Supporting Our Communities

We care deeply about the communities where we live and work. That’s why we support programs and organizations that address unmet medical needs, help students grow through STEM education, and deliver basic human services to our neighbors.

For all community giving applications, we strongly urge you to submit your application at least 12 weeks in advance of the date of required funding

Addressing Unmet Needs

Each year, we work with nonprofit partners to improve access to treatment, eliminate health disparities and promote healthy lifestyles throughout our communities.

Neighbors help neighbors. Together with our nonprofit partners, Bristol-Myers Squibb works to improve access to treatment and eliminate health disparities for those that live in and around the communities we also call home. Working with our nonprofit partners, we’re able to provide programs that address the health challenges of our underserved citizens.

Improving Science Education

Because today’s students will discover tomorrow’s medicines, we’re committed to improving science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) studies in schools and community organizations.

Science and technology are at the core of everything we do. We're always eager to open young minds to the exciting possibilities of both. Through grants and other programs, we've introduced students to genetics, robotics, engineering, alternative energy, and environmental science. Our employees also serve on advisory boards at career academies and two- and four-year colleges.

We're improving science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in the communities where our employees work and live.

Helping People In Need

Through philanthropy, volunteerism and partnerships, we provide essential human needs to the our hungry, homeless, elderly and underserved citizens.

• Feeding the Hungry: Bristol-Myers Squibb provides volunteer and financial support to groups that help feed families.
• Fighting Homelessness: Bristol-Myers Squibb is proud to assist a number of organizations working to provide shelter and other necessities to those suffering from homelessness
• A Helping Hand for the Elderly and Homebound: With limited mobility and financial resources, elderly people that live alone often require help with the simplest tasks of daily lif

NOTE: To Apply: For information about our Justice Initiatives and to determine if you should consider submitting a letter of inquiry, please contact the Director of Justice Initiatives by phone. 

Vision

We were established in 1988 by Leonard and Claire Tow, and envision a society where all people have the opportunity to enjoy a high quality of life and have a voice in their community. We strive for this by supporting nonprofit organizations that serve vulnerable populations and help individuals to become positive contributors to society for the benefit of themselves and others.

We feel it is our obligation to help others achieve success in their own lives, to alleviate pain and suffering, and to offer opportunities for joy. We hope to provide leverage and make possible far greater things than we could achieve alone.

We pursue our vision by funding projects that offer transformative experiences to individuals and creating collaborative ventures in fields where we see opportunities for breakthroughs, reform, and benefits for underserved populations. Investments focus on the support of innovative programs and system reform in the areas of juvenile and criminal justice, groundbreaking medical research, higher education and cultural institutions.

What We Fund - Justice Initiatives

The Tow Foundation’s Justice Initiatives portfolio seeks to promote a more equitable, fair and safe justice system in Connecticut, New York and nationally, with the ultimate goal of ending mass criminalization.

We strive to reduce the size of the youth and criminal justice systems by supporting effective advocacy and reform of policy and practice. We seek to increase opportunities for and eliminate barriers to a successful future for people impacted by the justice system. Our work is informed by their voices and leadership, and promotes racial equity, human dignity, restorative justice and public health.

We advocate the elimination of extreme sentences and unjust conditions of confinement. We invest in bold leaders and initiatives that help people with justice involvement successfully transition back into society. The organizations we support provide currently and formerly incarcerated people access to leadership development, education, healthcare, employment, housing and the arts.

Diversion – We believe in effective diversion strategies that prevent youth and adults from arrest, court involvement, detention and incarceration. In order to reduce the size of the justice system, we support alternatives to incarceration, restorative justice practices, legal services and public policy reforms related to bail and sentencing. We invest in coalitions and networks that work toward these system reforms.

In Prison – We believe that people who are incarcerated should be treated with dignity and offered opportunities that encourage rehabilitation. We seek to improve conditions of confinement by supporting efforts to eliminate the use of solitary confinement and similar punitive practices and to remove youth from adult jails and prisons. We promote improved family relationships and exposure to the arts and higher education for incarcerated people.

