Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation broadly supports initiatives to increase healthcare access and positive health outcomes with an emphasis on underserved communities.
IP TAKE: The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation focuses on improving healthcare access and health outcomes. It tends to support organizations and initiatives with the potential to have broad impact for underserved or less-developed geographic regions, and maintains a strong interest in best practices, program evaluation and the replication of successful health interventions. Programs for disease prevention, awareness, health infrastructure and medical education have all received ample funding in recent years. Geographic priorities include the U.S., Africa, China and Brazil, but these change every few years. While this funder does not run an open application program, it appears to be accessible and invites grantseekers to email with inquiries about its grantmaking process. Networking with foundation staff and trustees may also help new grantees to get on Bristol-Myers Squibb’s grantmaking radar.
PROFILE: The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation (BMSF), established in 1955, is the charitable giving arm of the Bristol-Myers Squibb pharmaceutical company. The foundation seeks to “promote health equity and improve the health of vulnerable communities burdened by serious disease” and to help “build innovative community based solutions to improve access to quality healthcare.” The foundation’s areas of focus are Increasing Awareness, Engagement and Influence; Funding Innovation; Driving Positive Health Outcomes; and Advocating, Replicating and Sustaining Change. Across all four focus areas, the foundation works nationally and internationally to improve public health outcomes and medical education.
Grants for Global Health, Public Health and Diseases
Each of BMSFs four grantmaking focus areas supports projects and initiatives to improve health outcomes in the U.S. and developing countries around the world. The Awareness, Engagement and Influence focus area prioritizes “under-resourced communities” and targets awareness, prevention and early-diagnosis programs. The foundation’s Funding Innovation grantmaking helps its grantees to develop “new approaches and inventive concepts to advance health equity,” as well as initiatives to “explore their effectiveness and develop data that demonstrates their value.” Driving Positive Health Outcomes funding takes a more general approach, supporting “the full continuum of care from education to diagnosis to treatment” with an overarching goal of helping people to live “longer, healthier lives.” And the Advocating, Sustaining and Replicating Change funding area supports governments, universities, research institutes and nonprofits engaged in “the elimination of barriers to improving health outcomes.” This funder does not provide information about which of its grants stem from its separate funding areas, but recent grantee partners include the Soweto Comprehensive Cancer Centre of Excellence in South Africa, the AFib Care Network at the University of North Carolina Health Care System and the Global Healthy Living Foundation’s Hispanic Outreach Program.
Grants for Public Health
While the majority of BMSF’s programs operate internationally, its Specialty Care for Vulnerable Populations focus area funds organizations only in the United States and addresses “inequities in access to and utilization of specialty care services by medically underserved and vulnerable populations.” It aims to “catalyze sustainable improvement and expansion of specialty care service” for patients living with autoimmune disorders such as arthritis and lupus, or cardiovascular diseases like stroke, atrial fibrillation, and venous thromboembolism, as well as cancers and HIV. Grantees include American Heart Association, Institute of Healthcare Improvement, and Association of Community Cancer Centers.
Important Grant Details
In a recent year, BMSF made over $36 million in grants. Grants ranged from Grants are generally awarded in amounts of up to $500,000 but may be larger in cases of ongoing grantee partnerships with the foundation. The foundation’s current geographic priorities include “the US, nine African countries, Brazil and China” but ares of interest may change from year to year. For additional information about past funding, see the foundation’s Success Stories page.
This funder does not run an open application program, but interested grantseekers may email the foundation for information about its grantmaking process. Names of the foundation’s staff and board of trustees are also available at the website.
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