Health Forward spent $1.8 million on a Kansas “Integrated Voter Engagement” project in recent years
MAR 28, 2025
Because it’s “healthcare,” Health Forward from Kansas City, Missouri is accepting grant proposals by an April 2 deadline to promote advocacy, civic participation and community organizing in Kansas and Missouri for the next two years.
This is an extension of the $300,000 awarded in October 2024 to 11 nonprofits working to register and mobilize Kansas voters ahead of the November general election:
- ACLU Foundation of Kansas, $50,000
- Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation, $20,000
- Argentine Betterment Corporation, $15,000
- Community Health Council of Wyandotte County, $20,000
- El Centro, $25,000
- Kansas Black Leadership Council, $20,000
- League of Women Voters of Kansas, $10,000
- Loud Light, $45,000
- Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity (MORE2), $20,000
- The Voter Network Foundation, $65,000
- Voter Rights Network of Wyandotte County, $10,000
Health Forward’s Five-Year Plan
Health Forward Foundation published its “five-year purpose plan” in March 2023, but the recent announcement focused on two “power” areas for the new grants in 2025:
- Advance participation in democracy.
- Increased effectiveness of community organizing for civic participation.
Slides from pre-application conference
Heath Forward created a deck of 46 slides to describe this latest project for their 2025 pre-application conference.
Application Eligibility
More details are given on an organizational requirements page.
Health Forward sees racism in “even our voting systems”
A Health Forward video claimed a connection between voting and health, especially for people of color and rural residents. Health Forwards sees racism as the cause.
In Kansas and Missouri we have everything we need to solve health issues that have troubled our communities for decades. Most importantly, we have the people who can make it happen.
As some communities thrive, people of color and rural residents continue to face systematic barriers to prosperity.
Racism was built into the fabric of our systems, education, finance, healthcare, and even our voting systems.
Research shows the healthiest communities tend to be those that are more civically engaged. Communities with higher voter turnout often have stronger social ties, fair access to resources, and more opportunities for everyone to live healthier lives.
Health Forward has nearly $900 million in assets
View the first page of their IRS 990 filing for 2023 below.
The IRS 990 shows the organization’s legal name is Health Care Foundation of Greater KC doing business as Health Forward Foundation.
Health Forward is exempt from income tax. They reported earning over $185 million in in 2022-2023 with net assets climbing to $887 million.
Why can Health Forward as a “charity” use tax-exempt dollars to impact elections in Kansas and Missouri?