Public Interest Fellowship Program Fellowship Description This information will be made available to all fellowship applicants.

Transcription

1 Public Interest Fellowship Program Fellowship Description This information will be made available to all fellowship applicants. Organization Name: Location (City/State): Caring for Colorado Foundation Denver, Colorado X Yearlong Fellowship Summer 2014 Fellowship Please type or paste responses directly into boxes below. Boxes will expand to fit. Organization s Mission: Mission: To promote health and improve health care for the people of Colorado. Vision: The people of Colorado are the healthiest in the nation. Values: All Coloradans deserve high quality health care services that are accessible and affordable. We target resources to address the needs of the underserved and to reduce health disparities. We partner with nonprofits, government and other funders to address health concerns in our state. We fund programs that are based in evidence and produce meaningful health outcomes. Community input informs our funding priorities and direction. We report our funding decisions and impact to the Colorado community. Organization s Website: Organization s Primary Activities, Projects, & Work: Caring for Colorado is a grantmaking foundation dedicated to improving the health and health care of the people of Colorado. The Foundation was created in 1999 from the proceeds of the sale of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Colorado. We are a non-profit, 501(c)(4) organization and our board of directors is appointed by the Governor of Colorado. Together with our partners, we are working to put dollars to work throughout Colorado to build local health care capacity, strengthen health care systems, link people to care and promote prevention. Our annual grantmaking ranges from $6- $7 million. Caring for Colorado s funding priorities have been developed over the years through active community input. This is sought regularly at foundation-sponsored community meetings and in our work with health care partners throughout the state. We also shape our priorities by assessing critical health care needs and gaps facing Coloradans, while also working to align funding decisions with current efforts in health care reform. Caring for Colorado s funding priorities, per our Strategic Plan, include the following:

2 Organization: Caring for Colorado_, page 2 Strengthening the primary health care safety net 1. Build capacity of the safety net by funding providers, capital, equipment and projects to increase the quality of services provided and overall capacity in Colorado s safety net. 2. Offer technical assistance to vulnerable safety net health clinics to prepare/strengthen them for ACA implementation and increase operational and financial stability. Targeted technical assistance will support: business planning, strategic planning, financial analysis, operational improvements and the implementation of new rules, regulations and systems. Special area of emphasis for Oral Health 1. Support efforts to improve and expand school-based oral health services (dental sealant and fluoride programs) in Colorado. 2. Continue to fund oral health programs in Colorado s safety net. 3. Partner with a broad stakeholder group to study and develop recommendations for addressing workforce shortages and improve access to care, especially for underserved individuals and in rural communities. Special area of emphasis for Mental Health 1. Promote the integration of behavioral health care into primary care. 2. Continue to fill funding gaps for community-based mental health programs. 3. Fund projects that provide access to care for special populations who have barriers to care due to language, culture, geography or special circumstances. 4. Strengthen Caring for Colorado s funding of early childhood mental health programs by working to further define and improve Caring for Colorado s role in improving the social, emotional and mental health of young children. Special area of emphasis for Health Professions Work with foundation and academic partners to ensure that Colorado s health care workforce is adequate for meeting the demand for health care, both in urban centers and rural communities throughout the state. Children and Youth 1. Strengthen school-based health centers, especially in rural, underserved areas of the state. 2. Continue to fund a wide array of home visitation programs for high-risk families with infants and toddlers. Evaluate which of these programs is the most effective and direct resources accordingly. 3. Support efforts, at the state and local level, to enroll children in health insurance. 4. Explore a different grantmaking strategy in one rural community with the goal of addressing the root causes of adverse child health outcomes following a collective impact model of change. Special area of emphasis in 2014 Number of Staff: 8

