Foundations

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) was founded in 1972 by Robert Wood Johnson. Mr. Johnson dedicated his life to public service and to constructing the small, but state-of-the-art family business from Johnson & Johnson into one of the world's greatest medical and health care goods companies. Starting out as a small community foundation, the chief focus was on making fundamental healthcare affordable and accessible to everyone. The foundation is now our nation’s most substantial charitable group that precisely focuses on health care issues in our country through its support of public charities, agencies and universities that are categorized under tax exempt status 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue code. Their mission is simple: “to improve the health and health care of all Americans.” (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2010-2015)

RWJF runs and maintains several projects throughout its organization. Each year the foundation awards roughly one thousand grants that total hundreds of millions of dollars to research institutes and hospitals. Annual reports contain the foundation’s complete list of grants awarded each year. Organizations who have measurable impact that can bring meaningful and transformative change can apply for one or multiple grants at a time given that each is for separate projects. Some examples of the types of projects they fund are public education, policy analysis, and training and fellowship programs. Most grants are awarded through calls for proposals (CFPs) that have a connection with their areas of focus. Unsolicited proposals are accepted for projects that propose new and inspired methods of solving problems with health and health care. Certain types of grants require submission of an application form that can take four to seven months for an approval decision to be made.

One of the foundation’s most current programs is called Building Social Connectedness and Resiliency. Internally managed by RWJF staff, this program was developed...