Blue Shield of California Foundation Announces Nearly $7 Million to Strengthen Leadership in Critical Safety Net Organizations

San Francisco, June 9, 2011 — Blue Shield of California Foundation (BSCF) today announced nearly $7 million in second quarter grants, the bulk of which are aimed at strengthening the leadership of California community clinics and domestic violence organizations. 

“When it comes to California’s healthcare and domestic violence safety net systems, effective leadership will be critical over the next decade,” said Peter Long, Ph.D., president and CEO of BSCF. 

“Community clinics and domestic violence organizations are facing increased demands and constrained funding,” he explained. “One of the best ways we can help is to ensure that they have a deep and dynamic team of capable leaders who can manage the current fiscal challenges while improving the efficiency and quality of their services to meet clients’ needs.”

Leadership to Address Domestic Violence 

Because of the state’s ongoing fiscal crisis, the funding situation for domestic violence organizations remains challenging and uncertain. Meanwhile, the economic climate continues to put a strain on California families, and domestic violence organizations report a sharp increase in the demand for their services. 

To address these demands, the Foundation is making significant investments to strengthen leadership and capacity of the domestic violence field in California, primarily through the Foundation’s Strong Field Project, a four-year effort to build a stronger, more coordinated network of domestic violence service providers in the state. These include:

  • $2,300,000 over 42 months to Women’s Foundation of California to support up to15 leading domestic violence organizations build their organizational capacity and develop promising practices for the field;
  • $800,000 over 24 months to CompassPoint Nonprofit Services to deliver comprehensive leadership development training for up to 20 domestic violence leaders; 
  • $300,000 over 18 months to Nonprofit Finance Fund to strengthen the financial capacity of domestic violence service providers through trainings and “tough times” financial consulting services for up to 12 organizations; and
  • $438,000 over 12 months to California Partnership to End Domestic Violence to advance statewide capacity for policy advocacy and improve connectivity among domestic violence leaders.

Strengthening Leadership in Community Clinics

Over the next few years, community clinics will play a crucial role in delivering on the promise of expanding coverage under health reform. Also during this critical time, a number of clinics will be going through leadership transitions.

Since 2008, BSCF has been partnering with University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Center for Health Professions to administer Clinic Leadership Institute (CLI). CLI is ensuring that the next generation of community clinic leaders are effective and passionate change agents in what will be a rapidly evolving health care environment. Since its inception, CLI has graduated 58 emerging clinic leaders, the majority of whom have gone onto more senior roles. 

  • To further this successful track record, the Foundation announced an additional $2.1 million over 24 months to UCSF to train a fifth cohort of 25 emerging clinic leaders.  

Other grants made this quarter include:

  • $474,424 over 24 months to The California Health Care Safety Net Institute to establish a learning collaborative among hospitals to control costs by reducing and improving management of hospital acquired infections;
  • $300,000 over 12 months to Small Business Majority to educate California’s small business owners about the new opportunities created by the federal health reform law;
  • $100,000 over 12 months to Public Policy Institute of California to build capacity to analyze and research health policy issues related to implementation of federal health reform; and
  • $52,000 over 18 months to Asian Women’s Shelter to complete, analyze, and document an executive transition process.

About Blue Shield of California Foundation

Blue Shield of California Foundation is one of the state’s largest healthcare grantmaking organizations. Visit: www.blueshieldcafoundation.org.

The Foundation was formed by Blue Shield of California, a not-for-profit corporation with more than 3.4 million members, 4,800 employees, and 20 offices throughout California. Visit: www.blueshieldca.com.

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