Humana Foundation Edition Q4

A Word From Our CEO, Tiffany Benjamin

2023 was an amazing year! The year started with the Humana Foundation announcing a new strategy to eliminate barriers to equitable health. My amazing team, our board, and the people we serve, enabled a strategic direction to deliver measurable, impactful investments in the places where we have the integrity to accelerate change.

Of course, we couldn’t advance good health and equity in our communities without the assistance of Humana Inc. associates. Thousands of you were generous in 2023 and we continue to gain inspiration from your actions.

Innovative partners and strong investments defined 2023. We were beyond proud to join USAA and The USAA Foundation, as founding partners of the Face the Fight™ initiative, to raise awareness and support for veteran suicide prevention. In the years to come, we’ll work with a coalition of corporations, foundations and organizations, to break the stigma of seeking help and increase the conversation about the problem.

We were able to join multiple partners in the city where we were founded, to assist in community healing. In the wake of fatal shootings in Louisville, KY, we partnered with Greater Louisville Inc. to expand the number of mental healthcare providers and joined other prominent organizations to inspire youth ages 13-24 to “Be There” for their peers by earning certificates in mental health support. Louisville’s mayor boosted our efforts with proclaiming a week in October, “Be There Louisville Week.”

We launched the Humana Foundation Senior Council! The 14-member volunteer group consisting of both seniors 65+ and high school seniors, is inspiring our work and we love the enthusiasm of these dedicated community leaders.

We awarded 81 college scholarships to children of Humana associates, and we announced nutrition and mental health grants totaling $12.9 million to partners we admire and respect like San Antonio Food Bank, Older Adults Technology Services (OATS) from AARP, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, to name a few. We also donated nearly $400,000 to the organizations our associates care about most through our Dollars for Difference program, which launched in April 2023 providing donation dollars to associates who volunteer in their communities.

As the Humana Foundation embarks on its 42nd year of service and on behalf of my team, I wish our grantees, partners and friends, a healthy Holiday season and a prosperous New Year.

--Tiffany Benjamin

CEO, Humana Foundation

Advancing Ahead; Team Huddle

The Humana Foundation team recently huddled to reflect on accomplishments and learnings from this year and lay groundwork for 2024.

The team also rolled up its sleeves to volunteer with Dare to Care Food Bank at their Food Distribution Center, where Humana Foundation staff prepped food for delivery to be taken directly into the community to families in need.

The team purposefully blocked time for learning and reflection in anticipation of the next calendar year.

Next Grant Cycle Opens in Q1 of 2024

The Humana Foundation will open its next grant cycle in Q1, 2024. This opportunity marks a continuation of our commitment to fostering equity and healthier communities.

The new grant cycle opens doors for innovative projects and programs that align with our vision of well-being. All eligible organizations are encouraged to apply, however, we predominantly focus our grant funding in the geographical regions of Louisiana, Louisville, KY, Florida and Texas and in projects benefitting school-aged children, seniors and/or veterans.

For more details and application guidelines, visit our website or access our grant system directly.

Join us in helping people across the country live connected, healthier lives.

Humana Foundation Board Member

Caraline Coats

Caraline Coats, MHSA is Regional Market President for Florida, Senior Products. She has been with Humana for 15 years and started as Regional Director of Medicare Operations in Arizona.

She holds an undergraduate degree in biology and a master’s in health services administration from the University of Michigan.

Q&A: Get to know Humana Foundation board member CaralineCoats

1. What inspired you to join the Humana Foundation Board and what excites you about the work of the Humana Foundation?

The opportunity to represent Humana Inc. in a way that is focused on not just its members, but the communities that we serve. To be part of truly affecting the healthcare system at a deeper level.

2. As Humana’s Florida Medicare president, you understand the importance of helping seniors live a good quality life while achieving their best health. How can the Humana Foundation learn from Humana Inc.’s experience in providing the resources and choices seniors need to thrive in their communities?

Humana Inc. has millions of Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) data points on our members, reflective of the challenges and barriers to achieving one’s best health. The Foundation can use this data to help prioritize grants and other focus areas by market and population.

3. You have an extensive background in healthcare, especially with understanding the clinical and socialbarriers that affect the quantity and quality of senior’s lives. How does this background impact your role with the Humana Foundation?

Understanding the value and true impact of whole person health, clinical and social, allows me to share my voice on the Foundation Board with how we can best balance our investment dollars to meet the holistic needs of specific populations and communities.