Post-Prison – We believe that people transitioning out of jail and prison deserve the opportunity to have a successful future. We support efforts to eliminate barriers and increase access to legal services, housing, healthcare, family reengagement, employment and education. We promote directly affected people as leaders in the reform movement.

Public Influence – We believe that to end mass criminalization, policymakers and the public must be educated on the failings of our country’s criminal justice system and potential solutions. We are committed to exposing unjust practices, highlighting opportunities for positive reform and elevating the voices of people directly impacted by the system. We do this by convening and connecting public and private partners, training journalists, investing in data collection and research, and supporting learning collaboratives and educational conferences.

NOTE: The Foundation does not accept unsolicited grant applications. An organization may call PCLB’s offices at any time to discuss the possibility of applying for funds. Prior to calling, please review the information describing the goals and strategies of grant portfolios on the website to ensure your conversation with PCLB staff is worthwhile.

About PCLB

The Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation (PCLB) was formed in 1999, by Dr. Peter Buck and his wife Carmen Lucia as a private family foundation to manage their family’s philanthropy in a thoughtful and strategic manner.

PCLB’s work is anchored by its mission statement, “giving motivated people the tools they need to help themselves.” These tools are about more than grants and include guidance, connections, convening, information, and other forms of assistance that the foundation and its grantees can provide. PCLB looks to support the highest‐quality organizations that show initiative, leadership, and innovation in solving issues that are meaningful to the family and the communities where family members live.

Portfolios

Education

Within the Education Portfolio, PCLB funds strategies believed to offer the greatest likelihood for success in creating and improving K-12 educational opportunities for all students:

• Charter Schools: Combining operational freedoms and accountability, charter schools provide the framework within which principals and teachers can create and run successful schools. One example of this success is evident in longtime PCLB grantee, Excellence Community Schools, a charter management organization with schools in both New York City and Connecticut. The network’s flagship school was the first charter school in the Bronx to receive a National Blue Ribbon, awarded by the U.S. Department of Education. The school in Stamford, CT was the top school district in the state during the 2018-19 school year.
• Advocacy: Thoughtfully crafted public policies enable great public schools to proliferate and thrive. PCLB supports organizations that advocate for effective education policies and practices, with a particular focus on ensuring that all schools are funded in a fair and sensible way. For example, the School and State Finance Project helps make unbiased information on school funding more readily available, to inform better policy decisions. And organizations like FaithActs for Education and Educators for Excellence support their members in calling for better funding systems and other critical education policies.
• People Quality: Great principals and teachers are essential factors to student success. PCLB supports programs that recruit, prepare, and retain high-quality school staff. In an example of this work, PCLB funded the launch of TEACH Connecticut to provide resources to anyone considering teaching in Connecticut and to build the strongest-possible educator workforce.
• Scholarship Fund: PCLB supports motivated students who have achieved academic and social success in accessing opportunities that they might not otherwise have had through college. 

Medical

Despite significant advances in medicine and technology, global health crises are on the rise, necessitating increased and targeted investments in global health care capabilities. In this regard, PCLB supports MSF- Doctors Without Borders, a highly effective, global health care organization with rapid response capabilities to address the world’s most dangerous diseases and emerging health issues in places where few others would accept the risk. PCLB also supports Callen-Lorde, an exemplary community health clinic, which is ensuring members of New York’s LGBTQ community receive the level of specialized care they need in a supportive environment.

Camperships

Camping helps build physical fitness, independence, confidence, teamwork, and leadership skills, as well as a healthy respect for nature in youth. Through this portfolio, PCLB provides scholarships that allow more young people to attend summer residence camp and enjoy traditional camp experiences.

Journalism

Quality, objective journalism is fundamental for a free and democratic society to thrive. As many journalism organizations transition from traditional news models to those more reflective of how people currently consume information, philanthropic support is essential until they can be more self-sustaining. PCLB is cognizant of the need to revitalize local journalism, to ensure that citizens are informed and engaged in topics of vital importance, including government policies affecting education, the environment, health, and others.

