PIH
$225,000 | three years
Cultivating food justice
At Liberation Farms, the Somali Bantu Community Association promotes “food justice, community building, and education in the form of inter-cultural and inter-generational exchange and reciprocal learning of farming traditions.” Working together, Somali Bantu farmers in Lewiston, Maine, sell crops to food pantries, shelters and schools, increasing access to healthy, culturally relevant food in Maine. The story was featured in the Boston Globe.
Photo courtesy of Somali Bantu Community Association.
$90,000 | two years
Safe, stable housing for all
Housing is one of the most critical social determinants of health—affecting physical wellbeing, mental health and cognitive development. That is why the Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness collaborates with advocates, providers and faith-based organizations to prevent and end homelessness. The day-to-day work includes managing the state’s data collection system, coordinating placements and staffing a statewide help center. Policy initiatives address the root causes of homelessness, including improved access to permanent supportive housing for older Rhode Islanders.
Photo courtesy of Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness.
Advocacy and action
Keep the Promise Coalition is a “grassroots group of advocates with lived experience, working to ensure that a comprehensive and compassionate mental health system is provided for people of all ages and needs.” The Connecticut-based group cultivates compassionate leaders, strengthening community voices and organizations to power change. By nurturing relationships and building connections, they inspire community-based solutions to improve the mental health system and make more services and supports available in community settings.
Photo courtesy of Keep the Promise.
Centering equity in aging
From Boston to the Berkshires, Massachusetts cities and towns are creating inclusive communities that work for people of all ages—making the state a national leader in the age-friendly movement. Regional planning, housing and transportation leaders, economic development councils, local leaders and older people are working together to design community-led solutions. In this podcast, produced in collaboration with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs and the Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative, you’ll hear community leaders share stories of aging reimagined.
$250,000 | five years
How general operating support builds momentum
Community organizations need flexibility. General operating grants make it possible for nonprofits to pivot and adapt. Funding this way allows organizations to respond as community needs and priorities evolve. Unrestricted funds can also streamline budgeting and other administrative tasks while creating opportunities to pursue other resources.
Impact examples from grantees:
Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative, AgeSpan and 10 other partner organizations received a $3 million grant from Massachusetts Broadband Institute to promote digital equity in 70+ communities in Eastern and Central Massachusetts. The funding expands training services, increases awareness of online fraud and helps older adults previously enrolled in the Affordable Connectivity Program connect to other low-cost internet plans.
Full Plates Full Potential was one of only four organizations nationwide chosen to help transform school meals through USDA’s Healthy Meals Incentive program. Full Plates was awarded $10 million to invest in Maine to significantly increase the use of local ingredients in school meals and ensure school nutrition workers have the skills and equipment needed to make the most of these ingredients.
Groundwork Bridgeport and the University of Chicago Data Science Institute received a five-year $1.7 million grant from the USDA Forest Service. The funding is being used to develop systems to inventory trees, identify planting locations and advance equity efforts in Bridgeport, Conn. The work focuses on communities that are underserved and overburdened by pollution.
Mandela Yoga received a research infrastructure grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The $287,500 grant supports an effort to improve health outcomes for patients of color by resourcing them with tools and compensation to be greater agents in their own healing and leaders in their communities.
Convenings forge connections and learning
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Networks critical as organizations develop
To strengthen New England’s age-friendly movement and celebrate the region’s successes, we invited Alexandre Kalache, MD, PhD, MSc, an international age-friendly expert, to share his insights and participate in discussions with community partners. During virtual events hosted by Age Friendly Rhode Island, Connecticut Age Well Collaborative, Maine Council on Aging, Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative and New Hampshire Alliance for Healthy Aging, leaders in the age-friendly movement connected, collaborated and shared ideas to make New England a great place to grow up and grow old. The webinars were coordinated with the Age-Friendly Institute.
Meet the Foundation board
Diverse community leaders with a commitment to advancing equity in the region we serve.
Get to know our team
Working with communities to support, advocate and advance healthier lives for everyone.
Learn about our community investments
Search for information about the nonprofit organizations we support.
Corporate Citizenship creates a community of care.
Service and giving programs support thriving communities
Volunteer Week: Together in community
Point32Health, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Tufts Health Plan and Care Partners of Connecticut advance community health and make a difference across the region through service and giving. During Volunteer Week, colleagues can choose to engage in ways that matter to them by volunteering with community organizations improving food security, supporting people experiencing homelessness, improving parks and public spaces, reducing social isolation and addressing other social determinants of health.
to local nonprofits through match program
volunteer service, valued at nearly $460K
donated since 2012 through Walk to End Alzheimer’s
Celebrating key milestones
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Donations surpassed $1 million in one day
Point32Health colleagues and board members leveraged the Foundation’s GivingTuesday double match to deliver more than $1 million to community nonprofits in 24 hours.
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Point32Health earns national ranking
Named one of the 50 most community-minded companies in the country for the fourth time.
Moving forward
Our commitment to equity in aging is firm.
When people of color, people living with disabilities, LGBTQ+ people and other people who face systemic barriers grow older, health disparities reflect disadvantages that have accumulated over a lifetime.
These guiding principles anchor our work:
- We invest in community-centered work.
- We shift power to those most proximate to the issues.
- We prioritize work to eliminate barriers and change inequitable policies and systems.
- We demonstrate trust and acknowledge the wisdom and insights of community leaders by making general operating grants.
- And we champion collaboration and inclusion—unwavering in our commitment to social and racial equity.