Episcopal Health Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Episcopal Health Foundation is a major regional grantmaker working in 80 counties in Southeast Texas. Its approach to health and health care is holistic and spans many issue areas, including community health clinics, health policy, maternal and childhood health, food security, mental health, youth development, racial justice and anti-poverty programs.
IP TAKE: This Houston-based foundation is a significant supporter of health and health care access in Texas. According to the foundation’s website, “EHF has changed the conversation to reshape the debate around health care to focus on addressing the non-medical drivers of health: factors and conditions outside the heath care system that significantly influence a person’s overall health and well-being.” Alongside its grantmaking, EHF partners with health providers, researchers, governmental entities and other philanthropies to pursue health care initiatives and policy goals. EHF also partners with area Episcopal congregations to “organize and focus their efforts to have the greatest impact on their communities’ health.”
The foundation released a new Strategic Plan in 2024, corresponding with an overhaul of its grant application process. The foundation anticipates a new call for grant applications to launch in fall 2024, in alignment with its new priority issue areas. Grantseekers working within EHF’s priority areas should check back frequently for updates. EHF is an accessible and transparent foundation that will likely continue to be an important health funder in Southeast Texas for years to come.
PROFILE: In 2013, the Episcopal Health Foundation was founded by the Episcopal Diocese of Texas when St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System was transferred to Catholic Health Initiatives. The transaction’s proceeds, which exceeded $1 billion, allowed the launch of EHF, which quickly became an important community health funder in Texas seeking to “reshape the way the Episcopal Church engages the community and change the way we think about health.” With roots in a commitment to equitable health care, the Episcopal Health Foundation (EHF) awards grants within the 80 counties of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. The foundation’s giving is rooted in the “call for equity before God and a mission to serve those in need.”
Current grantmaking categories address accessible health services, healthy communities, and health-promoting policies, with a focus on three priorities for change: food and nutrition, maternal health, and diabetes prevention. Across its issue areas, EHF is committed long-term to promoting health equity and “supporting solutions that address the underlying causes of poor health in Texas.”
Episcopal Health Foundation’s new Strategic Framework will guide the foundation through 2030. It affirms EHF’s “commitment to improving health, not just healthcare, leverages our existing work, and forges new directions and priorities to impact community health.” EHF’s Igniting Change page further outlines EHF’s Action Areas and Priorities for Change.
Grants for Health
EHF’s health grantmaking addresses accessible health services, healthy communities, and health-promoting policies at all levels, which primarily prioritize: food and nutrition, maternal health, and diabetes prevention.
To this end, EHF takes a multi-pronged approach that focuses on “promoting an equitable infrastructure for whole-person care is to invest in innovative and sustainable approaches that put needed health services within reach of every Texan, especially those who have been systematically disadvantaged and have limited access to resources and opportunities.” EHF’s emphasis on racial equity in health giving may be felt across all of its action areas, as it believes systemic inequalities have increased health disparities for all Texans.
Grants for Food Security and Nutrition
Believing that food and nutrition are at the root cause of many health concerns, EHF seeks to work with “innovative partners in health systems, governments, food systems, and communities with lived experience to address and improve food and nutrition security especially for low-income and marginalized Texans.” It does this work through its Food and Nutrition Systems area, but also through its Diabetes Prevention giving area.
The Food and Nutrition giving area’s goal is to “co-create and develop new solutions to transform Texas food systems to be more equitable and sustainable. Ultimately, this work is intended not just to meet basic food needs for communities, but to use equitable access to healthy food as an avenue to improve health outcomes and allow all populations to thrive.”
Grants for Women and Girls
EHF’s giving for women and girls centers completely on maternal health outcomes. This area wants to prevent pregnancy-related mortality rates amongst vulnerable populations in Texas. EHF believes that “healthy communities and health services that are equitable, accessible, and just are foundational to healthy pregnancies and maternal health and wellness. These invaluable services can also set the stage for a child’s optimal brain development and improved life-long well-being.” Take a ground-up approach for women’s maternal health, EHF is invested in working with community partners and policy makers to support maternal health in ways that support women — and their families — for the long-term.
Important Grant Details:
EHF provides grants of up to several million dollars, though most grants are in the $10,000 to $1 million range. The average EHF grant has been about $250,000.
To learn if EHF works in your area, look at EHF’s Service Area Map.
This funder’s grant application process was temporarily suspended at the end of 2023, but is expected to resume in fall 2024. New grants made in 2024 are by invitation only.
This funder does not support grants to individuals, scholarships, school-based intervention except for school-based clinics providing comprehensive primary care, public agencies for routine services, parks or playgrounds, capital projects except upon an EHF invitation, or grants for religious purposes.
Review the funder’s news section of its website to learn about past grant cycles and grantees. Grantmaking is limited to organizations that serve 80 counties in Texas. See past grantees here.
Direct general questions to the foundation staff at 713-225-0900 or via online form.
Send grant-related questions to the staff at grants@episcopalhealth.org.
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).
LINKS:
