Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation

What Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation does

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation is a private charitable foundation established in 2000 by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina as an independent entity headquartered in Durham, North Carolina. The foundation operates as a grantmaking organization rather than a commercial enterprise, deploying capital across North Carolina to improve health and well-being rather than selling products or services. Its grantmaking spans small targeted dollar amounts to large, multi-year strategic partnerships, and grantees include 501(c)(3) nonprofits, government entities, and public instrumentalities. Over its 25-year history, the foundation has invested more than $269 million and built relationships with more than 1,700 nonprofit, clinical, and community partners across all 100 North Carolina counties.

The foundation's work is organized around four primary program focus areas: Access to Care (addressing healthcare workforce shortages and rural/underserved access), Health Through Food (Food is Medicine initiatives, food hub networks, and nutrition security), Youth Mental Health (early intervention, community-based mental health, and connectedness), and Oral Health (school-based oral health and safety-net provider capacity). It functions less as a product company and more as a strategic platform—convening partners, co-funding with peer foundations such as The Duke Endowment and BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation, publishing landscape research (e.g., with Food Insight Group and Seeds of Change), and operating events such as the NC Food is Medicine Symposium. Its distribution is purely domestic (North Carolina only), and it operates with a remote-working posture, communicating primarily through its website, email newsletter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

The foundation's business model is endowment-funded grantmaking: it does not generate revenue in a commercial sense, does not disclose income, and does not operate recurring grant cycles. Rather, it issues strategic, multi-year commitments and periodic requests for proposals aligned with its focus areas. Its competitive position is anchored in the Blue Cross Blue Shield brand, its 25-year operating track record, its statewide 100-county footprint, and its ability to co-fund and convene at scale—evidenced by the $35 million School-Based Oral Health Expansion Initiative, the $1.7 million NC Food Hub Collaborative grant, $4.5 million+ in 2024 youth mental health grants, and a $2.25 million grant to the NC Medical Society's Community Practitioner Program. Colleen Briggs became President during the foundation's 25th anniversary year, overseeing a portfolio that increasingly integrates healthcare, food systems, mental health, and workforce development into a single place-based health strategy for North Carolina.

Name

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation

Legal name

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation

Website

https://bcbsncfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation is an independent charitable foundation established in 2000 by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina that grantmakes across all 100 North Carolina counties to improve access to care, food and nutrition security, youth mental health, and oral health through more than 1,700 nonprofit partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Philanthropy

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Social Assistance (624)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Foundations & CSR Grantmaking (BPAGAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Health & Prevention Program Funding (HLAJALAF), Maternal, Child & Family Health Program Funding (HLAJALAG)

Keywords

• Healthcare grantmaking
• Charitable foundation
• Community health funding
• Food is medicine
• Youth mental health

Headquarters

HQ city

Durham

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation is a private charitable foundation that makes grants, collaborates with partners, and funds special initiatives to improve the health and well-being of North Carolinians. Since 2000 it has invested more than $269 million across all 100 North Carolina counties through 1,700+ nonprofit, clinic, and community partners, organized around three programmatic focus areas: Access to Care, Health Through Food (including Food is Medicine), and Youth Mental Health, Connectedness, and Resilience, plus an Oral Health program.

Product overview

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation is a private charitable foundation that operates grantmaking programs rather than a traditional product company. The foundation's work is organized around three primary focus areas: Access to Care (addressing healthcare workforce shortages and improving care access), Health Through Food (Food is Medicine initiatives and food hub support), and Youth Mental Health (early intervention and community-based mental health solutions). The foundation also supports Oral Health initiatives. All offerings are grant programs and initiatives aimed at improving health outcomes across North Carolina communities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Grantmaking Programs Strategic grant investments supporting organizations, people, and health initiatives across North Carolina, with grants ranging from targeted small dollar amounts to large, multi-year partnerships. Grants are awarded to 501(c)(3) nonprofits, government entities, and public instrumentalities whose work aligns with the foundation's strategic focus areas: Access to Care, Health Through Food, and Youth Mental Health. Faith-based organizations with 501(c)(3) status are also eligible.
• Access to Care Program A foundation program area offering grantmaking and initiative support focused on ensuring everyone in North Carolina is connected to and receives quality care. The program addresses healthcare workforce shortages (including a projected 21,000-nurse shortage within a decade) and access barriers in underserved and rural areas, funding provider recruitment, preceptorships, loan repayment, and workforce convenings.
• Health Through Food Program A foundation program area supporting healthy food access, nutrition security, and community-based food programs throughout North Carolina. Includes the Food is Medicine initiative, food hub support, and partnerships between community-based organizations and healthcare providers that integrate nutrition into healthcare.
• Youth Mental Health, Connectedness, and Resilience Program A foundation program area funding community-driven solutions that support youth mental health, early intervention, suicide prevention, and connection-building for young people across North Carolina. Includes telepsychiatry expansion at colleges (e.g., UNC Pembroke via NC-STeP), youth ambassador training, and infant/early childhood mental health workforce strengthening.
• Oral Health Program A foundation program area supporting changes to oral health practice and payment environment to make dental care more accessible, including the School-Based Oral Health Expansion Initiative (a $35M multi-funder commitment with The Duke Endowment and BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation), safety-net dental access points, and continuing education for safety-net providers.
• Food is Medicine Initiative An initiative supporting partnerships between community-based organizations and healthcare providers that integrate nutrition into healthcare through food-based interventions. Includes produce prescription programs (e.g., $40/month fruit and vegetable prescriptions via grocery loyalty cards), medically tailored meals for patients with diet-related chronic disease, and clinical-community screening partnerships.
• NC Food Hub Collaborative A network of eight nonprofit, mostly rural food hubs across North Carolina (Working Landscapes, Feast Down East, Men and Women United, Sandhills AgInnovation Center, Farmer Foodshare, High Country Food Hub, Foothills Food Hub, and TRACTOR Food and Farms) working together to support local food systems, increase access to healthy food, and build sustainability for small farmers. The foundation provided a $1.7M grant in June 2023 for three-year support.