Discretionary Grants

Each of PCLB’s Directors have access to a limited amount of funding with which they make grants in their sole discretion. Organizations selected are typically based on personal interests of each Director at the time of grant applications.

Danbury Area

View separate grant page for Danbury Area Portfolio here.

Land Conservation

View separate grant page for Land Conservation Portfolio here.

Grant-Making Programs

The Rockefeller Family Fund makes grants in three program areas. The guidelines for these program areas and sample lists of grants are available on each program home page.

RFF provides support within these program areas for advocacy efforts that are action-oriented and likely to lead to tangible public policy results.

Grants are rarely made to organizations that traditionally enjoy popular support, such as museums, hospitals, or endowed institutions. Seldom are grants made for academic or scholarly research.

Women's Economic Justice Funding

The Family Fund’s program for women’s economic justice seeks to improve the quality of life for working women and their families in two ways: by advocating for equitable employment opportunities and updated employment standards, and by building power through support of women’s activism. Working at the national, state and local levels, we support research, training, public education campaigns and advocacy efforts.

Initiatives

Women Effect Fund

The Women Effect Fund is dedicated to pursuing a suite of economic reforms that are central to women’s economic equality and the well-being of their families. The WEF recognizes that workplace policies in the United States have not been updated despite the enormous changes in the workforce that have occurred over the past 50 years. While the typical American family with children in the 1950’s had a homemaker and a breadwinner, today’s American family is most likely run by two parents – both working out of the home – or a single parent also working outside the home. This basic fact has had a cascading series of societal, cultural and economic effects, including the inability of many women to meet their family and work responsibilities due to antiquated and rigid workplace policies. One of the most promising ways to improve the economic status of women is to modernize America’s employment standards. Since 2008, RFF has undertaken this initiative to educate the public about work/family conflict and its detrimental effect on the economy and family economic security. RFF has primarily focused on paid leave policies that allow employees to take care of their own health needs or those of a family member. When RFF began investing in this work, there were only two laws on the books—and now there are 11 states and more than 30 cities with a paid sick days law, covering more than 14 million people. Beginning with paid sick day wins in Connecticut and Seattle and more recent wins statewide in Arizona, Maryland, and New Jersey, this issue has achieved stunning successes. RFF has also begun investing in paid family and medical leave campaigns, including in New York, where a paid family and medical leave bill passed in 2016, and New Hampshire, where a paid family and medical leave bill passed through both chambers of the state legislature in 2019.

Mission

The mission of the Semnani Family Foundation is to find creative and effective ways of serving the needs of marginal and vulnerable communities around the world, particularly those whose survival and security is at grave risk or immediate danger due to forces and factors beyond their control. Whether it is helping communities recover from disease, famine, earthquake or war, or promoting research, educational and civic initiatives, we focus our giving where we can make the most difference.

About

The Semnani Family Foundation focuses primarily on promoting the health, education and disaster relief for marginal communities in the United States and around the world.

The philosophy of the Foundation is guided by a desire to empower the most vulnerable members of society, where ever they may be. The Semnani Family Foundation seeks to leverage its resources in a cost effective and efficient manner that delivers the maximum benefit to help the most marginal of communities—those who would otherwise be left out, forgotten or neglected, or those who would risk serious and irreversible damage and injury from exposure to natural or man-made disasters such as famine, floods, earthquakes and war.

The Semnani Family Foundation partners closely with organizations and individuals with a demonstrated record of delivering significant, sustainable and lasting change in the field. Over the years, the Foundation has worked with the major international and national as well as local charities to advance its mission. The Foundation’s partners over the past twenty years have included the American Red Cross, UNICEF, LDS Humanitarian, Globus Relief, Global Health Alliance, Special Olympics, the American Cancer Society, the Huntsman Cancer Institute, Habitat for Humanity, High Road for Human Rights, Faith Voices for the Common Ground, the League of Women’s Voters and others.

