The California Endowment’s Board of Directors is very proud of what we have accomplished together during the past nine years and considers BHC to be a great success.  A detailed list of BHC accomplishments can be found here, and a few highlights are listed below.

• Statewide policy and systems improvements
• Expanded health coverage to uninsured and undocumented Californians.
• School climate and discipline reforms that led to dramatic reductions in school suspensions statewide.
• Improved policy focus on juvenile justice reform.
• Statewide attention to racial bias and the challenges affecting boys and young men of color.
• A Program-Related Investments (PRI) strategy that amplified and leveraged our grant making by increasing access to affordable fresh food, health coverage, and supportive housing across California.
• Hundreds of local policy and system improvements at the county, school district, and city level.
• Across the 14 BHC sites, more than 780 policy and systems wins and tangible improvements were documented in health access, land use, school discipline reform, democratic representation, and youth development and leadership.
• The civic participation, activism, engagement, and leadership of young people across our state.
• A powerful new narrative about community, place, health and inclusion of all Californians.

Through BHC, we learned that activism, advocacy, community organizing, and civic participation to build people power has a significant and meaningful impact on the community and environmental conditions that affect health.  The scientific evidence also affirms that agency, belonging, and civic engagement in a vibrant, inclusive democracy contribute to individual health and well-being. The converse is also true: stigmatization, oppression, marginalization, and racism all have trauma-based, detrimental health impacts.  A full discussion of the lessons we have learned through BHC can be found here.

Our goal, over the next decade and across the foundation, is to help create a healthy, inclusive and equitable California, building on the lessons we have learned and assets we have developed together. To guide this aspiration, our Board of Directors has adopted this vision and commitment statement based on our conviction and belief that this is the right course for us:

The California Endowment’s Vision Statement

We envision a California that leads the nation as a powerful and conscientious voice for wellness, inclusion, and shared prosperity.
Where the talent and genius of all young people are no longer left on the sidelines, but are central to the state’s future;
Where California invests in the wellness of all and assures meaningful opportunities for all, particularly the next generations, and those who have been excluded from opportunity because of discrimination, marginalization and stigmatization;
Where there is racial truth and reconciliation, justice and healing;
Where public institutions are responsive to, and reflective of, the will of all the people;
Where all have voice, and are empowered to participate in a robust democracy;
Where health destiny is not determined by a person’s ZIP code; ultimately making California the nation’s healthiest state, and a model that fulfills America’s true promise of equality and justice for all people.

Together we will work toward a California for All in the 21st Century.

In support of this vision, The California Endowment will invest in three bold ideas in the decade to come.  These ideas have been shaped by our last decade of listening to and engaging with young people and grassroots communities across our state.  These three ideas are:

• People Power:developing young and adult leaders to work intergenerationally to raise up the voice of marginalized communities and promote greater civic activism as essential building blocks for an inclusive, healthier, more equitably prosperous state;
• Reimagining Our Institutions:transforming our public institutions to become significant investors in, and champions of, racial and social equity, and in the healthy development and success of young people for generations to come;
• A 21st century “Health for All” system:ensuring prevention, community wellness, and access to quality health care for ALL Californians.

These three bold ideas reflect our belief that California will be a healthier place to live and a model for the nation when it is free from social inequality and racial injustice.