The start of a new year inspires resolutions and possibilities for our future. It is a time for reflecting on past learnings and experiences and for developing new opportunities.
We began the year by opening a new chapter on our grantmaking work with the introduction of bi3 – Bethesda Inc.’s forward-looking grantmaking initiative to transform health in Greater Cincinnati. bi3 will make philanthropic investments in innovative ideas that have the ability to spark and scale new approaches to improve community health.
In 2018, we challenge you to share ideas for disrupting the status quo and deploying promising new strategies to improve health and health care, particularly in these areas:
- Maternal and infant health;
- Behavioral health;
- Palliative and hospice care; and
- Health innovations that are enabled by new technologies or accelerate the integration of care.
In return, we resolve to:
- Foster and fund new collaborations and partnerships. We will leverage our unique position to foster and fund new collaborations between TriHealth, the leading integrated health care system in Southwest Ohio, and other community organizations. We will invest in collaborative projects that align with community health initiatives and break down silos between clinical care and social service delivery in order to improve the health and well-being of vulnerable populations.
- Take informed risks. We will invest in new ideas with the potential to lead to break-through change and encourage leaders and organizations to think about what is possible and how to achieve desired outcomes.
- Address social determinants of health and improve health equity. We will embrace a broader focus on health by supporting initiatives that address social determinants of health and health equity. In addition to sparking innovation in health care delivery, we want to invest in new ideas and approaches that address underlying factors that affect health and wellness, such as housing, food insecurity, domestic violence, etc.
- Share our lessons learned. We will support grantees in identifying key learnings and ongoing improvement opportunities. We will share our own lessons learned with a variety of audiences to spark conversation and action in other sectors and communities.
- Identify and co-design future opportunities. We desire to tap into the passion and innovation of TriHealth and community partners to identify and co-design future opportunities. We will not strictly rely on request for proposals, but also intentionally meet with TriHealth and community thought leaders to identify innovative approaches and valuable community partnerships.
We are excited to see what we accomplish together in 2018! As Steve Jobs said, “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”
