The Convergence Partnership has prioritized improving access to healthy food since its inception, bringing a systems approach and an equity orientation to investing in multisector policy solutions.
Prevention Institute serves as strategic advisor for the Convergence Partnership, providing staffing and guidance on strategy development and policy analysis. The Convergence Partnership is a national funder collaborative working to transform policies, practices, and systems to advance racial justice and health equity.
The Convergence Partnership is led by a Steering Committee made up of representatives from eleven national, statewide, and local foundations and multifunder initiatives: The California Endowment, Chicago Community Trust with Elevated Chicago, Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Health Forward Foundation, Foundation for Louisiana, Kansas Health Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, Sierra Health Foundation with the San Joaquin Valley Health Fund, Stupski Foundation, and W.K. Kellogg Foundation. PolicyLink is the program director and fiscal sponsor for the Partnership.
The Convergence Partnership envisions a just and inclusive society where all people—especially those most impacted by structural racism—are empowered to shape the policies and systems that impact their lives, are healthy, and can thrive. Convergence believes that community power is a key social, political, and economic driver of health.
To achieve its vision, the Convergence Partnership invests in:
- Amplifying Community Power: Investing in community power and agency to drive long-term structural change;
- Transforming Narratives: Elevating cohesive narratives and stories to shift public attitudes toward inclusion, belonging, and the dignity of all people; and
- Building Funder Capacity: Mobilizing and influencing funders to shift their practices, relationships, and investments toward racial justice and health equity.
The Partnership employs a core set of approaches to achieve its vision of racial justice and health equity:
- Advocacy to advance equity-focused policy and systems change, informed and led by grassroots leaders and community voices.
- Investments in efforts that increase community power to transform racist policies, systems, and narratives; with an intentional focus on leveraging other resources to add value and catalyze new efforts.
- Partnerships that strategically connect grassroots leaders, advocates, policymakers, and funders to align multiple agendas and efforts toward equity-focused policy and systems changes.
- Network Engagement to activate a national network of philanthropic leaders working to transform their investments, practices, and relationships toward racial justice and health equity.
- Communications that both amplify the narratives, stories, learnings, and priorities from grassroots movements to inform and advance national strategies, as well as share impacts and lessons from our efforts.
- Strategic Assessment to consistently reflect, innovate, and iterate developing feedback loops that allow us to hold ourselves accountable to our core principles and vision and to apply learning to future efforts.
Read more about the Partnership’s origins here.
Read more about the Partnership’s accomplishments here.
Projects & Initiatives
PI works with a breadth of partners and communities to develop strategies and practices to keep people healthy and safe in the first place. Below is a selection of ongoing or recent projects.
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Food Systems
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Prevention and Health Systems
The Convergence Partnership is committed to supporting investments and efforts that emphasize prevention and health system improvements that advance the community’s health and safety, especially for low-income communities and communities of color.
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Resilient Equitable Development
Resilient equitable development is a priority area of focus for the Convergence Partnership. Equitable development is an approach to creating healthy, vibrant communities of opportunity.
Publications & Other Resources
We research and write reports, white papers, fact sheets, opinion pieces, and journal articles, as well as produce videos and podcasts. Here are some of our latest offerings.
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How a Group of Philanthropists Broke the Mold and Unlocked the Power of Collaboration
Prevention Institute's Larry Cohen and Policy Link's Judith Bell explore the Convergence Partnership's new model of philanthropy--how making grants from a shared pool and coordinating advocacy efforts empower the partner organizations to take risks and advance a shared agenda for policy, systems and environmental change.
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Recipes for Change: Healthy Food in Every Community
The paper outlines organizational practices and public policies to expand access to healthy foods in support of healthy eating and better overall health.
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Strategies for Enhancing the Built Environment to Support Healthy Eating and Active Living
Though this brief primarily views the built environment through a public health lens, it also describes built environment issues from the perspective of environmental justice, sustainable food systems, economic development, equity, and climate change.
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Fostering Physical Activity for Children and Youth: Opportunities for a Lifetime of Health
The report serves as a launching pad for action for practitioners and advocates who are interested in engaging in systems and environmental change approaches in four key arenas: schools, early childcare and education settings, out-of-school-time programs, and communities.
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The Transportation Prescription: Bold New Ideas for Healthy, Equitable Transportation Reform in America
This brief presents a compilation of research and recommendations written by advocates and academics in the fields of transportation, public health and equity.