Our Approach

We know that we cannot talk about improving human health without talking about the social determinants of health.

We know that improving the health of vulnerable populations will improve the health of society as a whole. We believe that programs addressing these areas of health require strong evidence to support them. Lastly, we know that the best solutions are informed by the communities that they intend to serve. That’s why our goal is to foster community partnerships and increase their capacity to provide essential resources and opportunities for people. Through collaborative partnerships, we support organizations that are addressing the needs of communities and identifying gaps where new organizations or programs can meet unmet needs.

The Opportunity

There is a new wave of capacity building efforts taking shape in communities around the country fueled by a sense of urgency for racial justice and health equity.  These efforts seek to move deeper into the communities that represent the greatest need as well as the greatest untapped potential for solving their own problems.  While racial justice and health equity have been discussed in social service sectors for well over a decade, government and institutions around the country are seeking to invest in these communities in ways that have not been seen at this scale since the New Deal.  This influx of resources and focus is both a blessing and a challenge for those seeking to make an impact on community resiliency generally and racial and health equity specifically.  Increased funding creates opportunities as well as a type of static, prompting public and nonprofit sectors to pursue multiple forms of funding, all with short timeframes making it difficult to develop meaningful long- term strategies.  With a continued rush to get the short- term gains without the infrastructure and focus, we collectively run the risk of missing a once in a generation opportunity to address the structural racism and health inequities that have plagued our country for decades.  Initium Cares is well positioned to provide the well needed infrastructure and strategic focus to support communities of color in their efforts to self-manage and mobilize around two key areas:  anti-violence initiatives and reducing health disparities.

Align

Initium Cares will increase the service capacity of community-based organizations by providing opportunities to collaborate and align with other organizations and guiding the organizations on how to effectively engage players in the healthcare system.

Expand

Initium Cares will expand healthcare entities’ potential to provide wholistic care through outcome-driven programs that are tailored to the population they serve. Those programs will include a streamlined process of engaging with the appropriate community partners, establishing standardized goals and measures for achievement, and a thoughtful analysis of how their efforts will both improve the health and well-being of the community they serve and decrease overall health costs.

Engage

Finally, Initium Cares will engage a small portion of its time in fundraising. The fundraising will include personal solicitations and grant solicitations from foundations and the government. This may be done by the directors of may be contracted out to a professional fundraiser.