Program Areas

Social Issues

The Semnani Family Foundation gives grants for projects that address social issues such as homelessness, literacy, hunger, violence and rape. Over the past twenty years, we have supported Oxfam America, Wasatch Homeless Healthcare, the Road Home, Planned Parenthood, Rape Recovery Center, Prevent Child Abuse, and Gun Violence Prevention Center.

Health

Health is the one of the core mission areas of the Semnani Family Foundation. We have supported a broad range of health initiatives from funding research to providing care, from helping institutions build their capacity to train and teach students, pharmacists and nurses to joining partnerships for vaccination campaigns designed to eradicate measles and other crippling diseases. Since 1993, the Foundation has collaborated on a broad range of health issues ranging from AIDS, Alzheimers, Arthritis, Cancer, Diabetes, Cystic Fibrosis, Epilepsy, Leprosy, Multiple Sclerosis, Cystic Fibrosis as well as Mental Health.

Since inception, our partners have included the National Kidney Foundation, Alzheimer’s Association, American Cancer Society, American Leprosy Association, American Diabetes Association, Epilepsy Foundation, Utah AIDS Foundation, Utah Valley Mental Health, the University of Utah, Utah Rural Association of Nurses and others. We have teamed with the Moran Eye Center, Surgical Eye Expedition and others to extend the gift of sight to marginal communities. We have also partnered with Special Olympics, Kostopolous Dream Foundation, Wheelchair Foundation and a number of other organizations to provide assistance for people with disabilities.

Children

Children’s health and welfare is of vital importance to the Semnani Family Foundation. Whether they suffer from disease, hunger, abuse or poverty, the Semnani Family Foundation has made the health and education of vulnerable children a priority. Over the last twenty years, we have partnered with groups such as Primary Children’s Medical Foundation, Save the Children Foundation, Orphan Kids Inc, Odyssey House, National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome, Make a Wish Foundation, Simon Says Foundation, Shriners Hospital for Children, Pediatrics Radiology, Voices for Utah Children and Utah Boys Ranch.

Women

The empowerment of women, particularly in developing countries is one of the Foundation’s leading priorities. Since 1993, we have worked with Mothers without Borders, Women for Women International, Worldwide Organization for Women, Salt Lake League of Women’s Voters and other organizations dedicated to improving the life of women.

Disaster Relief

The Semnani Foundation has partnered with the American Red Cross, LDS Humanitarian Services, Globus Relief, World Food Program, Islamic Relief, Oxfam America and others over the past twenty years, providing disaster relief to victims of earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, famine and other natural disasters. Since its inception in 1993, the Foundation has supported disaster relief efforts in Iran and Haiti following earthquakes, in Indonesia after the tsunami, in Pakistan after the floods, in Ethiopia, Somalia, Yemen and Eritrea following famines, and in the Sudan and Syria following civil wars. We have also supported the New York Firemen 911 Relief Fund.

Iranian American Issues

The Semnani Family Foundation has played an active part in promoting Iranian culture in the United States. The Foundation has supported the Encylopedia Iranica Foundation, Parsa Community Foundation, Persian Heritage Foundation, Hafez Foundation for Literature, Roodaki Foundation, the Iranian-American Society and countless other educational and cultural initiatives. Due to sanctions, the Foundation is unable to support philanthropic projects in Iran at this time.

Religious Tolerance and Interfaith dialogue

Given the importance of religion to the life of many immigrant communities and refugees, the Foundation has worked closely with religious communities and leaders to promote interfaith dialogue, understanding and integration. We have helped immigrant and refugee communities build houses of worship, extend and expand social services, and fight prejudice. The Foundation has worked closely with LDS Humanitarian, Holy Cross Ministries, Islamic Society of Greater Salt Lake, Jewish Family and Children’s Services, Faith Voices for the Common Good and others to promote religious tolerance and bridge cultural divides.

NOTE: No Letter of Inquiry (LOI) is required if you have received funding within the past three years and still meet our general rules of eligibility. (If funding from the McGowan Fund was received more than three years ago, you must go through the LOI process.)

