Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)
$800,000 won
Community Engagement
Verified Win

RWJF Health Equity Awards: positioning your community partnership as the differentiator

RWJF Health Equity Awards reward organizations that can show a mature, governed community partnership — not a new one. Lead with your partnership's governance structure, decision-making protocol, and shared outcomes, not the list of partners.

Linda Martinez, DrPH

Coalition Director

South Los Angeles Health Equity Coalition

63 upvotes

The Strategy

The Health Equity Awards specifically look for 'mature community partnerships' — meaning partnerships that have governance, shared decision-making, and a track record, not MOUs signed last month. If your partnership is new, apply for a different RWJF program; this one rewards depth. The differentiator is governance. Show: (1) a community advisory board with bylaws and voting authority over budget and program decisions, (2) a shared outcomes framework co-developed with community partners (not imposed by your org), and (3) a conflict-resolution protocol — what…

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