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.
 

Executive Summary
Appropriate and effective care can reduce suffering, yet there are increasing signs that too many people don’t receive it. Growing bodies of research and literature document this, and recent national debate over healthcare reform has drawn further attention to the cost and effectiveness of 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.

This interdisciplinary form of care has emerged as a medical specialty. Today, 53 percent of hospitals in the United States that have 50 or more beds now have a palliative care program. In the last eight years there has been an increase in the number of hospitals providing palliative care in the US, from under 500 programs in 2000 to over 1,455 in 2008. However, it is still not available to the majority of the population.

The grantmakers who established the Collaborative to Advance Funding for Palliative Care commissioned the research described in this report to learn about private foundation support for this essential type of care and perceptions of related grantmaking. They wanted to identify ways to engage new funders and support those already involved in palliative care grantmaking.

The research revealed three major trends in palliative care grantmaking:

  • The number of grants and foundations making them is growing, but palliative care still receives a very small percentage of philanthropic support for healthcare

  • The number of grants made in palliative care has risen and the range of types of palliative care that are supported has grown, with hospice the primary type of palliative care that receives support

  • While the number of foundations making grants in palliative care has grown, a small number of foundations provide most of the funding in the category

Participants in the research believe contemporary medicine’s focus on cures, a lack of understanding of palliative care by both healthcare professionals and the public, and insufficient funding from public and private sources are barriers to the field’s expansion. They believe demand for palliative care will grow, and that grantmaking in the field should also increase.

The findings suggest ways private foundations can support the development of the field of palliative care grantmaking, and in doing so, help overcome the barriers to providing the high-quality palliative care people need:

  • Encourage support for funding in the field and collaboration among private foundations

  • Increase the resources available to inform effective palliative care grantmaking

  • Demonstrate leadership through communication and sharing of best practices

Philanthropists now have an opportunity to build on other philanthropists’ support for efforts around the country, including the more than $200 million in grants that the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Open Society Institute made to support the development and expansion of palliative care. By continuing to advance palliative care grantmaking, private foundations can increase the well-being of people with serious illnesses and contribute meaningfully to improving the delivery and impact of healthcare in the United States.

© Collaborative to Advance Funding for Palliative Care. All Rights Reserved 2010.