What We Do

The McGowan Fund is the living legacy of William G. McGowan, an entrepreneur and change-maker. We give priority to programs that have demonstrated success, have measurable outcomes and plans for sustainability, and aim to end cycles of poverty and suffering. 

Our active, strategic grant-making focuses on three areas: Education, with an emphasis on improving academic achievement, high school graduation rates, and college success; Human Services, with an emphasis on homelessness; and Healthcare & Medical Research, with an eye to prevention of cardiac disease and reversal of metabolic syndrome through intensive lifestyle management. We also support access to healthcare.

In our grant making, we focus on three areas

Education Initiatives- with an emphasis on improving academic achievement, high school graduation rates, and college success

Education makes all the difference. It is the most powerful point of departure for children struggling with poverty, community disruption, family stress, or failure. It’s the prerequisite for most long-lived careers that provide sustainable wages.

Through our grant-making in five geographic regions, the McGowan Fund focuses on innovative programs that show measurable improvement in addressing achievement gaps, improving teaching and learning, and reducing disparities among students.

Areas of support in this initiative include:

• Out-of-school Programs
• Charter, faith-based, and alternative schools
• Scholarships for high achieving students in private education.

Human Services Initiatives- with an emphasis on homelessness

The cycles of poverty and homelessness can seem intractable. Homelessness attenuates access to food, health, and work; this limited availability in turn hinders access to long-term housing. Recognizing the complexity and dependencies of the problem, the Fund focuses on projects that address basic human needs and stabilize individuals and families. 

Areas of support in this initiative include:  

• Stabilized Housing
• Food/Clothing Security
• Adult Education (e.g. ESL, Financial Literacy, GED Attainment)
• Homelessness Remediation/Prevention

Healthcare Initiatives- with an eye to providing access to families living without readily available care.

Lack of healthcare can be a barrier to work, education, and a family’s mobility out of poverty. We fund programs that seek to remove this barrier by providing quality care to those who may not have other care options.

Areas of support in this initiative include:

• Primary Care
• Dental/Vision
• Mental Health Services
• Pharmacy

Frances L. & Edwin L. Cummings Memorial Fund Grant

The primary interest of the Frances L. & Edwin L. Cummings Memorial Fund is to support organizations operating in New York City and Northeastern New Jersey [view map] that provide programs and services in the areas of social welfare, education and health. The Fund has a special interest in youth programs located in these regions.

We are, however, unable to provide funding for programs within the cultural arts category.

We invite you to browse our site to determine if the work of your organization falls within our areas of interest, and, if so, to learn more about how to apply for a grant.

Areas of Interest

The Cummings Fund’s main interest is in the piloting or expansion of new, innovative programs of organizations primarily based in New York City and its more urbanized surrounding areas in Northeastern New Jersey (i.e., Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic and Union Counties) [view map]. Exceptions to the geographic restriction are granted only when a Co-Trustee or Advisory Board Member has personal knowledge of an organization outside of this region. 

The Co-Trustees generally endeavor to creatively fill existing community needs in areas particularly under-funded at present. The Cummings Fund has a particular interest in programs serving young people.

The Fund provides support for:

• New program development
• Staffing for new programs and program expansion
• Capacity building (technical/management assistance)
• Consulting services (e.g., to assist the Board’s development of a strategic plan)

The major fields of interest are:

• Social Welfare, especially programs addressing issues including child welfare, youth development, juvenile delinquency, housing/homelessness, and employment/job training.
• Education, especially efforts to reform the public education system or programs that serve public school children from disadvantaged backgrounds including but not limited to in-school and afterschool STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and literacy initiatives, staff/teacher training and development, college guidance and success, and counseling services.
• Health Care, especially institutions and programs that connect economically and socially disadvantaged populations to health care and mental health services.

On a less frequent basis, the Fund also provides funding for:

• Medical Research, which has been pre-screened, ranked and given high priority by an objective, national scientific advisory committee.

