Health conversion foundations are a major and underused source of community health funding. Learn how they work, how to find yours, and how to win their grants.
If you do health-related work and you’ve never heard the phrase “health conversion foundation,” you’ve been missing one of the most important regional funders for your field.
Health conversion foundations are foundations created when a nonprofit hospital, health system, or health-insurance organization converted to for-profit status (or was acquired by a for-profit entity). The proceeds were placed in a charitable foundation, which now grants out of that endowment to support community health. They’re typically large, local or regional, and focused on health and health-related social drivers in the communities the original organization served.
This guide explains how they work, how to find one near you, and how to engage them.
TL;DR: Quick Answers
- What is a health conversion foundation? A foundation created with the proceeds of a nonprofit-to-for-profit health conversion, typically a hospital, health system, or health insurer.
- What do they fund? Community health and social drivers of health in the geographic area served by the original organization.
- Why do they matter? They’re often the largest health-focused funders in a region, sometimes the largest funders period.
- How do you find yours? Identify the major health-system conversions in your area; check the Grantmakers in Health database or Candid.
How They Came to Be
Beginning in the 1980s and through subsequent decades, many nonprofit hospitals, health systems, and Blue Cross Blue Shield plans converted to for-profit status or were sold to for-profit entities. State attorneys general and regulators generally required that the charitable assets of those organizations, accumulated over decades of tax-exempt operation, be preserved as a charitable benefit to the community served.
The result was the creation of large new foundations, dedicated to community health, governed by boards reflecting the community, and funded by the proceeds of the conversion. Many of these foundations now hold endowments of hundreds of millions to billions of dollars.
What They Fund
Health conversion foundations vary widely in priorities, but most center on:
- Direct health services for underserved populations
- Social drivers of health (housing, food, transportation, employment) recognized as affecting health outcomes
- Workforce, capacity, and infrastructure for community health, see capacity-building grants
- Policy and advocacy work to improve health systems
- Research and evaluation in regional health
- Specific populations the original organization served (often low-income, uninsured, or specific communities)
Many fund general operating support, capacity work, and capital alongside program grants.
How to Find Your Local Health Conversion Foundation
Start by asking: did a hospital or health system in your area convert from nonprofit to for-profit, or was a Blue Cross Blue Shield organization sold? If yes, a health conversion foundation likely exists.
Concrete steps:
- Search Grantmakers In Health (GIH), an affinity group that tracks many health-focused funders, including conversion foundations.
- Check Candid’s foundation directory by state and by health focus.
- Look at state attorney general records for past hospital conversion settlements.
- Ask peer health organizations. Local health departments, FQHCs, and community health partners almost certainly know the local health funder.
- Read 990-PFs. Health conversion foundations file 990-PFs with detailed grant lists.
How to Win Their Grants
Health conversion foundations behave like private foundations, but with a few distinctive features:
Geography is everything. They fund within the community served by the original health organization. Outside that geography, you’re ineligible.
Equity and social drivers are usually central. Many emphasize health equity and social determinants explicitly, beyond clinical care.
They often have community-rooted boards. Decisions reflect local priorities. Engagement with community partners matters.
Award sizes are often large. Many conversion foundations make six- and seven-figure grants, and frequently multi-year ones.
Relationships compound. Like other private foundations, a track record and program-officer relationship pay off over years.
Practical steps for engaging:
- Carefully study their priorities through their website and 990-PF.
- Find program officers and engage early, often through letters of inquiry.
- Frame your work explicitly within community health and the social drivers they emphasize.
- Document outcomes and evidence, conversion foundations often expect rigor, see logic models and theory of change.
- Plan for partnership and long-term stewardship.
Where Health Conversion Foundations Fit in Your Strategy
For any health-related organization in a region with a conversion foundation, these funders should be central to your 12-month grant strategy, often the largest line in your foundation budget.
Pair conversion funding with HRSA, CDC, SAMHSA, community foundations, and corporate giving for a balanced health-funding mix.
How Grantboost Helps With Health Conversion Funding
Health conversion foundations don’t always announce themselves loudly, but they file 990-PFs and appear in the funder universe. Grantboost continuously scans funding sources and scores opportunities for fit with your mission and geography, so the local health conversion foundation surfaces alongside federal and community foundation opportunities in one pipeline.
Drafts come back in your organization’s voice (see training AI on your past proposals), structured around each foundation’s specific priorities.
Try Grantboost free and find the health funder your community has waiting.
Read next:
- Private vs. Public Foundations: How the Distinction Shapes Your Grant Strategy
- Community Foundation Grants: A Local Funding Guide
- HRSA Grants: A Guide to Health Resources and Services Administration Funding
Further Reading
Disclaimer: Grant programs, eligibility rules, deadlines, and policies vary by region and change frequently. The information in this article is for general informational purposes only and may not reflect the current rules in your area. Always consult a local grant writer or qualified expert in your region for advice specific to your organization, project, and jurisdiction.