Humana Foundation Quarterly Newsletter

The Humana Foundation's Senior Council advisory board convened on Wednesday, Feb. 28, for its quarterly conference call. Representatives from the Humana Foundation’s focus geographies discussed health equity issues and brainstormed potential solutions for the communities they serve. This productive dialogue highlighted key areas in which the Humana Foundation can enhance its programming to improve well-being among its populations across its commitment areas.

The topics, by focus geography, included:

• Florida: Food insecurity
• Louisiana: Healthy living/eating for school-aged children
• Louisville (KY): Substance use and teen mental health
• Texas: Mental health for school-aged children

The Humana Foundation understands the funding landscape is increasingly challenging and uncertain, making the work of nonprofits even more crucial. That's why the Foundation has implemented two grant cycles (Early Access and Regular Access), aiming to make the process of applying more transparent, inclusive and equitable. We're keeping our nonprofit communities at the forefront of our process.

The Foundation hosted an informational webinar prior to opening its Early Access Grant Cycle. Several key Foundation leaders spoke to potential grantees on a variety of important topics like the new open grant application periods, Foundation target populations and priority geographies, key definitional terms that guide application reviews and tips for completing a successful application.

Nearly 600 registrants attended the webinar and many more accessed a recording of the virtual learning session via the Humana Foundation’s online grant portal. The Foundation also provided potential partners with a sample application, FAQ resource and user guide to ensure applicants were well-equipped to apply for funding.

The Humana Foundation will open its Regular Access grant cycle on April 1. All eligible organizations are encouraged to apply; however, the Foundation focuses its funding on projects addressing mental health needs or advancing nutrition for seniors, veterans and/or school-aged children in Florida, Louisiana, Louisville (KY) and/or Texas.

BACKGROUND: Generations United champions the cause of enhancing mental health access for grand families through the support of community-based organizations like Children’s Home Network (CHN) in Florida and Grandparents Raising Grandchildren (GRG) Information Center of Louisiana.

THE NEWS: CHN and GRG utilized funds from the Humana Foundation to increase capacity building efforts and provide both peer support and technical assistance to grand families. CHN introduced a "caregiver self-care check-in" within its Florida support groups to foster better communication and community links, while GRG broadened its impact in Louisiana by initiating new support groups in several counties and engaging with community and state leaders.

WHY IT MATTERS:

• The programming significantly contributed to the well-being of both caregivers and children by fostering stronger community ties and enhancing access to mental health services.
• The expansion of support groups and strategic engagements with legislative bodies underscore a deepening commitment to the multifaceted needs of grand families, showcasing a model of care that can be replicated across different states.

WHAT’S NEXT: Generations United will continue to work with local and national partners to raise awareness about the need for local, state and national investments in supportive services for grand families from both the government and private sector partnerships.

LOUISVILLE, KY – The Humana Foundation announced the recipients of its first-ever research grants in service of the Foundation’s health equity strategy. The research undertaken by the following university partners will examine barriers to healthy emotional connections and approaches to nutrition, and explore the relationship between these issues and chronic disease:

• UNC Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health
• UNC Chapel Hill School of Social Work
• University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
• Yale School of Medicine

Awards of $250,000 each were presented to the university partners.

“The Humana Foundation is proud to support solutions-focused research that contributes to national health equity as a core part of the new strategy we announced at the beginning of the year,” said Tiffany Benjamin, CEO of the Humana Foundation. “We’re generating knowledge that translates into practical, scalable solutions for removing the barriers that prevent people from living connected, healthy lives.”