NOTE: Unsolicited requests should be in the form of a letter of inquiry. Solicitations will be accepted throughout the year and grants issued at convenient intervals thereafter. Solicitations received after October 31st will be held for consideration the following year.

Philosophy & Mission

The F. M. Kirby Foundation aims effectively to manage and utilize that which has been entrusted to it over multiple generations of the Kirby family. It strives to make thoughtful and prudent philanthropic commitments to highly selective grantee partners. The goal is to invest in opportunities that foster self-reliance or otherwise create strong, healthy communities.

The Board of Directors recognizes that achieving its philanthropic aspirations takes time, effort and perseverance that often result in sustained funding relationships.

The F.M. Kirby Foundation is a family foundation. Its grantees are largely in geographic areas of particular interest to five generations of family members and, in many cases, are organizations with which family members have been associated.

Scope

The F. M. Kirby Foundation is a family foundation. Its grantees are largely in geographic areas of particular interest to five generations of Kirby family members and, in many cases, are organizations with which family members have been associated. Successful new applicants tend to be organizations already well known to one or more of the directors of the Foundation, and/or other members of the family.

Programmatic Areas of Interest

The F. M. Kirby Foundation donates to organizations within 8 major funding program areas, listed below with brief descriptions:

Arts, Culture, & Humanities

Funding in Arts, Culture, and Humanities includes performing arts centers and programs, cultural community arts development, historical and educational museums, and fine art museums.

Education

The Foundation’s Educational interests include family alma mater support, equitable educational access, school choice, special education and educational support services, civics and history education, and programs fostering entrepreneurship.

Environment & Animals

Areas of interest in Environment and Animals include land conservation and stewardship, environmental law/advocacy organizations, and environmental community development.

Health

Cancer research, neuroscience and neurodegenerative disease research, Type I Diabetes research, and general biomedical research are all included in Foundational research interests. Also included in Health funding is support for medical centers in geographic areas of interest.

Human Services

Support in Human Services includes emergency and disaster services, child protection and domestic violence support, homeless services, food pantries, housing assistance programs, drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs, mental health services, adoption, health services, cancer support services, youth and family development programs, physical and cognitive disability services, veteran affairs, and community development.

Public Affairs & Society Benefit

Public policy areas of interest include higher education reform, drug and alcohol prevention policy, sexuality and reproductive health and rights, democratic capitalism, free enterprise think tanks, individual rights and free speech policy, immigration reform, and public news media support.

Religion

The F. M. Kirby Foundation provides support for select religious organizations and churches that are of familial special interest.

Mutual Membership Benefit

The F. M. Kirby Foundation belongs to several membership organizations that serve the non-profit and philanthropic sector.

Our Grants & Programs

Building upon the legacy of Mother Cabrini and the Catholic tradition of healing for the sick and caring for the poor, our Foundation supports programs that meet the unmet healthcare and healthcare related needs of individuals, families, and communities throughout New York State.

Our Programs

Access to Healthcare

MCHF is committed to supporting programs that advance comprehensive access to healthcare, especially for low-income and vulnerable populations. Broadly defined, access to healthcare is the ability to obtain quality care when and where it is needed. Medically underserved communities and vulnerable populations contend with a range of barriers to access, the cumulative impact of which contributes to inequity in health outcomes. MCHF strives to support programs that help ensure all New Yorkers have access to the full complement of health services they need, when and where they need them, without financial hardship. Programs within this portfolio will address a variety of factors that impact access to quality healthcare, including the following:

• Affordability: Mitigating the cost of healthcare services and treatments.
• Physical Accessibility: Improving ability to physically or virtually access healthcare services. (Could include telehealth, community paramedicine, new service locations, mobile units)
• Capacity: Ensuring that available programs, services and supports are sufficient to meet demand. (Could include capital projects, service expansions/scaling. Does not include the provision of adding more staff – see our Healthcare Workforce Program)
• Acceptability: Improving availability of and access to culturally and linguistically competent care.

