Reimagining the Future of Community Health
We’re seeking bold leaders who want to invest in the transformation of community health and advance equity.
Contact us at info@buildhealthchallenge.org for more information.
The Invitation
Over the past year, The BUILD Health Challenge (BUILD) brought together foundations, community leaders, hospital and health system representatives, public health departments, and others from across the country to reimagine the future of community health across the country – a vision that fosters systems-level changes centered in racial equity and co-developed with communities.
With this goal in mind, BUILD continues to prioritize the advancement of racial justice and the strengthening of community power. By galvanizing the momentum of the our network of 68 collaboratives, BUILD is poised to help break down the systemic barriers that prevent better health for all.
As the nation recovers from an unprecedented era of challenge, there is a critical need, and window of opportunity, to dramatically improve the systems that impact community health. BUILD invites you to partner with us in this design process. Together, we can foster a more equitable future for community health.
By catalyzing and learning across multisector, community-driven partnerships, BUILD is helping to advance health equity by moving resources, action, and attention upstream. In a single cohort, BUILD awarded communities reported 58 different systems level changes involving funding, organizational practices, and legislative policies. Communities also secured an additional $29 million in external funding and support over the course of 2.5 years.
Learn more about BUILD’s impact since 2015.
Advantages to Joining BUILD’s Funding Collaborative
- Leverage Your Organization’s Resources: By partnering with others with a shared goal of identifying bold solutions to address the social determinants of health, BUILD’s funders strive to accomplish what might not otherwise be possible in a traditional grant format.
- Access Exclusive Learnings: By supporting one or more communities through BUILD, funders gain access to learnings from the entire cohort, including lessons learned from past awardees. BUILD’s evaluation and monitoring arm is creating an evidence base for scaling impact.
- Listen. Learn. Lead.: By bringing together funders, communities, and leaders from across sectors to learn together, BUILD is designed to help funding collaborative members identify key leverage points for change and share insights more broadly across sectors.
Read about the Funding Collaborative experience from BUILD funders in their Foundation Review Journal piece: “Is More Always Better? A Reflection on the Dynamic Nature of Nationally and Regionally Focused Funder Collaboratives”
BUILD Funding Collaborative Members
BUILD launched in 2015 with the generous support and leadership of five original funding collaborative members. Since then, we have been joined by more than 15 innovative partners.
Read more about BUILD’s partners.
What do people have to say about BUILD?
“This is the beginning of a shift in the way that we think about providing health care to our community.”
– Claire Richmond, project manager for the BUILD Health grant in Des Moines“I’ve been in this field for a very long time and the BUILD Health Challenge grant was like a breath of fresh air… This was the first one that really challenges hospitals to say, “Alright, you need to get upstream on this stuff.” I think it’s kind of a ground breaking grant process that’s going on right now.”
– Chris McCarthy, Community Health Project Manager at UnityPoint Health-Des Moines“Ever since BUILD Health came on the scene, it’s had our attention. It’s ambitious, integrative, and it’s taking aim at a huge roadblock to implementing basic health care improvements in this country: data. […] There’s some real firepower behind this thing.”
– Kristina Strain, columnist at Inside Philanthropy“All of my expectations have been met and more. I really appreciate – and I know that our team appreciates – the support and resources we are receiving.”
– A BUILD Health partner at a community-based nonprofit spoke highly of the technical assistance and learning collaboratives offered through BUILD