San Diego, CA. October 3, 2019. Alliance Healthcare Foundation (Alliance) announces the start of its grant application period of Mission Support funding for eligible nonprofits in San Diego County.

Different from the previous ten years, in which Mission Support funding was also selected for eligible Imperial Valley nonprofits, the recently established Imperial County Wellness Foundation’s (IVWF) Board of Trustees will be running its own grant application cycle in early 2020 and selecting its recipients at that time.

For nonprofit organizations serving San Diego County, Mission Support funding ranges from $25,000 to $100,000 per recipient, totaling $815,000*.

The Mission Support program is based on the belief that trusting those closest to our constituents, and providing core operating support for great organizations, will best further Alliance’s mission. Alliance aims to advance health and wellness for the most vulnerable in San Diego County.

Funding is awarded to 501(c)3 nonprofits in San Diego that serve the most vulnerable populations, who often experience inequities in health or social outcomes.

Organizations may use the Mission Support funds provided as they see fit, allowing them to apply the funds in a way that best meets the most pressing needs of the people they serve.

This is a tall order as it’s estimated that 35% of San Diego households are living below the Self-Sufficiency rate, according to Insight Center for Community Economic Development. (The Self-Sufficiency Standard measures how much income a family of a certain composition in a given place needs to adequately meet their basic needs—without public or private assistance.)

“Supporting great organizations is vital to our mission. Through our Mission Support program, Alliance aims to provide funding to organizations that advance health and wellness of underserved populations in our communities, and demonstrate the ability and leadership to deliver high quality outcomes,” stated Sarah Lyman, Executive Director, Alliance Healthcare Foundation. “We look forward to supporting the social and health impact achieved by this year’s Mission Support grantees.”

2020 San Diego Mission Support Application Schedule
Open: October 4, 2019 (8:00am PST)
Close: November 1, 2019 (5:00pm PST)
Decisions: January 2020
Grant Disbursements: February 2020
Apply here

*Previously reported as $915,000 in error. $815,000 represents the total available funding across all San Diego organizations receiving this year’s Mission Support grant. Funding remains at $25,000 to $100,000 per recipient. 

##########About Alliance Healthcare Foundation. We work to advance health and wellness for the most vulnerable in San Diego and Imperial counties through collaborative funding, convening and advocacy.

We believe wellness is a state of complete physical, mental, spiritual, economic and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Society, community, neighborhood and family are collectively responsible for creating an environment of health and wellness. Wellness is personal and is not the same for everyone. Individuals need information and support to make positive choices for a more successful existence.

We currently operate a portfolio of five programs:

1. i2 Innovation Initiative — also referred to as “venture philanthropy”—based on the thesis that innovation capital (often high risk, high reward) is needed to transform the current paradigm (high cost and poor outcomes) and improve quality, increase capacity and reduce costs;
2. Mission Support—based on the belief that trusting those closest to our constituents and providing core operating support for great organizations will best advance our mission;
3. Responsive Funding—based on the belief that it is important to be responsive to time-sensitive community needs and opportunities;
4. InvestUp—based on the belief that it is important to actively and strategically be looking for ways to meaningfully advance our mission and it is worth spending some or all of our corpus—beyond the earnings off of our endowment—if we can substantively, sustainably and positively change the dynamics; and
5. Impact Investments–based on the thesis that we can activate our investment portfolio to achieve more positive impact.

Our History. In 1982, the San Diego Community Healthcare Alliance (Alliance) created the first Preferred Provider Organization/Network (PPO) in the United States. From 1989 through 1994, the Alliance funded Alliance Healthcare Foundation (AHF) through profits from its Community Care Network (CCN) operations. In 1994, Alliance sold CCN to a national healthcare company and channeled the proceeds from CCN’s sale into an endowment of $83 million for AHF. That endowment has enabled funding of approximately $64 million (USD) in direct funding and approximately $41 million (USD) from national and local funding partners in San Diego and Imperial counties. Our endowment holds approximately $80 million in assets today, with funding for programs and operations derived from endowment investment earnings.

AHF Media contact:
Karen Winston, Communications Director, Alliance Healthcare Foundation
P 858-348-6472 E karen.winston@alliancehf.org