Rx Foundation

ICYMI, our latest newsletter issue features the National Network for Arab American Communities, and one of its member organizations, Culturingua! Since 2022, NNAAC has built a powerful and effective capacity-building program to support their national network of community-based organizations. In this newsletter issue, we share highlights from our recent Power is a Social Determinant of Health webinar with NNAAC and Culturingua to discuss their capacity-building program in depth. No matter your focus area or seat at the table – as a funder or practitioner – you will find value in learning more about NNAAC’s national model for #Advocacy and how they’re building a network of organizations committed to long-lasting and durable change at the local, state, and national levels ⬇

Parks are more than green spaces; they are now vibrant hubs of #Democracy in action! Join us for our next Power is a Social Determinant of Health session featuring Trust for Public Land and one of their community partners, Parque Padrinos, as they detail how activating a park generated a movement, with long-ranging impacts on #CommunityPower and #HealthEquity. Together, we'll explore the academic research around social capital, cohesion, and civic engagement through park engagement; and answer questions like, "how can partnerships with the health sector improve community parks and strengthen democracy?" Full details & Zoom registration link ⬇ We're excited to see you then!

Tomorrow (August 13th) at 3pm Eastern, we'll be joined by our grant partner and colleagues at the National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC) to answer the following question – what does it look like for a marginalized community to build power? Full details and registration link ⬇ In 2022, NNAAC launched its Advocacy Capacity Building Program. Since then, NNAAC has worked with five member organizations across the country to build their capacities for policy and advocacy work. In this Power is a Social Determinant of Health session, NNAAC will discuss: ⭐ what building this program has looked like ⭐ lessons learned ⭐ and how they have seen capacity building pay off through tangible policy wins Join us tomorrow! ⬇

Are you joining us for our next Power is a Social Determinant of Health webinar on "Building Power Through Capacity Building – A Model for National Advocacy by the National Network for Arab American Communities"? Full details & registration link below ⬇ In this session, NNAAC will share: ⭐ how they created a capacity-building program for their network of 36 member organizations ⭐ lessons learned about power, capacity, policy and advocacy ⭐ and, how they've witnessed capacity-building pay off through tangible policy wins

🎉 Happy Civic Health Month! ⏰ Now is a time to showcase the link between voting and health and celebrate efforts that ensure each and every voter has the opportunity to support their community’s health at the ballot box. Every August, over 400 organizations nationwide, including national institutions like the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Physicians, and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, as well state healthcare systems such as Massachusetts General Hospital, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and Oak Street Health join together to celebrate, learn, and take action to improve the civic health of their communities.

Rx grant partner and colleagues with In Our Own Voice: National Black Women's Reproductive Justice Agenda recently released their "Lives and Voices of Black Families in 2024" report, after surveying thousands of Black adults about their views on reproductive justice, abortion, and much more. Here are some of their key findings ⬇ This polling research is one of the most trusted resources in demanding action on advancing Reproductive Justice. It can be used by policymakers, the media, nonprofits, and other parties who want to understand the views and lives of Black adults in America. Access the full national polling data here: https://lnkd.in/gajRP4yJ Access state level polling data (available for CA, GA, LA, MI, OH, PA, TN, TX, VA) here: https://lnkd.in/g9FJg2ut #ReproductiveJustice #Abortion #ReproductiveHealth #HealthJustice

“One longitudinal study, for example, found that increasing the number of Black primary care physicians by county leads to a population-level increase in the life expectancy of Black patients. Benefits of racial-ethnic concordance between physician and patient have also been demonstrated in other areas, including vaccine uptake, infant mortality, and willingness to accept preventative care.” –Dr. LaShyra Nolen In this powerful op-ed, Dr. LaShyra “Lash” Nolen, MD, MPP outlines how diversity, equity, and inclusion (#DEI) is an evidenced-based solution that not only paves the way for a more diverse physician workforce but simultaneously improves healthcare outcomes for Black, Latinx, and Indigenous people. “Outcomes improve when patients see doctors who look like them.” Dr. Nolen is an Rx grant partner who leads We Got Us, a student-led coalition in the greater Boston area that brings #health for the people to the people through the pillars of education, access, and healing. Learn more about their work and how you can get involved – https://lnkd.in/ef2mfejV #Healthcare #HealthEquity

