Building a Culture of Health

Achieving Health Equity—Faster and Together

Together, we can build a future where health is for everyone. 

A diverse group of adults pose for a photo before exercising.

What do we mean by health equity?

We all want to live in a United States where everyone has a fair and just opportunity to reach their best health and wellbeing, no matter their race, ethnicity, or class. Our ZIP code shouldn’t dictate our health.  

WHY THIS MATTERS

Focus Areas

To advance health equity, we invest in four broad areas:

EXPLORE EACH AREA

  • Health Systems

    Bringing healthcare and public health systems together around a shared goal of better health for all

  • Healthy Children and Families

    Ensuring parents and caregivers have the resources they need to promote thriving families

  • Healthy Communities

    Working to create communities with the physical, economic, and social conditions for residents to live their healthiest lives

  • Leadership for Better Health

    Supporting and connecting leaders to address health challenges across the nation

SHOW MORE
A group of people are pictured in front of a graphic background.

A Future Where Health Is No Longer a Privilege, But a Right

RWJF is taking steps to focus on one of the biggest barriers to health in America: structural racism.

Learn more
Four adults look at a notebook during a conference.

How We Work

With our partners, we promote policies, practices, and system change to amplify unheard voices, shift the national conversation about health and wellbeing, and dismantle structural barriers to equity. Learn more about our approach, strategic vision, and equity-building efforts.

How We Work
Two construction workers build a wooden frame.

Measuring Our Progress

By continually collecting and reviewing data, we learn whether we are making the right investments and help communities understand what drives their successes and where they need to target further efforts.

WHAT WE’VE LEARNED

Latest RWJF News 

News Release
Ryan P. Haygood

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Board Elects Ryan P. Haygood, Esq., as New Trustee

RWJF elected Ryan P. Haygood, Esq., as a new Trustee, effective October 23, 2024.

4-min read

News Release
Starsky Wilson

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Board Elects Starsky Wilson, DMin, MDiv, as Next Chair of the Board o...

Starsky Wilson, DMin, MDiv, has been elected the next chair of the RWJF Board of Trustees. Rev. Dr. Wilson, who has served as a Trustee since 2022, will become the Foundation’s eighth chair, and the first Black person and spiritual leader to chair the Board in the Foundation's 52-year history.

2-min read

News Release
A group of men in hard hats working on a construction project under a beautiful blue sky.

RWJF Announces New Allocation for Impact Investments to Improve Health Equity

RWJF expanded our commitment to impact investing with an allocation of $325 million to advance health equity in communities that have faced a historic lack of investment.

2-min read

Health Disparities Infrastructure & Energy