About the Palcare Project

About Palliative Care
Palliative care prevents and relieves suffering and supports the best possible quality of life for patients and their families, regardless of the stage of the disease or the need for other therapies. It expands traditional disease-model medical treatments to include the goals of enhancing quality of life for patients and family members, helping with decision-making, and providing opportunities for personal growth. It is available across the life cycle from birth to older age.

About Palliative Care Grantmaking
Philanthropy has played a critical role in advancing palliative care for more than three decades, first supporting hospice and later, the broader range of services comprising palliative care. Since the early 1970s, funders have supported research, development, and implementation of interventions to advance how our society deals with chronic illness, death, and dying.

Collectively, philanthropists have funded the establishment of programs that continue today, supported the development of models that can be replicated, and have offered recommendations for other funders.

More philanthropists are needed to advance funding for palliative care and to seize the excellent opportunities for impact.

About the Collaborative to Advance Funding for Palliative Care
The Collaborative to Advance Funding for Palliative Care (CAFPAC) is a growing group of funders, from across the U.S., that are committed to advancing funding for PalCare. CAFPAC seeks to share palliative care grantmaking concepts and success stories, and to stimulate higher levels of funding in palliative care. Its steering committee includes the following partners:

Rosemary Gibson, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (former), Co Chair

Bobye List, The Emily Davie and Joseph S. Kornfeld Foundation, Co Chair

Carol A. Farquhar, Grantmakers In Aging

Kathleen Foley, Open Society Institute

Karen Rosa, Altman Foundation

Christina Spellman, The Mayday Fund

Julio Urbina and Lauren Weisenfeld, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation

Pamela Lehman, Administrator

About the Snapshot Report
Over a two-year period CAFPAC supported original research on the state of palliative care philanthropy in the U.S.. The results and findings of this work are reported in the Palliative Care Grantmaking Snapshot Report. This Snapshot Report provides an overview of the findings of research into the current state of palliative care grantmaking, as well as recommendations for engaging more private foundations in palliative care grantmaking, profiles of some of the funders who have been working in palliative care, and resources for those interested in learning more.

About the Team that Developed the Report and Website
The development, research, and writing of the snapshot report, and this website, involved the work of many individuals at foundations and other organizations across the United States. In many cases their contribution was provided pro bono.

Project management, research and writing were conducted by Ned Schaub and Pam Hagen, both of the MissionWise Division of the Comprehensive Health Education Foundation. The website and graphic work for the Snapshot Report was designed by Myke Reilly. Editing services were provided by Amy DerBedrosian and Dan M. Martin. Communications support was provided by Full Court Press Communications (Oakland, CA) and Burness Communications (Bethesda, MD).

Organizations that kindly provided consultation, review and other support on this work include Grantmakers In Aging, Grantmakers in Health, Grant Managers Network, the Foundation Center, and the Colorado Center for Hospice and Palliative Care.

Foundation representatives that supported the development of the Funder Stories/Views from the Field include Elyse Salend of the Archstone Foundation, Kate O'Malley of the California HealthCare Foundation, Marsha Atkind of the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey, Nancy Zionts of the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, Bobye List of The Emily Davie and Joseph S. Kornfeld Foundation, Michelle McClellan of The Regence Foundation, Julio Urbina and Lauren Weisenfeld of The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Marcia Slater Johnston of the Harry G. and Charlotte H. Slater Family Fund, and Stephanie Raneri of the Isaac H. Tuttle Fund.

Some of the many individual professionals that provided consultation and review include Melissa Ransdell, Communications Consultant, Pat Forman, Consultant, Laura Mason of the San Francisco Jewish Community Endowment Fund, and Therese Ellery of the Rose Community Foundation.