Our staff and Board are reflecting on all we have done with you in 2024. We remain tremendously grateful to our community partners for the work we are doing together to center equity and improve the health and well-being of older Californians and their caregivers.
We are thankful to Interim President and CEO John Feather and look forward to officially welcoming our new President and CEO, Rigo J. Saborio, when he becomes the Foundation’s third chief executive on Jan. 20. A respected California nonprofit leader and aging advocate with breadth and depth of experience, Rigo’s deep commitment to social justice and health equity will help advance the Foundation’s mission and vision of equitable, coordinated care.
Our 2024 Annual Report, “Equity in Action: Championing Equitable and Coordinated Care for Older Californians,” featured a reflection from John Feather and Cynthia D. Banks, our Board Chair, highlighting the Foundation’s roles as catalyst for lasting change and connector in the field. The report and our blog posts highlight the work of our grantees, the people they serve, and our important partnerships in our community.
Many of those stories appear below, in the annual list our most important Point of View blogs of the year:
- Why Centering Equity in Philanthropy Matters More Than Ever by John Feather
Programs that advance equity have faced significant backlash. Given these threats, the Foundation has made it a top priority to institute policies and adopt strategies that systematically integrate justice and equity. Our directive is clearer than ever: We can and will continue to use all our resources to put equity and inclusion at the center of our work. At a time when others are shuttering or actively speaking out against diversity initiatives, we in the philanthropic sector have an opportunity to close gaps in racial and ethnic health disparities. - Still Need the Master Plan for Aging? The Day of Action’s Answer is “Yes” by Gerson Galdamez
October’s CA for ALL Ages & Abilities: 2024 Master Plan for Aging Day of Action brought together consumers, aging and disability leaders, and policymakers to renew their commitments to solve systems-level problems confronting older adults, people with disabilities, and caregivers. Given the changes ahead in Washington D.C., now is the time to focus on a comprehensive strategy to achieve equitable, coordinated care for older Californians and their caregivers. - 'Candid’ Advice: Revealing Diversity Data of Grantmakers, Grantees and Those Served Will Improve Equity for All by Tanisha Davis
Sharing demographic information about organizational leadership is essential to improving equity – in the work of funders and grantees alike. Candor and transparency about staff and board diversity, no matter what the results show, create an opportunity for meaningful discussion and mutual understanding. That is why we are in our second year participating in the Demographics via Candid initiative, and why we’re encouraging others to take part. - What One Grantee is Saying About the Benefits of Our Capacity Building Help by Carly Roman-Woo
Few things are better than hearing the impact of our support from those receiving it. That’s why we were proud to share the words of one of our capacity building grantees, Community Tech Network, highlighting work to bridge the digital divide in older populations. Their project improved internal processes to deliver digital literacy training to a more diverse population, with customized packages offering culturally appropriate training in several languages and for a variety of devices. We are thrilled to share how our support impacted the organization and how, in turn, it is transforming lives through digital equity. - What’s Happened, and What’s Next, for Our CalAIM Dementia Care Learning Collaborative by Jasmine DeGuzman Lacsamana
In our second year partnering with California Health Policy Strategies to support the CalAIM Statewide Dementia Care Learning Collaborative, we have made steady progress and are developing new outreach efforts. The collaborative is helping organizations that provide community-based dementia care and other services to benefit from CalAIM, (California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal), the reinvention and expansion of the state’s Medicaid program. The focus is helping approximately 128,000 Californians living with dementia and at risk of institutionalization, making them eligible for the new Medi-Cal benefits known as enhanced care management and community supports. - Two spotlights on grantees, Capacity Building Spotlight: Pools of Hope Expands Crucial Infrastructure and Services by Gerson Galdamez and Capacity Building Spotlight: Choice in Aging Technology Upgrade Improves Care Management by Carly Roman-Woo
We shared the work of two capacity building grantees using our new photo blog format: Pools of Hope, an aquatic wellness center in Long Beach, used funds to expand its physical therapy program, add occupational therapy services and develop a system for billing insurance providers for those services; Choice in Aging, which provides community-based long-term services and supports in the Contra Costa area, used its grant to upgrade its case management system and streamline staff training on the system. Both organizations were able to leverage our funding to acquire additional state support. - What We’re Learning (and Changing) After Listening to Our Grantees by Laura Rath
We shared lessons, takeaways, and things we’ll change after receiving a report from the Center for Effective Philanthropy, which we retained for a third time to obtain anonymous input from our grantee partners about how we’re doing and if we are on the right track toward centering justice and equity in our mission. The survey is part of the Foundation’s commitment to work collaboratively with the organizations we fund. - Award-winning Card Game Makes End-of-Life Discussions Easier by Jasmine DeGuzman Lacsamana
In partnership with the American Public Health Association, we annually present an Award for Excellence in Program Innovation to a program that links academic theory and applied practice in public health and aging. For inspiration ahead of the announcement of this year’s honoree, we profiled the 2023 winner, the Chinese American Coalition for Compassionate Care’s Heart to Heart Café, recognized for creating a card game to spark discussions about end of life wishes. The 2024 winner was the Diabetes Care Clinics at the University of the Pacific School of Pharmacy. - GUIDE Model is Coming to California: What's Next for Comprehensive Dementia Care by Carly Roman-Woo
The summer marked one year since the federal government announced its GUIDE Model to support comprehensive, coordinated care for people living with dementia and their unpaid caregivers. Consistent with the Foundation’s vision of equitable, integrated care, we recognized the value of this approach to better serving this population and launched a campaign to help spread the word about this opportunity. - Two blogs about new billing opportunities, Big Step Toward Integrated Care: Medicare's New Payments to Address Social Needs by Gerson Galdamez and New Medicare Billing Codes Address Caregiver Training Needs by Laura Rath
The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services took an important step toward meeting the comprehensive care needs of older adults, introducing new codes allowing providers to bill Medicare for health-related social needs of beneficiaries and the training of their caregivers. We also supported the work of Caregivers as Partners in Care Teams at the University of California San Franciso to as it designed guides for health care teams navigating the reimbursement system for caregiver training and education.
We appreciate your following along in 2024. From all of us on the Board and staff, we thank you for your continued partnership and look forward to working with you in 2025.
