Based in Buffalo, NY with a second office in Syracuse, NY, the Health Foundation for Western and Central New York is an independent private foundation that serves 16 counties, including Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans and Wyoming counties in western New York, as well as Cayuga, Cortland, Herkimer, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Oswego and Tompkins counties in central New York.
Our vision is a healthy central and western New York where racial and socioeconomic equity are prioritized so all people can reach their full potential and achieve equitable health outcomes.
To achieve outcomes that last, we work together with our community partners to develop, implement and evaluate sustainable programs that make a positive difference in the lives of thousands of young children and older adults in our regions, and support the community-based organizations that serve them..
Guiding Principles
Our work is guided by eight guiding principles.
- Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.*
- Our commitment is to the most vulnerable and to those in poverty, with an emphasis on children and older adults.
- Our work is focused on interventions that target the individuals and communities in need throughout the 16 counties in western and central
New York. - We are part of a community, contributing our efforts in partnership with others, responding to urgent community needs as they arise and disseminating what we’ve learned to others.
- We utilize innovative and creative approaches to optimize outcomes.
- We emphasize a rigorous, data-driven approach that ensures we thoroughly explore opportunities before investing deeply in them, and that we continue to measure the impact of those investments.
- We invest in practical progress through continuous learning, quality improvement and fostering sustainability.
- We support strong and effective advocacy and policy change that benefit our target populations.
*Preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organization
OUR STORY
From our early years to where we are today, find out how we’ve evolved and grown as a foundation
Our work:
Improves the quality of life for the most vulnerable people
Builds skills and capacity to sustain long-term improvements
Uses data and evidence
Reflects innovation and creativity
Involves working closely with community partners
Represents an environmental and systems perspective
Contributes to health care and philanthropic dialogues in the region, state and nation
Supports effective advocacy and policy change