Rx Foundation

What Rx Foundation does

The Rx Foundation is a private 501(c)(3) grantmaking foundation founded in 2002 by Serena M. Hatch (now Trustee Emerita) and headquartered in Hadley, Massachusetts. The foundation supports collaborative initiatives to promote health justice, healing, and wellness in communities throughout the United States, with programming organized around three grant vehicles: the Building Capacity for Health Advocacy program (multi-year support for advocacy, organizing, and civic engagement), the Vaccine Equity/Vaccine Plus program (community-based health initiatives), and Innovation Grants (catalyzing targeted opportunities developed by the board and Executive Director). Since founding, the foundation has made nearly 300 grants totaling more than $35 million to more than 100 organizations, including hospitals, medical centers, community health organizations, advocacy groups, and research entities.

The foundation operates as a relationship-based funder rather than a transactional grantmaker. Grant amounts typically range from $25,000 to $150,000 over 1–5 years, with indirect costs capped at 10% of the grant budget. Beyond direct funding, Rx Foundation provides coaching and technical assistance (connecting grantees to providers such as PowerLabs and SCOPE), convenes the Rx Advocacy Partners Network on a quarterly basis, and produces the "Power is a Social Determinant of Health" monthly webinar series. The foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals outside of formal RFPs but welcomes brief inquiries at [email protected].

The go-to-market motion is community-led and invitation-driven, with grant decisions made by the Board of Trustees on a rolling basis. The foundation has formalized foundation-to-foundation co-funding partnerships with Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Massachusetts, CareQuest Institute for Oral Health, The Donaghue Foundation, Maine Health Access Foundation, and The Healing Trust to expand the reach of capacity-building support. The operating team is intentionally small (Executive Director Jennie Riley and Strategic Communications Manager Blessitt Bryant), with governance provided by a Board of Trustees led by President George Hatch and Treasurer Whitney Hatch, and including nationally recognized health-policy figures such as Dr. Don Berwick and Dr. Michelle Morse.

Name

Rx Foundation

Legal name

The Rx Foundation

Website

https://rxfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Rx Foundation is a private 501(c)(3) foundation that makes multi-year grants (typically $25,000–$150,000) to more than 100 U.S. nonprofits advancing health justice through advocacy, organizing, and civic engagement, supplemented by coaching, peer learning, and co-funding partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Foundation Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI), International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH), Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB)

Keywords

• Health justice funding
• Nonprofit grantmaking
• Health equity grants
• Capacity building grants
• Philanthropic foundation

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Others, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Foundation Grantmaking: Rx Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants to nonprofit organizations. Founded by Serena M. Hatch in 2002, the Foundation has made grants totaling over $35 million to more than 100 organizations. Revenue comes from the foundation's endowment and charitable activities, not from commercial operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Rx Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation that funds nonprofit organizations working to advance health justice in the United States. Founded in 2002, it has awarded more than $35 million across nearly 300 grants to over 100 organizations, supporting advocacy, organizing, civic engagement, and healthcare delivery reform. In addition to multi-year grants typically ranging from $25,000 to $150,000, the foundation provides coaching, technical assistance, and peer-learning through the Rx Advocacy Partners Network.

