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Engaging funders as partners in promoting healthy land use
Approach: In 2013, Los Angeles foundations convened to explore roles for funders in supporting healthy land use.
Results: In addition to direct funding to create healthy spaces, LA foundations identified important roles they can play to promote healthy land use:
• Communicate with policymakers about policies that obstruct healthy land use.
• Support best practice documentation; disseminate successes that serve as pilots other municipalities could replicate.
• Build capacity of residents to advocate and become decision makers for healthy land use.
• Connect grassroots organizing efforts with land use policy improvement efforts.
• Facilitate communication/collaboration among stakeholders to nurture a strong voice and consistent messages.
Discussion: Funders can raise the visibility of healthy land use with community leaders and policy makers to facilitate systems change, as well as successfully engage their philanthropic peers through education on the intersection of healthy land use and other philanthropic priorities. Healthy land use is a uniquely positioned strategy that simultaneously addresses a variety of philanthropic interests (health, economic development, civic engagement , environmental sustainability). Partnership with funders to promote healthy land use leverages relationships, existing programs, and resources to maximize impact.
Learning Areas:
Public health or related public policyLearning Objectives:
List roles funders can play (in addition to direct funding) in promoting healthy land use.
Describe how healthy land use strategies simultaneously address a variety of philanthropic interests.
Keyword(s): Built Environment, Community Development
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have served as a consultant to foundations on obesity prevention grantmaking for over 8 years and have worked on, presented on and published about community-based policy, systems and environmental change to promote health for over 15 years.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.