How does SLHI fit into the foundation and grantmaking world?
SLHI is a healthcare conversion foundation, formed through the sale of the nonprofit St. Lukes Health System in 1995 to a for-profit corporation, with the net proceeds intended to endow the organizations continuing charitable mission of improving the health of people and their communities in Arizona. In the early years, roughly 1995-2000, SLHI pursued this mission primarily through making grants to other not-for-profit community organizations. Gradually, the emphasis shifted to SLHI’s growing reputation for producing high-quality, independent analyses of critical health care and community health issues (Arizona Health Futures), a thriving technical assistance program for community nonprofits (TAP), and proactive, strength-based community development through Health in a New Key activities and communities of practice. Today, we are best described as a quasi-operational foundation: we make grants to other organizations but also operate our own education, advocacy, community development an