Named customers18 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

35 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and significant.

• Resourceful CommunitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRural technical assistance provider that helped establish the NC Food Hub Collaborative in 2020 with grant support from the foundation. Serves as the backbone organization providing technical assistance, facilitation of peer-to-peer learning, direct financial support, network building, and identifying new market opportunities for food hubs.
• NC Food Hub CollaborativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGroup of eight nonprofit, mostly rural food hubs across North Carolina working together to support each other's growth and sustainability. Members include Working Landscapes, Feast Down East, Men and Women United, Sandhills AgInnovation Center, Farmer Foodshare, High Country Food Hub, Foothills Food Hub, and TRACTOR Food and Farms. Foundation provided $1.7M grant in June 2023 for three-year support.
• Food Insight GroupmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducted research of Healthy Food Prescription programs in North Carolina in 2022 to identify active programs, outline diversity of operational approaches, and report on elements needed to grow the movement.
• Seeds of ChangemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsulting partner that worked with Food Insight Group to conduct research and surveys of Healthy Food Prescription programs, community-based organizations, and healthcare practitioners across North Carolina.
• Seeds of Change and Food Insight GroupmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLed multi-year foundation-initiated exploration to gather insights from participating CBOs and HCOs to understand the nature and nuances of Food is Medicine partnerships and what facilitates or hinders program delivery.
• ASAP (Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlays pivotal role in strengthening local food system across western North Carolina. Connects farmers to markets, links consumers with locally grown food, and promotes regional economic and community health. Integral to post-Hurricane Helene recovery efforts.
• North Carolina Statewide Telepsychiatry Program (NC-STeP)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners with UNC Pembroke to expand access to mental health care for college students through integrated psychiatric care in student health settings, helping reduce wait times and connect students to care earlier.
• North Carolina Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health AssociationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners to strengthen the workforce supporting young children and families through training, reflective supervision, and a nationally recognized endorsement program for healthy development from earliest years.
• North Carolina Community Schools CoalitionsignificantStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition enabling schools to serve as hubs for integrated support, strengthening connections between students, families, and their communities for youth mental health.
• NC Medical Society's Community Practitioner ProgrammajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoundation grant of $2.25 million supports recruitment of providers by increasing preceptorships and loan repayment in primary care, behavioral health services, and maternal and women's health in rural and healthcare shortage areas.
• NC Center on the Workforce for HealthmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner$720,000 grant supports this forum for collaboration among health employers, workers, educators, regulators, policymakers, and others to identify and address challenges and opportunities to improve the health workforce.
• North Carolina Oral Health CollaborativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoundation partners with this collaborative to convene and build capacity of stakeholders to achieve shared policy agenda and deliver continuing education to safety net providers focused on value-based approaches.
• North Carolina Association of Free and Charitable ClinicsmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner$500,000 grant supporting two geographic regions to develop new or enhanced regional access points for oral health delivery, targeting new dental care access for up to 16,000 patients across five counties.
• Davidson-Davie Community CollegesignificantStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist on the first registered nursing apprenticeship program in North Carolina, an innovative approach to addressing nursing shortages.
• Atrium Health Wake Forest BaptistsignificantStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners with Davidson-Davie Community College on the first registered nursing apprenticeship program in North Carolina to grow local healthcare workforce.
• Craven Community CollegesignificantStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners with CarolinaEast Health System to address community's healthcare workforce challenges through collaborative training programs.
• CarolinaEast Health SystemsignificantStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners with Craven Community College to address local healthcare workforce challenges through community college-based training programs.
• Hunger and Health CoalitionsignificantStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity-based organization providing medically tailored meal boxes prescribed by healthcare providers for patients with diet-related chronic diseases experiencing food insecurity. Part of Food is Medicine landscape.
• Reinvestment PartnerssignificantStrategic or Co-development PartnerOperates produce prescription program providing $40/month to enrolled participants via retail grocery loyalty card for purchase of fruits and vegetables across the state.
• Working LandscapescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOnly NC food hub that washes and chops produce for institutional purchasers; first food hub to join NC Department of Agriculture's Farm to School Program. Operates in Warren County, rural area on Virginia border.
• RAMS KitchencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity kitchen providing healthy prepared meals including medically tailored meals for people living with diabetes. Partnership between Highland Neighborhood Association and Kintegra Health. Supported by foundation since 2022.
• Conetoe Family Life CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNationally recognized model for addressing rural food access barriers. Founded by Rev. Richard Joyner, works with regional healthcare systems, universities, and faith organizations. Provides fresh produce, recipes, and health screenings in partnership with ECU Health.
• ECU HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional healthcare system partnering with Conetoe Family Life Center on Food is Medicine efforts including free fresh produce, recipes at local clinic, and on-site blood pressure, blood sugar, and A1C screenings.
• EustresscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounded by licensed therapist Rwenshaun Miller in 2013 to address mental health needs with clinical expertise and cultural fluency. Trains youth as mental health ambassadors, integrates mental health coaching into classrooms and athletic programs.
• UCA WAVEScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAddresses youth mental health needs among Asian American and Pacific Islander families across multiple counties. Advances Youth Mental Health First Aid, suicide prevention training, and provides AI-powered application (UrSpace & MiSunshine) with 24/7 emotional support.
• HIGHTScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHolistic approach to youth well-being integrating mental health education, substance use prevention, and youth leadership. Established Youth Advisory Council giving young people formal role in shaping program priorities.
• Feast Down EastsignificantStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of NC Food Hub Collaborative serving Pender County, working to increase access to healthy food and build stronger food system.
• Men and Women UnitedsignificantStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of NC Food Hub Collaborative serving Columbus County, collaborating to support food hub network growth and sustainability.
• Sandhills AgInnovation CentersignificantStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of NC Food Hub Collaborative serving Richmond County, contributing to collective efforts to strengthen regional food systems.
• Farmer FoodsharesignificantStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of NC Food Hub Collaborative serving Durham County, part of network working to increase access to healthy food across North Carolina.
• High Country Food HubsignificantStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of NC Food Hub Collaborative serving Watauga County, supporting local food system development and healthy food access.
• Foothills Food HubsignificantStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of NC Food Hub Collaborative serving McDowell County, contributing to regional food hub network.
• TRACTOR Food and FarmssignificantStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of NC Food Hub Collaborative serving Mitchell County, part of collaborative working to strengthen food hub sustainability.
• KintegrasignificantStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthcare organization that has shifted school-based oral health workflow to increase efficiency and number of children receiving preventive services. Also partner with RAMS Kitchen on food access initiatives.
• Kinston Community Health CentersignificantStrategic or Co-development PartnerOperates school-based oral health program at Rochelle Middle School serving pre-K through 8th grade, providing dental services two days a week with dentist, two hygienists, dental unit manager, and patient navigator.