3 Organization s Non-Discrimination Policy Statement: Organization: Caring for Colorado_, page 3 The Foundation is dedicated to the principles of equal employment opportunity in any term, condition or privilege of employment. We prohibit discrimination against applicants or staff members on the basis of age, race, sexual orientation, gender, color, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status or any other status protected by federal, state or local law. This prohibition of discrimination includes unlawful harassment based on any of these protected classes. Unlawful harassment includes verbal or physical conduct that has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment. This policy of nondiscrimination applies to all staff members, including managers, supervisors, co-workers, and non-- staff members such as grant applicants, vendors, consultants, etc. The Company will make reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with known disabilities and staff members whose work requirements interfere with a religious belief unless doing so would result in an undue hardship to the Company. This policy governs all aspects of employment, including selection, job assignment, compensation, discipline, termination, and access to benefits and training. The Foundation prohibits retaliation against any staff member for filing a complaint under this policy or for assisting in a complaint investigation. Title of Fellow: Fellow Primary Responsibilities of Fellow: Support for Grantmaking Team: -schedule meetings and site visits -take notes/minutes at meetings and share/distribute as required -research non-profit organizations that are seeking funding -help with basic grant review, including writing up grant recommendations with team input -provide office back-up to administrative staff (answering phone, greeting visitors) Research / Writing: - research topics to help support Caring for Colorado s grantmaking strategies - write research briefs to help staff understand issues, from different perspectives, on the topics researched Evaluation: - participate in the development of the annual Outcomes and Evaluation Report - conduct topic specific or region specific evaluation of Caring for Colorado grantmaking to help inform staff and the board on the foundation s progress toward meeting various organizational goals Fellow-specific project: Conduct at least one major project that the fellow and his /her supervisor develop. This project will be based in a community and will help the fellow to learn about: a rural region of Colorado, a specific health or public health issue, how to work within a community, and how to take a project from start to finish, with a tangible product at the end. The project will be developed based on the fellow s personal and professional interests, as well as the need within a community for such a project. Some examples of projects could be to help a community start a school-based dental sealant program, helping a community organization seek and get funding for a specific program, helping a small nonprofit think about how to use social marketing to improve their PR and marketing efforts, or working with foundation staff to develop a community-input process that targets youth to help inform the foundation s grantmaking priorities.

4 Organization: Caring for Colorado_, page 4 Supervision of Fellow: Linda Reiner, Vice President of Planning and Evaluation will serve as the supervisor. The fellow will work as part of the Grantmaking Team. How Fellow Will Contribute to Capacity-Building/Systemic Change: As a participant in Caring for Colorado s grantmaking, the Fellow will both learn and contribute to health care capacity building for underserved populations in Colorado. Caring for Colorado strives to fund programs that both build capacity and support system-level improvements and change. A fellowship at Caring for Colorado will offer many opportunities to learn about this through the grantmaking process. Training & Networking Opportunities for Fellow: Accompany grantmaking staff on site visits during grant review. During a year s time, this could be as many as 50 different site visits across the state, depending on the fellow s interest and stamina. Attend one Rural Philanthropy Days event (3 day event in a rural region of the state where Denver-based foundations meet with local government and non-profits to understand regional issues and to improve access to philanthropic dollars in the region). Participate in a variety of meetings / convenings to learn about health issues for Colorado. Participate in the PIFP luncheon series, where PIFP placement sites share and highlight their work. Attend Caring for Colorado Program Committee and Board of Directors meetings. Attend a Caring for Colorado Board of Directors retreat (always held outside of Denver for 2-3 days) Participate in appropriate state conferences, such as the Colorado Public Health Association, Colorado Rural Health Conference, etc. Qualifications Sought in Fellow (skills/background): Required: Strong writing and research skills Strong computer skills (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) Strong interpersonal communication skills. Working in philanthropy involves meeting lots of different people and requires a high level of engagement and interest in people and their work. Therefore, strong social skills and strong personal presentation are necessary. Strong critical thinking skills Ability to work both in a team and independently Ability to present self, to professional colleagues and in communities, as non-judgmental, positive, friendly, and helpful. Professionalism, punctuality and appropriate business attire for internal and external functions. Curiosity about health/health care, public health and the non-profit sector. Curiosity about people, their communities, and their needs. Personal transportation to travel to meetings; willingness to travel outside of Denver and possibly have overnight stays. Ability to take direction from several team members and manage / prioritize workload.

5 Organization: Caring for Colorado_, page 5 Preferred: Database development and/or management skills. Creative / design skills to help develop engaging presentations, publications, etc. Understanding of current events, as it relates to health care. Beneficial: Understanding of how philanthropy contributes to health / education / civic improvements. Interest in, or knowledge of, public policy.