NORCAL Group Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The NORCAL Group Foundation formed from a medical professional liability insurance company and supports patient care, patient safety and physician wellness in Northern California and beyond.
IP TAKE: This foundation explores some interesting niches in health philanthropy. California nonprofits have an edge.
PROFILE: Established in 2017, the NORCAL Group Foundation is the grantmaking arm of the NORCAL Group company. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California, and is a medical professional liability insurance company that provides services to hospitals, doctors, clinics and medical groups. With roots in Northern California dating back to 1975, this company is now the eighth largest MPLI carrier in the nation. The foundation is an extension of the company’s 40-plus-year commitment to the communities it works in. The NORCAL Group Foundation is focused on three health-related issues: patient care, patient safety, and physician wellness.
Only NORCAL Group policyholders or those referred by a NORCAL Group employee are eligible to receive foundation grants. Funding centers on program and project support rather than general operating costs and capital campaigns. The foundation does not support research, equipment, or events. It awarded its first grants in early 2018. Support has gone to preventative care for homeless people, workshops for managing disease, nutrition counseling for people with diseases, and care for low-income and uninsured adults. Other grants have helped train physicians on wellness topics and to standardize clearance protocol for psychiatric patients in emergency departments.
Foundation grants vary in size, and grantseekers can learn more about past grantees on the funder’s impact page. Many grantees have been in the California cities San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento, and Fresno. However, this funder actually makes grants in 39 states in the U.S., including all of the West Coast, and other regions.
This foundation accepts unsolicited grant applications and has two grant cycles per year, in the spring and fall. Applications are typically accepted in September and October, and again in March and April. Application materials are posted on the foundation’s website. There is no limit to the amount an organization can request. Group offices are located in San Francisco, Austin, Jacksonville, Florida, and Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. The best method of contact is to email grants@norcalgroupfoundation.org. The NORCAL phone number is 844-466-7225.
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