Product overview

Rx Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation offering a portfolio of grant programs and support services focused on advancing health justice in the United States. The core offerings include three main grant programs: Building Capacity for Health Advocacy (supporting advocacy, organizing, and civic engagement), Vaccine Equity & Vaccine Plus (supporting community-based health initiatives), and Innovation Grants (catalyzing targeted health justice opportunities). Beyond direct funding, Rx Foundation provides supplementary support through Coaching & Technical Assistance (connecting grantees with coaches like PowerLabs and SCOPE), the Rx Advocacy Partners Network (a peer-learning community), and the Power is a Social Determinant of Health webinar series. These components work together to build capacity and infrastructure for health justice advocacy across grantee organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Building Capacity for Health Advocacy A grant program that supports advocacy, organizing, and civic engagement, focused on developing and strengthening leaders, organizations, and networks working to advance health justice. Provides three-year grant commitments of $150,000 per year to nonprofit partners.
• Vaccine Equity & Vaccine Plus Initiatives supporting community-based and community-led efforts to address vital challenges to community health and wellbeing, including COVID-19 prevention, health literacy, mental health efforts, and community organizing for structural change. Grants of $25,000 are provided to community-based organizations.
• Innovation Grants Small, targeted grants designed to catalyze promising opportunities to advance health justice. These grants are developed by the Rx board and Executive Director rather than through open applications.
• Coaching & Technical Assistance Capacity-building support providing grant partners with access to coaches and technical assistance providers, including PowerLabs and SCOPE, for skills development in areas such as power analysis, team building, and strategic planning.
• Rx Advocacy Partners Network A peer-learning network connecting Building Capacity for Health Advocacy grant partners for shared learning, community, and collaboration, meeting quarterly to discuss challenges and opportunities.
• Power is a Social Determinant of Health Series A monthly series of webinars exploring the intersection of power, democracy, and health, featuring leaders in advocacy, organizing, and grassroots health justice work.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $35 million in grants to more than 100 organizations since 2002
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of MassachusettsmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Co-funder in Racial Justice in Health program to build capacity of people of color-led grassroots organizations. Program provides technical assistance and peer learning for organizations dismantling institutional and structural racism in health and healthcare delivery.
• CareQuest Institute for Oral HealthmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Co-funder in Racial Justice in Health program alongside Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Massachusetts. Focused on building grassroots power and policy advocacy to improve healthcare experience for communities of color.
• Maine Health Access FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Foundation-to-foundation agreement through which Rx Foundation added resources to expand scope of capacity-building support for nonprofit organizations in Maine. Maine Health Access Foundation participated in Rx Advocacy Partners learning community.
• The Healing TrustmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Foundation-to-foundation agreement through which Rx Foundation added resources to expand scope of capacity-building support for nonprofit organizations in Tennessee. The Healing Trust staff participated in Rx Advocacy Partners learning community, sharing perspective with advocates and organizers from other states.
• The Donaghue FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Multi-year co-funding agreement for Greater Value Portfolio grant program. Co-funded research projects including one on long-term care for families caring for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and a Kentucky Medicaid waiver survey. Co-authored article in Health Affairs GrantWatch on lessons from collaboration.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Donaghue Foundation: Connecticut-based private health research foundation and documented co-funding partner of Rx on the Greater Value Portfolio. Comparable in size, mission focus, and willingness to engage in foundation-to-foundation co-funding collaborations.
• Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation: Private foundation focused on health professions education and equity. Less advocacy-oriented but directly comparable in being a small, family/health-focused private foundation funding capacity and systemic change in U.S. health.
• The California Endowment: Private health foundation that explicitly funds community organizing, advocacy, and policy change for health equity. Shares Rx's commitment to community power-building and uses a comparable multi-year capacity-building grantmaking approach.
• The Kresge Foundation: Private foundation with a Health Program that funds advocacy, policy, and capacity-building for health equity and social determinants of health. Kresge's approach to non-grant support (coaching, peer learning) closely mirrors Rx's 'beyond grantmaking' model.
• Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Massachusetts: State-level health-focused foundation that funds health advocacy, equity, and access initiatives, and is already a documented co-funding partner of Rx. Operates with a similar grant size and multi-year capacity-building model in the same Massachusetts ecosystem.
• The Commonwealth Fund: Major U.S. private foundation focused on healthcare system improvement and health equity, including advocacy and policy change. Highly comparable in mission (health justice, system reform) and grantmaking model (multi-year capacity and advocacy grants to nonprofits).
• The California Wellness Foundation: Private foundation dedicated to health equity, particularly for underserved communities, that funds advocacy, capacity building, and organizing. Operates a similar grant size band and direct-grant model targeting nonprofit health advocacy organizations.

Broad incumbents

• W.K. Kellogg Foundation: Large U.S. private foundation with a deep commitment to racial equity, community engagement, and health-equity advocacy. Relevant as a much larger peer operating in the same advocacy- and community-power-building space that defines Rx's portfolio.
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Largest U.S. philanthropy focused on health and health equity, with a major commitment to building a Culture of Health and supporting advocacy. Rx is a much smaller, more targeted analog of RWJF's health-equity and community-power-building portfolios.

Regional players

• Maine Health Access Foundation: State-level health grantmaker that has partnered with Rx via a foundation-to-foundation agreement to expand capacity-building in Maine. Comparable in mission (health equity, advocacy) but focused on a single state.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments1 record

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Frequently asked questions about Rx Foundation