What does it look like for a marginalized community to build power? Join us for our next Power is a Social Determinant of Health webinar with the National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC) as they discuss: ⭐ how they built a robust capacity-building program for their 36 member-organizations ⭐ lessons learned ⭐ and how they have seen capacity-building pay off through tangible policy wins! NNAAC was established in 2004 as a response to the Arab American community’s disenfranchisement and lack of power nationwide. Created as a vehicle for resource-sharing and strengthening growing institutions, the network has since grown to include 36 member organizations across 13 states. As NNAAC expanded its policy work over the years, it became apparent that the capacity building work also needed to extend to the policy and advocacy realm. NNAAC's national advocacy model is powerful. Their collective was instrumental in advocating for a "Middle Eastern or North African (MENA)" category for race and ethnicity data across federal agencies, and they recently celebrated their success last March when the The U.S. Office of Management and Budget announced their revised policy to include a MENA category on federal forms. Join us to learn more about NNAAC's model, lessons learned, and how other similarly situated national advocacy groups can build collective power through capacity-building! #Advocacy #PowerBuilding #CapacityBuilding #Philanthropy #Nonprofit

In our latest Power is a Social Determinant of Health webinar, we joined forces with our colleagues and friends at the Democracy Fund to discuss Funding Multi-Issue Strategies to Advance Health and Democracy. We had a phenomenal discussion about: ⚙ Funding people-led systems change work 🔗 Building more resilient organizations and stronger leaders, and a robust ecosystem for base-building and organizing 🤝 Ways to create more cohesion and seed collaboration between traditional silos (health OR democracy --> health AND democracy) You can now watch our full session on-demand on our website – https://lnkd.in/ghX3SX_A #Democracy #CommunityOrganizing #Health #SocialDeterminantsOfHealth #Philanthropy

“Democracy is the system that creates pathways for people to act collectively, to hold leaders and institutions accountable and to fight for the change they want to see in the world. We need to think beyond tactics that yield only short-term wins, to our role in supporting communities so that they can set their own priorities, innovate on strategy and deliver on a long-term vision for change on the issues that affect their daily lives.” Rx Foundation’s Executive Director, Jennie Riley, recently co-authored an op-ed about philanthropy’s need to support community-based, multiracial democratic practice, with Kelly Nowlin, who served on the board of the Surdna Foundation, and advises family foundations as the principal of KDN Philanthropy Consulting. Riley and Nowlin are among the funders collaborating with the Democracy & Power Innovation Fund, a learning and funding collective that includes state organizing partners. In this piece they share four lessons learned and tangible actions funders can take to support community-based, multiracial democratic practices across the country: 1. Support locally led groups in building their ability to organize and wield power. 2. Support experimentation and learning to improve strategy and practice. Funders need to expand our understanding and use of metrics, moving away from what is easiest to count and toward co-defining what is meaningful for impact. 3. Support unrestricted, multi-year funding that spans off-election years. Democratic systems and practices must be nurtured every year, whether a major election is coming up or not. 4. Be curious about the diversity of needs, values and worldviews within Black, Latino, Asian American, Pacific Islander and Native communities. There are many rich examples shared from power-building organizations like the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, LUCHA, and Voces De La Frontera. Read their piece to learn more about the transformative power organizations are building and how philanthropy can support it. As Riley and Nowlin remind us, “Many of us have spent our philanthropic careers devoted to making tangible change on issues — health care, climate, economic security and more — but have seen limited progress or even years of work rolled back as democracy slips. A collective commitment to supporting a community-based, multiracial democratic practice is needed to sustain it.” #Democracy #CivicEngagement #Grassroots #CBO #Nonprofit #Philanthropy #PowerBuilding #CommunityOrganizing in TheFulcrum.US