Earlier this year, the unexpected dismantling of USAID resulted in major disruptions to global health delivery systems. In response, the Rauch Family Foundation initiated emergency awards to mitigate service gaps and support a continuity of care in high-need contexts. Considering these sweeping changes to global health funding, we made the decision to significantly increase our global health giving, allocating $30 million of unrestricted funds to GiveWell to support a portfolio of cost-effective interventions, $8.625 million to Nutrition International for two underfunded and much needed programs, $4.5 million to the World Food Program's home-grown school feeding program operations in Liberia, and $500,000 to Development Media International for public health communication in underserved regions. These multi-year awards were designed in collaboration with our funded partners, centering the voices of the low/middle-income countries we serve, to help stabilize core programming during this time of transition while ensuring important, life-saving research and implementation programs continue. We have adopted a flexible community investment framework for our global health and development portfolio to remain available, open, and able to quickly respond as the impacts from these changes come to light.
With these grants in motion, our attention is returning to the Inland Empire of California, where implementation of the “Big Beautiful Bill” will bring significant changes to health service delivery over the next few years. The legislation shifts reimbursement models that will directly impact local providers and is expected to reshape Medi‑Cal enrollment dynamics in California. We are currently assessing the projected implications of these changes for the safety net healthcare ecosystem. We are exploring how we can best support a continuity of care across the region, with a focus on access, equity, and workforce capacity. As part of our due diligence, we are engaging with community health centers and health systems leaders to identify where philanthropic support may be additive to public investment and where gaps are likely to remain.
Our support for global and domestic health initiatives remains grounded in the same set of principles: evidence-based decision making, cost-effectiveness, and long-term system strengthening. Our core objective is to provide support where we can to ensure that essential health services are accessible, efficient, and equipped to support underserved and underrepresented Inland Empire populations.
The Rauch Family Foundation