Bold goals, refined strategy: Foundation takes new approaches to fulfilling its mission

During one of the most challenging years that many of us have ever faced, Blue Shield of California Foundation has seized the opportunity to refine the strategies that will help us end domestic violence and achieve health equity in California. With our eyes ever focused on prevention, we are tackling root causes – namely gender and economic inequity, and racism – of these entrenched problems. Our commitment is to listen to Californians’ needs and to find solutions that not only show promise, but that can be scaled up to serve as many people as possible, as quickly as possible.

As many of our partners already know, in 2021 we have been building on our previous work while deepening our focus on our core mission. Together with the organizations we support, we can improve the lives of Californians most affected by domestic violence and health inequity – specifically, people of color in communities with low incomes. We share a vision of a California where everyone, especially the most vulnerable, has the same opportunity for a healthy life.

It’s been exciting to collaborate in new ways within the Foundation, as well. When I joined the Foundation in March 2020, I was truly inspired by its mission and bold goals, to make California the healthiest state and end domestic violence. With the expertise of our passionate, talented staff and the support of our board of trustees, we have been making progress fueled by a refined strategy that the board approved in March 2021. The Foundation now has multidisciplinary teams working to:

• strengthen economic security and mobility
• break the cycle of domestic violence
• align systems with community priorities

While each team has a distinct approach, all of us are looking for ways to change the systems that perpetuate and enable domestic violence and health inequities. All of us are looking for ways to deepen our impact in California by reaching more people and helping them to live healthier lives.

Now, the Foundation’s website has been updated to incorporate our strategy refinement and the ways we are living it in our day-to-day work. We are always learning and adapting, and the website will reflect that. We invite you to learn along with us, exploring resources like the survey documenting the unequal impact of COVID-19 or the playbook of innovations in domestic violence prevention. In the coming year, we expect to publish more about how we measure progress toward our goals and what we’re discovering.

Looking ahead, we see a future that is bright with possibility and promise.

• We see systems evolving to be more responsive to the needs of empowered communities.
• We see policies that allow care workers, survivors of domestic violence, and other Californians with low incomes to build more economic security for themselves and their families.
• We see multigenerational families that have endured domestic violence taking paths to healing, which is prevention for the next generation.
• We see a healthier, more equitable California.

We can’t get there alone. Thank you for being with us on the journey.