Cedars-Sinai Medical Center has awarded a record $36.5 million in grants and sponsorships to nonprofit organizations throughout Los Angeles that are working to improve access to healthcare, civic engagement, social determinants of health and other nonmedical factors that influence health outcomes.
More than 200 community organizations received grants during the fiscal year that ended June 30. The groups are the latest to benefit from Cedars-Sinai’s growing commitment to the safety net that serves vulnerable populations. Cedars-Sinai grantmaking has increased more than $5 million each year for the past four years.
“Cedars-Sinai is committed to improving the health of everyone in our community by investing in the organizations dedicated to transforming the lives of vulnerable Angelenos,” said Thomas M. Priselac, president and CEO of Cedars-Sinai. “These grants help community-based nonprofits realize their critical mission of improving life and health for all.”
Improving Social Determinants of Health
To improve social determinants of health throughout Los Angeles, Cedars-Sinai granted nearly $15 million to local organizations working to strengthen housing and homelessness services and workforce development. Among those grants is a $3.725 million grant to the United Way of Greater Los Angeles to support older adults experiencing homelessness and to diversify and strengthen the homeless services workforce.
Cedars-Sinai also made a $150,000 grant to support strategic planning at Homeless Outreach Program Integrated Care Services (HOPICS), the lead agency for housing and behavioral health services in South Los Angeles.
“We are at a pivotal moment in terms of our organizational growth,” said HOPICS director Veronica Lewis. “The demand for our expertise and services is rising at unprecedented rates, and we believe it is our responsibility to expand our impact to address the growing homelessness crisis, particularly in South Los Angeles. This health equity grant will enable us to develop meaningful, usable plans to be effective and sustainable as we work to ensure equity within our organization, among our partners, and throughout the communities and populations we serve.”
Increasing Access to Healthcare
To improve access to healthcare, Cedars-Sinai granted more than $10 million to local organizations that work to increase the capacity of organizations that provide comprehensive, quality healthcare services for underserved populations. Plunum Health, a collaboration of three local community health centers, received $1 million to support the launch of the Plunum Care Transformation Project, which aims to improve healthcare by employing artificial intelligence.
Planned Parenthood Los Angeles (PPLA) received a $200,000 grant to support its Black Health Initiative at its newly opened Inglewood Health Center.
“Planned Parenthood Los Angeles is a proud recipient of a grant from Cedars-Sinai. The Black Health Initiative is led by Black leaders in the PPLA community and works to strengthen access to high-quality care, education and equitable resources,” said Sue Dunlap, president and CEO, Planned Parenthood Los Angeles.
“PPLA continues to expand access to care with our new Inglewood Health Center and Inglewood Community Center aimed at providing doula services, education, behavioral health care, STI [sexually transmitted infection] testing and treatment, and prenatal and perinatal care. While we see the ongoing attacks to reproductive healthcare on the national stage, PPLA is stepping up to meet this moment and provide and expand access to care, no matter what.”
“This year’s grants are helping set the stage for deeper investments in new areas such as Black maternal health, youth homelessness, and economic stability,” said Erin Jackson-Ward, Cedars-Sinai Community Giving Office director. “We look forward to supporting our community partners in further advancing their efforts in those areas.”
Enhancing Civic Engagement
To enhance civic engagement, Cedars-Sinai granted $6 million to more than 60 organizations.
Among the grantees are two organizations focused on foster youth. Project Q, a local organization that helps LGBTQ youths, received $44,000 for an intergenerational project aimed at healing relationships between foster-involved Black LGBTQ teens and their caregivers.
Peace4Kids, a nonprofit organization serving youth in foster care, received $150,000 to pilot a workforce development program.
“The pandemic has impacted the foster care community in a profound way. To successfully emerge from this crisis, we need a shared agenda that recognizes the assets and strengths that affected communities possess,” said Zaid Gayle, co-founder and executive director of Peace4Kids. “Through our grant from Cedars-Sinai, we’ve been able to pilot a certificate program to train youth leaders on advancing evidence-based practices to heal trauma. In turn, these advocates will work directly in their communities to change the way professionals address toxic stress and trauma for youth in foster care.”
Cedars-Sinai also gave more than $250,000 to several humanitarian relief efforts, including relief agencies in Ukraine and Haiti and American Red Cross efforts at U.S. disaster sites. Cedars-Sinai also supported the International Institute of Los Angeles’ Refugee Resettlement Coalition, which established a comprehensive network of services and resources for thousands of refugees and asylum-seekers in Los Angeles each year.
“Cedars-Sinai’s mission inspires us to expand our work beyond the walls of the hospital to impact the broader Los Angeles community,” said Jonathan Schreiber, Cedars-Sinai vice president of Community Engagement. “Our grants reflect Cedars-Sinai’s values as we and our community partners work to strengthen the safety net and bring greater health access and equity to the vulnerable populations.”
