General Operating Support
Since 2018, most of our grantmaking has gone to flexible, unrestricted support, which partners can use how and where they need it most. We seek to resource organizations and community-led efforts that address the root causes of inequitable health outcomes, not just the symptoms.
Evolving Our Approach
We understand that our impact as a foundation ultimately rests on the strength of organizations and leaders working to improve health locally, given that our communities have been disproportionately affected by multiple public health crises since 2020. Flexible resources help nonprofit organizations address emerging issues, invest in staff and infrastructure, and meet other needs.
Historically, we have supported efforts that address immediate health concerns in our service region and longer-term efforts to address the root causes of health inequities. Guided by local health data and partner insights, we are refining our grantmaking to improve the conditions that influence health, amplify community voices in leadership and decision-making, and strengthen the networks of care that are needed to create healthier, more equitable futures.
Achieving health equity requires taking the long view. We believe that those most impacted by challenges are closest to the solutions, and that building community leadership and power is key to improving access to local health resources. But, our values remain the same: we center community, respond to the moment, and strengthen the relationships necessary to ensure everyone in our region can thrive.
Health equity is more than having access to health care. It means supporting the resilience and reimagination of health, housing, food, and other systems that shape daily life, so they truly support healthy communities.
Our Multi-Year Partnerships
In 2024, we launched 5-year general operating grant partnerships with 32 organizations, many of whom received a prior multi-year award for their role in COVID response and recovery in the region. We recognize systemic change takes time, and organizations need stability to plan, grow, and address the deep-rooted factors that shape community health.
These organizations connect health with other key community issues that influence it, like housing, mental health, and civic engagement, and closely align with our mission. The 2024-2029 grantee partners bring a range of strategies to the table, showing that there is not just one way to create healthy communities. Together, they lead sustained efforts to change the systems and conditions that affect community health, from policies and practices to the everyday resources people rely on to live well. Â
*Green areas represent our Legacy & Equity Zone
32
Partner Organizations Funded
$4,450,000
Total Grants Awarded in 2025
$22,250,000
Total 5-Year Grant Commitment
78%
of Partners Serve
Legacy & Equity Zip Codes
Geographic Focus
- Legacy & Equity – Partners that primarily serve communities in Chicago and western Cook County suburbs that experience the greatest health inequities in our region and have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and other public health crises and economic strain.
- Suburban Regional – Partners that primarily serve our region’s communities in west suburban Cook County. 
- Regional – Partners that serve communities across our entire service region. 
Partner Count
No Data Found
Funding Amount
No Data Found
Annual Grantmaking
We will not open an annual grant cycle in 2027 as we shift from one-year grants toward longer-term deeper partnerships. This approach reflects what we have learned: advancing health equity and creating systemic change require time, trust, and sustained investment. Our commitment to the region remains strong, and we will continue supporting its health ecosystem through multi-year partnerships, connecting organizations to other funders, sharing resources, and convening partners around shared challenges.
Responsive Funding
Healthy Communities Foundation’s responsive funding aims to support local organizations and the communities they serve during periods of significant change and instability. This work builds on lessons from prior investments in strategic health initiatives and Resilience grants, first piloted in 2022. Responsive funding reflects our continued commitment to trust-based practices that give leaders the flexibility to direct resources where they are needed most.
Responsive funding focuses on one-time grant awards that align with at least one of two strategic pillars: organizational resilience and community resilience. This funding reflects our belief that investing in local health leadership, organizational culture, and community infrastructure strengthens the conditions needed to respond to community needs during unstable periods and moments of crisis. When people thrive, organizations and communities do too. By linking leadership and well-being with the trust, relationships, and durable infrastructure that hold systems together, these investments foster the conditions for greater civic leadership, engagement, and community health.
Responsive funding is intentionally a smaller, invitation-only component of our grantmaking. We are currently focused on partners with existing relationships with the Foundation and who play key roles in our local health ecosystem, with an emerging interest in west suburban civic health infrastructure. We see this funding mechanism as a way to explore our role as a foundation in being responsive and responsible in our service region over the long term. This funding is not a part of an open application cycle, and we are not accepting proposals at this time.