Align Systems with Community Priorities

Even with the challenges they’re facing, public health systems must stay focused on a clear north star: building systems that center communities, integrate equity into how they operate, and deliver more responsive, effective, and just outcomes for all.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed deep inequities in access, outcomes, and trust in public institutions — particularly among communities with low incomes, communities of color, immigrants, and rural populations.

As we close 2025, we’re spotlighting the work of grantees, partners, and communities who advance equity and work to prevent domestic violence across California.

Our newsletter, Intersections, explores the connectedness of health in our communities and imagines a better future.

A daughter of Fresno returns home to support Central Valley women using storytelling to influence change and shape systems that impact their families and communities.

Our newsletter, Intersections, explores the connectedness of health in our communities and imagines a better future.

The BUILD Health Challenge (BUILD) launched in 2015 with an interest in understanding how partners who were invested in a healthy population could work together to change the conditions that drive health in a community. A decade later, with over $30M invested in 68 collaboratives advancing health equity across the country, the results demonstrate the power of community-centered, cross-sector partnerships to create real and lasting impact.

In 2024, Blue Shield of California Foundation awarded 99 grants totaling over $17 million to organizations that are working to build lasting and equitable solutions to make California the healthiest state and end domestic violence.

Erasing National Minority Health Month makes it more difficult to address the disparities it once drew attention to.

Blue Shield of California Foundation prioritizes community researchers to create solutions that reflect real needs.