Birth Equity Catalyst Project
Boldly Go Philanthropy
April 2022-September 2022
In partnership with Boldly Go Philanthropy and Afton Bloom, we’re expanding our commitment to seeding place-based birth equity funder collaboratives.
Forming the New Jersey Birth Equity Funders Alliance taught us the power of working collectively as funders and clarified the need for clear guidelines and infrastructure to support effective collaboration.
In the process, we developed a playbook for how funders can work together—including how to develop a charter, investment principals, and grant criteria.
Throughout 2022, CHAP began exploring opportunities to seed similar funder collaboratives in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Arkansas. The idea was to support place-based birth equity funder collaboratives that would complement state efforts, strengthen community engagement, and improve maternal health outcomes. The Pritzker Children’s Initiative joined the effort with a particular focus on Michigan and Ohio.
While the work aimed to improve coordination, CHAP also began exploring the idea of collaborating with other national foundations to convene a birth equity summit for funders to advance birth equity work throughout the United States.
In October 2022, a group of private funders came together to organize a Birth Equity Funders’ Summit as a first step towards strengthening our commitment to the issue and activating a frank discussion on how funders can better support the work being led by the field. This report captures themes and practical recommendations for funders in support of achieving birth equity across the U.S.