Basic Needs

In order to promote health equity, MCHF recognizes that it is essential to address the basic needs of New Yorkers. Many individuals and families face significant challenges that impact their ability to achieve good health including food insecurity, inadequate housing, economic instability, and lack of access to vital social services. Our Basic Needs program aims to support the following essentials so New Yorkers can build healthy lives:

• Food and nutrition: Improving access to healthy and culturally appropriate food and nutritional guidance for vulnerable New Yorkers experiencing food insecurity or diet-related chronic disease and building long-term solutions to promote equitable access to healthy and affordable food for all.
• Housing: Supporting services to keep vulnerable New Yorkers of all abilities safe and stably housed, including homelessness prevention, supportive housing, housing counseling, and programs to help older adults age in place. This does not include the physical development of housing.
• Economic security/mobility: Promoting equitable opportunities and paths to financial stability including financial literacy and coaching, inclusive jobs training and education, access to safe and affordable financial services, and emergency financial assistance.
• Access to benefits and social services: Providing culturally and linguistically appropriate support to assist individuals and families to access, navigate, and coordinate benefits and social service programs such as SNAP, WIC, health insurance, and childcare—promoting equitable access to benefits and overall health and well-being.

Healthcare Workforce

MCHF is committed to improving the health of vulnerable New Yorkers by supporting the development of a skilled and diverse healthcare workforce. The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated healthcare workforce shortages and exposed vulnerabilities across the continuum of care. To improve access to care, quality of care, and cultural competency in the health care delivery system, we seek to support the development and implementation of innovative and effective healthcare workforce initiatives. MCHF recognizes the variety of stakeholders that are working to strengthen the healthcare workforce, including but not limited to, healthcare organizations, educational institutions, professional associations, and community-based organizations, and will support individual and collaborative efforts that address challenges across the workforce spectrum, including:

• Pipeline and recruitment: Ensuring a pipeline of talented healthcare workers is available to meet the healthcare needs of the most vulnerable New Yorkers.
• Education and training: Improving quality of and access to training programs and internships for high-demand healthcare positions and ensuring completion of programs by addressing social and economic barriers.
• Career ladder and retention: Improving career pathways and providing support to pursue opportunities within healthcare careers. Improving employee retention strategies, addressing worker burnout and social barriers to work.
• Equity and diversity: Increasing the diversity of the healthcare workforce at all levels, including leadership, to promote high quality, culturally and linguistically appropriate care, toward greater health equity.

Mental and Behavioral Health

MCHF recognizes that mental and behavioral health are essential elements of overall health. Broadly defined, this includes an individual’s emotional, psychological, psychiatric, and social well-being, along with related behaviors, such as substance use and other addictions. MCHF understands that mental and behavioral health needs are particularly acute in historically marginalized communities and for populations that have been adversely affected by socioeconomic inequities. MCHF also understands that mental and behavioral health services are embedded in multiple systems, and as such, will consider individual and collaborative efforts among those systems. MCHF aims to support programs that include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Interventions and Treatment: Improving the quality of care and services in clinical and non-clinical settings, including by supporting the delivery of trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and person-centered care targeted to specific populations and integrating and coordinating mental and behavioral health services with other health and social services.
• Capacity and Access: Building the capacity of the sector to increase the timely availability of and access to affordable, high-quality mental and behavioral health care in clinical and community-based settings. This could include building and diversifying the workforce, expanding crisis response services, or increasing the volume of traditional and non-traditional providers and support systems.
• Education, Awareness, and Prevention: Increasing awareness, improving engagement, and reducing stigma and other barriers to care.

General Fund

MCHF recognizes that our Programs will not include the full spectrum of opportunities to improve the health and well-being of vulnerable New Yorkers. The General Fund is designed to consider and support projects that do not fit within our Programs but that advance the health and well-being of our eight priority populations:

• Immigrants
• Justice-Involved Individuals
• Low-Income Individuals and Families
• Older Adults
• People with Disabilities
• Veterans
• Young Children, Pregnant Women, and New Moms and Dads
• Youth and Young Adults