A leader in health policy analysis, health journalism and communication, the Kaiser Family Foundation is dedicated to filling the need for trusted, independent information on the major health issues facing our nation and its people.
Kaiser is a non-profit, private operating foundation focusing on the major health care issues facing the U.S., as well as the U.S. role in global health policy. Unlike grant-making foundations, Kaiser develops and runs its own research, journalism and communications programs, sometimes in partnership with other non-profit research organizations or major media companies. We serve as a non-partisan source of facts, information, analysis and journalism for policymakers, the media, the health care community, and the public. Our product is information, always provided free of charge — from the most sophisticated policy research, to basic facts and numbers, to in depth health policy news coverage provided by our news service, KHN, to information young people can use to improve their health or elderly people can use to understand their Medicare benefits.
The Kaiser Family Foundation is not associated with Kaiser Permanente or Kaiser Industries.
More About The Foundation History & Mission Our Programs
President’s Message
This essay discusses the choices we have made about our mission and our somewhat unorthodox approach to philanthropy. It is a revised version of an essay published in the journal Health Affairs in 1998. Of course, I believe deeply in what we are doing at Kaiser, but I offer this and update it every few years for interested readers with the caveat that our choices are not necessarily the right ones for others. Each foundation has a different set of opportunities by virtue of its history and donor intent, its size, geographic location, the character of its board and staff leadership, and other factors. I have always believed that our society is best served by having foundations that do different things. First, a few basics about foundations, the constraints under which they operate, and the choices they have.
Our Legacy
Kaiser Family Members Panel on Henry J. Kaiser and How the Foundation Reflects His Credo, “Find a Need and Fill It”
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Washington Office & Barbara Jordan Conference Center
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