Baxter International Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Baxter International Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the global health care product company Baxter International. This funder awards grants that address the health care needs of vulnerable populations around the world. It awards science research grants to individual investigators, healthcare professionals and academic and research institutions around the world, and also awards science education grants to academic institutions at the K-12 and postsecondary levels.
IP TAKE: Baxter supports grantmaking for local organizations that can deliver measurable results. Grantseekers should be aware that the foundation only awards project-specific grants and does not make awards for general operating support. While Baxter accepts applications for funding via an online application system, they appear to be less accessible and hard-to-reach, especially for new grantseekers.
PROFILE: Established in 1982, the Baxter International Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Illinois based company Baxter International, Inc. The foundation aims to “collaborate with partners around the world to help ensure pope have access to the healthcare they need; to make a positive impact in communities where we live and work; and to develop the next generation of innovators who will lead the way in advancing healthcare.” Baxter has a qualitative approach to measuring its impact, which it does “not only by the number of dollars spent or by how many programs, but by the number of lives touched.” The foundation’s grantmaking programs include Access to Healthcare, Our Communities and Fostering Innovation.
Grants for Global Health and Public Health
Baxter’s Access to Health Care program primarily awards capacity-building grants to hospitals, health systems, and health nonprofits around the world. Baxter is committed to “collaborating with our partners to be first on scene in times of crisis,” “improving access to healthcare through public and private partnerships,” and “recognizing and celebrating health systems providers and public health research that advance clinical practice and expand patient treatment.” Grantees in the field of health include Westside Family Health Center, World Vision, Arthur Rank Hospice Charity, Americares, McLaren Northern Michigan Foundation, Carti Foundation and the American Heart Association.
In addition to grants, this program offers several prizes: the Foster G. McGaw Prize for “outstanding commitment to improving the health and well-being of the people they serve through communitywide innovative collaboration”; the William B. Graham Prize for “health services researchers who apply analytic methods to examine and evaluate the organization, financing, and/or delivery of health services”; and the Episteme Award for “outstanding research conducted by a nurse.”
Grants for Mental Health
Mental health is one of the main priorities of Baxter International’s Access to Health Care grantmaking. Grants support a wide variety of causes, including structured psychotherapy programs for children experiencing chronic stress, substance abuse services, therapy for children who have been sexually abused, services and care for the developmentally disabled, and school-based mental health services for minority populations. Grantees include Trilogy Inc., Achievable Foundation, Children’s Home and Aid Society of Illinois and Outreach Center.
Grants for Science Research
Baxter awards its science research grants through its Research and Continuing Education Grants program, which consists of three awards: Investigator Initiated Research (IIR), Continuing Medical Education (CME) and University Research programs. Its IIR Program offers research funding, product support and potential specialized services; the CME Program awards grants to healthcare professionals to help continue their educations, while the University Research Program supports investigators at research and academic institutions around the world.
The foundation awards grants to health care organizations (HCO) through its Contributions Management Program, which supports efforts to improve healthcare delivery, increase access to patient care and foster a better understanding and education of therapeutic and disease states. This Contributions Management Program accepts unsolicited requests for funding via its online application system.
Grants for STEM Education
Baxter’s Fostering Innovation program is “dedicated to supporting education that elevates student interest in math and science” and focuses overall on STEM education in order to “nurture the next generation of scientific innovators.” The foundation’s Science@Work program, in partnership with Northwestern University, Chicago Public Schools, and Illinois Science & Technology Institute, promotes health sciences and education through “teacher training, hands-on projects, lab tours and more.” The Baxter Innovation Lab at College of Lake County provides students with design software and 3D printers to help them “design life-changing products, create and test prototypes and exchange their ideas with others around the globe.”
Other
The Baxter International Foundation’s Communities grantmaking is primarily aimed at engaging Baxter employees in its philanthropic work. The company encourages volunteerism by offering paid time off for employees’ volunteer efforts, a gift matching program for employee donations to nonprofit organizations, and even a “Dollars for Doers” program that combines the two concepts by allowing employees to convert time volunteered into a matching grant.
In addition to encouraging its employees to serve, Baxter serves its own employees with a renewable post-secondary scholarship program for children of Baxter employees, as well as a disaster relief program that provides support for employees suffering hardship from a natural disaster, primarily based on donations from other Baxter employees.
Important Grant Details:
Grants generally range from around $50,000 to $100,000. The Baxter International Foundation does not offer detailed information about its grant values and past grantees, but grantseekers are welcome to review the company’s corporate responsibility reports for more information on its grantmaking habits. The Baxter International Foundation primarily gives to regions where the company has a significant business or manufacturing presence.
The Baxter International Foundation accepts unsolicited grant applications and gives “strong preference” to those brought to the foundation through a local Baxter facility or employee. Baxter typically has three grant cycles beginning the first of January, May, and September of each year. For additional information about eligibility and due dates, see the foundation’s application page.
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