WELLPOINT FOUNDATION GIVING MISSION  

The WellPoint Foundation invests in domestic initiatives that help improve the lives of people and the health of our communities. We support fellow community investors who commit to improve access to health care, keep healthcare quality high, and drive costs associated with quality care lower. Our mission is to address preventable health concerns through strategic, charitable choices.  

 

THE WELLPOINT FOUNDATION BELIEVES  

We must champion healthy behaviors, health-risk prevention, and healthy environments. We fund specified public health-related issues that impact key health conditions and systems we want to help improve.  

 

OUR APPROACH  

 

OUR OPERATING PRINCIPLES  

We want to create the highest levels of human gain for the grant dollars we have available. Rather than try to touch many broad health-related needs in the community, the Foundation funds targeted grants that align with our Signature Healthy Generations initiative.  

The Foundation predicts the ability of all grant requests to yield meaningful results by asking three simple questions of each proposal:  

1. What results will be achieved?  

2. Will this organization deliver on its proposed commitments?  

3. Is this grant the best possible use of the Foundation's resources?  

 

OUR GIVING OPPORTUNITIES  

 

MAKE AN IMPACT  

We will not favor proposals that prioritize grant activity over obtaining measurable end results. For example, a physical fitness initiative that increases physical activity or improves diet as key goals is less likely to be favored than an initiative that increases physical activity or improves diet as a means to measurably reduce BMI for a target population. Our gauge for a successful grant is a measurable result - versus grant activity - that is evident within the grant period awarded.  

 

FUNDING ELIGIBILITY  

1. You MUST submit your grant proposal online. No exceptions. Click here to access our Signature Program Application. Returning users, please log into your user account page here.  

 

2. The Foundation considers both local and national initiatives whose outcomes predominantly impact any of the 14 states in which WellPoint, Inc. does business. These states are:  

 

3. The majority of requests we consider are from organizations classified by the Internal Revenue Service as tax exempt public charities under Section 501(c)(3). We occasionally consider requests from non-public charities that are:  

 

4. We strongly advise applicants to follow our Guidance and Examples that accompany key results-focused questions throughout the application. While all the information we ask for is necessary and valuable to our decision making, these key questions can give us the most critical depth of insight into how you plan to translate your grant activity into change-causing outcomes that will produce measurable results.  

 

BY INVITATION ONLY  

1. We will not consider unsolicited grant requests for capital projects, initiatives or campaigns.  

 

2. Although we occasionally award research and policy grants, we only accept research and policy requests by invitation. All research and policy requests must align with our Healthy Generations signature initiative. Research requests must seek to generate, analyze, and interpret data to identify problems, causality, and solutions for projects that seek to better understand and/or change the institutional structures, underlying conditions, or policies and practices that influence the likelihood of improved outcomes for the health conditions covered under our Healthy Generations initiative. Policy requests must advance advocacy projects to educate critical stakeholders about the need to implement new policies or improve existing ones that impact our specific Healthy Generations health issues. 

 

3. If you have a good idea for a research or policy project, please query us first by submitting a brief issue-and-proposed-response summary statement to: wellpoint.foundation@wellpoint.com. We will contact you to pursue interest.  

 

Please review the complete WellPoint Foundation funding goals and guidelines before applying. 

 

2013 PROPOSAL DEADLINES  

Deadlines are posted below and are subject to change. Please check this website regularly for any updates. Deadlines are at 5 p.m. Eastern Time: 

 

ALL APPLICANTS WILL BE NOTIFIED OF THE FOUNDATION'S RECEIPT OF GRANT PROPOSALS VIA EMAIL. Typically, our review process lasts four to six months. Please do not call the Foundation for status updates. We cannot respond to phone calls due to the high volumes of requests we receive.