Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation Strengthens Focus Areas: Embraces Outcomes-Based Grant Making

Chapel Hill, N.C. - After an extensive review of its grant-making philosophy, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) Foundation has strengthened its focus on pressing and unmet needs in North Carolina. Revised funding focus areas are designed to improve the health of the uninsured and other vulnerable populations, promote healthy and physically active communities, and increase the effectiveness and capability of nonprofit organizations in the state.

The Foundation's refined strategy also includes focusing on results, funding programs most likely to demonstrate significant impact over the long term.

"As an organization committed to the long-term health of our state, it is critical that the programs and services we support are maximizing impact on communities," said Kathy Higgins, BCBSNC Foundation president. "To do this, we feel it is essential that we fund programs that are capable of producing measurable and sustainable results."

Created in 2000 to promote the health and well being of North Carolinians, the BCBSNC Foundation has awarded more than $30 million in grants. These grants have helped fund statewide initiatives such as widening access to North Carolina's free clinics, promoting primary care in rural areas, improving the preschool nutrition and physical education curriculum, increasing recreation opportunities in rural communities and helping emergency management agencies help vulnerable people during natural disasters and other crises.

Over the past several months, the BCBSNC Foundation has worked with a national consulting group to complete a thorough evaluation of its overall grant-making strategies and funding focus areas. Leading experts from across the state were also consulted to help guide the decision-making process.

In 2004, the Z. Smith Reynolds (ZSR) Foundation was one of the state's first foundations to embrace outcomes-driven funding. "The transition to outcomes funding has helped ZSR become more targeted in our approach, and therefore, more impactful in our grant making," said ZSR Executive Director Tom Ross. "The BCBSNC Foundation's commitment to an outcomes funding approach will help the concept permeate the state's funders and nonprofit organizations. I believe it will serve only to maximize the benefit of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation dollars and strengthen the overall impact of their programs."

Traditionally, the BCBSNC Foundation's grant categories and funding decisions were prioritized largely by grant size. Grants will now be categorized by focus area and decisions will be made based on desired results and relevance to the newly defined areas.

The BCBSNC Foundation's new focus areas are:

• Health of Vulnerable Populations: improving the health of uninsured, low-income, minority and chronically ill individuals served by safety net organizations in North Carolina.
• Healthy Active Communities: focusing on programs designed to increase physical activity and encourage healthy eating habits.
• Community Impact through Nonprofit Excellence: building upon the Foundation's successful track record of helping North Carolina nonprofit groups strengthen their organizational capacity.

"The BCBSNC Foundation board is committed to continually improving upon our funding strategies and taking a critical look at how we can best serve our state in support of our mission to improve the health and well-being of North Carolinians. I feel very strongly that our refined approach and new focus areas will further position the Foundation where we can make the most difference - at the forefront of many of the state's community health needs," said Bob Greczyn, BCBSNC Foundation board chairman.

Applications for the new grant cycles will be accepted in February and March of 2007. To assist current and potential grantees through this transition, the Foundation is hosting a series of regional information meetings taking place Nov. 7 (Asheville), Nov. 8 (Chapel Hill) and Nov. 16 (Greenville).

Detailed information regarding each of the new focus areas is available on the BCBSNC Foundation's Web site (www.bcbsnc.com/foundation), along with specific information pertaining to the information meetings.