A mother and two young daughters with backpacks hold hands while walking on a sidewalk.
A mother and two young daughters with backpacks hold hands while walking on a sidewalk.

Transforming neighborhoods to improve health and wellbeing.

Community development facilitates neighborhood change that enables residents to thrive.

Community development is the work of creating the physical, economic, and social conditions in communities that enable residents to reach their best possible health and wellbeing—including affordable housing, community facilities for early childhood and health services, local businesses and cultural institutions, and parks and open spaces. At its best, community development addresses structural racism and channels community voice and power. 

Through its community development-related grants and impact investments, RWJF seeks to facilitate change that is driven by and responsive to residents to improve health and wellbeing and to ensure that investment flows to the places that have long been neglected while safeguarding against any unintended consequences, such as displacement. 

Featured Initiatives

RWJF funds many initiatives to create opportunities that improve health equity. For this area of focus, these initiatives were selected to demonstrate grantmaking that is helping us achieve the greatest impact.

A daycare teacher playing with a group of young children outside.

Purpose Built Communities

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Street view of a row of houses.

Center for Community Investment

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A medical professional talking with a woman holding an infant.

Healthy Neighborhoods Study

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

New Growth Innovation Network

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Construction crew and community members review building plans by a pickup truck.

Build Healthy Places Network

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Community organizers talk while touring a neighborhood.

Third Space Action Lab

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Women and a baby in a stroller crossing the street.

Invest Health

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Three men smile while carrying on a conversation outside.

Partners for Rural Transformation

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Impact Investments for Community Development

The community development finance system (infographic)—made up of mission-driven lenders (infographic) is a main driver of capital for essentials like affordable housing, clean water, and small businesses that create jobs and generational wealth in communities that historically have experienced a lack of investment, especially communities of color and those with low incomes. Our impact investments and related grants focus on strengthening the community development finance system.

Resources from Grantees

Residential Segregation and Health: History, Harms, and Next Steps

Read more on Health Affairs

Public Policies to Address Residential Segregation and Improve Health

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RWJF offers its strong support for the 2024 Proposed Rule, which authorizes the IRS to expand the disclosure of Federal Tax Returns and Return Information to the Census Bureau.

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Three cyclists crossing the street.

Infrastructure

Promoting health equity through public infrastructure is a critical step toward creating communities and regions where all residents may participate in, and benefit from, decisions that shape the places they call home.

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Infrastructure & Energy
A father and son walking on a sidewalk while a bus passes by.

Impact Investing

Impact investing expands our toolkit and builds on our decades-long work changing systems and policies to improve health, especially for those facing the greatest obstacles.

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A community leader speaking at a neighborhood gathering.

Building Community Power

RWJF supports research and organizing to increase grassroots capacity to shape conditions for healthier communities, especially in low-income communities and communities of color.

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