Scale indicators22 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• The Kresge Foundation: Large national private foundation with significant health program focus, including investments in community health, healthy food access, and health equity. Comparable mission overlap at the upstream health investment level but with broader US geography.
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: The largest US philanthropy focused solely on health, with national reach and themes aligned to Blue Cross NC Foundation's access, equity, and social determinants of health work. Operates at a much larger scale and broader geography but shares the upstream, systems-change orientation toward community health.

Emerging players

• Healthy Communities Foundation (formerly Michael Reese Health Trust): Chicago-area foundation focused on advancing health equity and addressing social determinants of health through grantmaking. Comparable in funding community-based health partnerships and addressing upstream drivers of health outcomes.

Direct peers

• The Duke Endowment: One of the largest private foundations in the Southeast, based in Charlotte, NC, with similar focus on health, education, and child/youth services in the Carolinas. Co-funder with Blue Cross NC Foundation on the $35M School-Based Oral Health Expansion Initiative, making it a direct peer in both mission and NC footprint.
• BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation: An independent Blue Cross Blue Shield licensee-affiliated foundation operating in the Carolinas with a parallel health-focused grantmaking model. Directly comparable as a sibling BCBS-affiliated foundation co-funding the same $35M School-Based Oral Health Expansion Initiative.
• North Carolina Health and Wellness Trust Fund: North Carolina funder that supports programs targeting health disparities, obesity, tobacco, and youth substance use. Directly comparable in NC-focused health grantmaking with overlap in adolescent health and underserved population themes.
• Blue Shield of California Foundation: Independent Blue Shield-affiliated foundation focused on improving lives and communities across California through health and domestic violence grantmaking. Closely comparable as a Blue-branded independent health foundation with similar philanthropic mission structure.
• Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust: North Carolina-based private foundation focused on improving health and quality of life for financially vulnerable NC residents. Directly competes for the same NC nonprofit partners and grantees, with overlap in rural health, food insecurity, and behavioral health programming.

Regional players

• Cone Health Foundation: North Carolina-based foundation dedicated to improving the health of people in Greensboro and surrounding communities through grantmaking in access to care, behavioral health, and community health. Comparable in mission and regional focus but operating in a narrower NC geography.
• Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey: Regional foundation funding healthcare access and health workforce initiatives in Newark and greater New Jersey. Comparable in mission around access to care, workforce development, and community-based health partnerships, but operating in a different region.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/BlueCrossNCFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bcbsnc-foundation
• Xx.com/bcbsncfound

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation