Health Forward Foundation

Health Forward Foundation Health Forward Foundation supports and builds inclusive, powerful, and healthy communities.

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11/21/2025

Celebrating 20 Years of Stronger Tomorrows! 🎉 We're highlighting our amazing partners who have been with us on our mission to advance health equity. Here's how Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center is helping build Stronger Tomorrows!

Thanks to integrated care initiatives and Health Forward funding, they are removing barriers to care across their community. They now provide onsite therapy in 15 school districts, preventing kids from missing class and ensuring they receive whole-person care — from mental health to housing needs.

But the innovation doesn't stop there! They've also equipped providers with telemedicine backpacks. This allows their team to go directly to where the need lives, delivering both teletherapy and physical telemedicine support right to individuals in their homes.

This work is overcoming negative stigma and promoting a better, more accessible future for their communities. We're so proud of the work we've accomplished together to improve lives in our community!

Happy ! One of the things people love about the Kansas City region is that it's a place where people show up for their...
11/20/2025

Happy !

One of the things people love about the Kansas City region is that it's a place where people show up for their communities and each other. This is especially true in the many rural communities surrounding Kansas City.

We are lucky to work with nonprofits across our region who demonstrate that when people have connection, care, and access to what they need, our whole community is healthier, and no one gets left behind. That’s the power of Kansas City. And it’s the .

Today, we say thank you to our partners who are fiercely committed to improving health equity in rural areas, especially for people who feel like they've been left to figure things out on their own. They know that healthy communities don’t just happen. They are made by people who care.

Earlier this year, we shared a crucial Rural Communities report that lays out the realities of health and economic systems in rural Kansas. Focused investment is — and will remain — essential.

This , take a moment to better understand who lives in rural areas and how we can support them.

Read the full report and brief here:https://healthforward.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Rural-Data-Brief.pdf

We are incredibly proud to have recently reconvened our Health Equity Learning and Action Network (LAN) partners and our...
11/14/2025

We are incredibly proud to have recently reconvened our Health Equity Learning and Action Network (LAN) partners and our People Partners for the "Centering Data for Better Care" event!

The progress our partners are making to advance health equity through data is truly inspiring.

We look forward to continuing this vital work and supporting your mutual commitments to Shared Purpose, Collaboration, and Courage and Care in the new year. Thank you for your continued partnership!

11/14/2025

Celebrating 20 Years of Stronger Tomorrows! 🎉 We're highlighting the incredible people — from our partners to our staff — who have been with us on our mission to advance health equity.

Here's how our very own John Tramel - Impact Strategist, Place, is looking forward to stronger tomorrows. As John said: "I was in a community meeting where Dr. Joseph Lowry, a civil rights leader and hero of our time, said... 'We can't expect justice for anybody if we're not willing to fight for justice for everybody.' As a foundation, our future is really ensuring that every one of our community members has an inclusive, healthy, and powerful life, and we're gonna make that happen."

We're so proud of the work we've accomplished together to improve lives in our community!

11/07/2025

Celebrating 20 Years of Stronger Tomorrows! 🎉 We're highlighting our amazing partners who have been with us on our mission to advance health equity.

Here's how our partnership with Bluford Healthcare Leadership Institute has created stronger tomorrows by cultivating a pipeline of diverse, undergraduate talent for health care leadership. As their President & Founder, John Bluford, said: "One of the critical aspects of the funding from Health Forward is the infrastructure that they've allowed us to nurture. Health Forward lets its recipients stretch ourselves, be creative, make a mistake now and then, and think outside the box. I like to say thinking outside of the bed in health care - that's where the big gains are made, and they've allowed us to do that."

We're so proud of the work we've accomplished together to improve lives in our community!

At Health Forward Foundation, we have created an Ofrenda in our office to honor Día de los Mu***os. This cherished tradi...
11/05/2025

At Health Forward Foundation, we have created an Ofrenda in our office to honor Día de los Mu***os. This cherished tradition is now in its third year and was inspired by a poignant afternoon spent two years ago with local advocates from Kansas City's Westside Latino neighborhood.

As we admired the heartfelt displays for Día de los Mu***os at the Mattie Rhodes Center, we felt a deep connection to the practice of honoring those we have lost.

This inspired us to create our own Ofrenda to remember our loved ones. We continue this annual and special tradition, inviting reflection in the midst of our busy lives.

If you visit the Health Forward office, we encourage you to take a moment to pause and rejoice in the happiness you once shared with those who are no longer with us, for their memories continue to live on in our hearts, guiding and inspiring us each day🌼💀

***os

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the Narrative Change Summit 2025 last Friday! 🎉Your energy and participation hel...
11/04/2025

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the Narrative Change Summit 2025 last Friday! 🎉

Your energy and participation helped make the day an inspiring step toward telling stories that build understanding, strengthen community, and drive change.

We set out to achieve some big goals — and thanks to you, we hit them all! We successfully worked to build narrative skills, foster collaboration, and center impacted communities.

A special thank you to our phenomenal speakers, Mik Moore and Melissa Ferrer Civil, the inaugural poet laureate of Kansas City, Missouri, for sharing their powerful voices.

We are energized by the momentum generated and look forward to seeing how these narrative skills are put into action across our communities.

Digital access is health access. Recently, Health Forward Foundation convened our funded digital equity partners to lear...
11/03/2025

Digital access is health access.

Recently, Health Forward Foundation convened our funded digital equity partners to learn, share, and strengthen collective efforts to close the digital divide across our communities of focus.

With insights from Angela Siefer of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, contributions from regional partners, and reflection led by our Impact Learning and Evaluation Team, the day reinforced a key truth: advancing digital equity is essential to advancing health equity.

Health Forward is proud to bring partners together to align strategies, build capacity, and drive systems change that improves health for all.

🗓️ General municipal elections in Kansas are tomorrow! 📢Make a plan to vote. And make sure your friends and neighbors ha...
11/03/2025

🗓️ General municipal elections in Kansas are tomorrow! 📢

Make a plan to vote. And make sure your friends and neighbors have a voting plan, too.

Civic engagement is a vital step towards influencing positive health outcomes. 🗳️🤝 Let's take action and advocate for policies that prioritize health and well-being, leading us all toward healthier lives.

10/31/2025

Celebrating 20 Years of Stronger Tomorrows! 🎉 We're highlighting our amazing partners who have been with us on our mission to advance health equity.

Here's how our partner, Build WyCo is looking forward to stronger tomorrows. As their executive director, Brennan Crawford, said, "Housing has direct environmental impacts on health. One of the programs that I'm most excited about that Health Forward has supported over the years is our home repair and improvement program. I can think of no other program that so directly impacts resident health than home repair and improvement because it hits on, air quality, it hits on energy performance, it hits on accessibility."

We're so proud of the work we've accomplished together to improve lives in our community!

10/24/2025

Celebrating 20 Years of Stronger Tomorrows! 🎉 We're amplifying the power of community leaders who are advancing health equity with us.

From our founding, our Board has been a driving force in our mission to eliminate barriers to health and uplift communities. As our board chair, Lynette Wheeler, said: "My future impact I would like to see is to continue to advocate for equal justice for all communities, for all needs, whether it's housing, education, health care access. I really am proud to be a member of the Health Forward Foundation Board with our goal to provide equal justice for all."

We're so proud of the work we've accomplished together to improve lives in our community!

The Health Forward Team hit the road on another Impact Bus Tour🚌 with the United Way of Greater Kansas City team.We visi...
10/22/2025

The Health Forward Team hit the road on another Impact Bus Tour🚌 with the United Way of Greater Kansas City team.

We visited organizations deeply rooted in Kansas City, providing comprehensive support and contributing to Health Forward's mission of achieving health equity and securing a fair and just region through leadership, advocacy, and resources.

These visits are invaluable for our team, especially those who don't have the opportunity to be out in the community every day.

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2300 Main Street, Suite 304
Kansas City, MO
64108

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Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
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Our Story

Formerly the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City, Health Forward Foundation is igniting a culture of health by tackling pressing health issues for those most in need. Through partnership and advocacy, we are working to transform communities so everyone has an opportunity for better health. Since we began grantmaking in 2005, Health Forward has awarded approximately $306 million to agencies addressing health needs in the community.