4. What leader do you admire the most? Why?

My dad, William Coats (pictured below). He built and led a charter school company that fundamentally changed the paths of hundreds of thousands of youth, rooted in his belief of improving life chances for other people. As a healthcare leader, I believe we all have a role to improve the health for other people.

5. What are five things you can’t live without?

My family, friends, books, running shoes and online shopping.

Humana Foundation Double Match Days

The Humana Foundation hosted its final double match day of 2023 on Giving Tuesday, Nov. 28.

Associates were invited to donate to eligible nonprofits of their choice during two double match days this year, events in which the Humana Foundation doubled its matching gift on donations.

This year, through two double match days, Humana associates and the Humana Foundation combined to donate nearly $1 million to charities.

Humana Foundation, Local Partners Join to Launch “Be There Louisville” Campaign

BACKGROUND: On World Mental Health Day, the Humana Foundation alongside mayor Craig Greenberg, the University of Louisville and Bellarmine University, Racing Louisville FC and the Louisville Bats, announced the campaign #BeThereLouisville.

THE NEWS: The initiative helped create an official proclamation from Mayor Greenberg that the week of Oct. 10-17 would be known as "Be There Louisville Week,” in which youth ages 13-24 were called upon to be there for themselves and their loved ones’ mental health by earning a certificate in mental health support.

WHY IT MATTERS:

Young people visited BeThereLouisville.org to take a free, two-hour, self-paced course created byJack.org and the Born This Way Foundation to learn to safely support loved ones struggling with their mental health.
The initiative was part of the Humana Foundation’s $1 million commitment to bolster local mental health resources in Louisville, KY following the mass shootings in April.

WHAT’S NEXT: The Humana Foundation and its partners seek to evolve the program during 2024. With a broadened scope, Be There Louisville will continue to work to move the needle on addressing mental health needs in Louisville and beyond.

Humana Foundation Invests in Innovative Mental Health and Nutrition Programming

LOUISVILLE, KY --The Humana Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Humana Inc. for the past 41 years, announced a series of grants advancing its regional health equity mission by supporting seniors and school-aged children in living connected, healthy lives. The 23 grants spanning four geographies –Kentucky, Florida, Louisiana and Texas –and four Health Equity Innovation Fund projects will help beneficiaries create healthy emotional connections and shape a healthier approach to nutrition for lifelong wellbeing. The announced grants include:

“The Humana Foundation is dedicated to building partnerships that help drive change and advance health equity,” said Tiffany Benjamin, CEO of the Humana Foundation. “Today, we’re investing in new programs with trusted community partners who are innovating and scaling their services so that more school-aged children and seniors can reach their full health potential.”

Humana Foundation & National Mall of Pickleball

Humana Foundation CEO Tiffany Benjamin teamed up with Chef Andre Rush, an American celebrity chef and military veteran, to help demonstrate healthy meal prep during the inaugural National Mall of Pickleball event.

The inaugural multi-day event encouraged seniors to play pickleball as part of an active and healthy lifestyle and demonstrated other healthy activities for seniors to incorporate in their daily routines.

Partner Highlight: Sustainable Food Center, The Happy Kitchen/La Cocina Alegre

BACKGROUND: The Happy Kitchen/La Cocina Alegre® is a project by the Sustainable Food Center aimed at improving the nutrition and health outcomes of low-income residents of Texas.

THE NEWS: The culturally sustaining, community-led education program utilized peer-facilitated classes to engage and educate participants. In the last quarter, Sustainable Food Center reached 251 individuals through its new classes and roughly 800 households through nutrition education activities like recipe sampling. The initiative expanded to 54 farmers market sites and impacted more than 34,000 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants.

WHY IT MATTERS:

The program empowers community members by having them lead classroom sessions. It targetslow-income areas addressing nutritional needs where they are most critical.
More than 70% of participants reported increased consumption of fruits and vegetables and reduced intake of unhealthy snacks.

WHAT’S NEXT: The Sustainable Food Center is launching the Double Up Food Bucks - Texas Celebrate Growth and Plan for the Future. This project aims to match $1 for every $1 spent by SNAP participants on fruits and vegetables. A statewide coalition of rural and urban stakeholders will work together to increase the number of retailers accepting SNAP, promote the SNAP fruit and vegetable program, conduct needs assessments and expand efforts for collective impact.