Blue Shield of California Donates $40 Million to its Foundation

Nonprofit health plan's contributions support efforts to end domestic violence and to help make California the healthiest state

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Blue Shield of California

Feb 11, 2020, 11:00 ET

OAKLAND, Calif., Feb. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Shield of California has made a $40 million contribution to Blue Shield of California Foundation to support its efforts to help end domestic violence and to make California the healthiest state.

Blue Shield of California Foundation is an independent, nonprofit organization that is funded entirely by contributions from Blue Shield of California. Blue Shield is a tax paying, nonprofit health plan that serves more than 4 million people in the Golden State with a mission to help all Californians have access to high-quality health care at an affordable price. Blue Shield caps its net income at 2% and has contributed more than $120 million in funding to the foundation during the past three years.

"We are deeply committed to improving the health and wellbeing of the people and the communities we serve," said Paul Markovich, president and CEO of Blue Shield of California. "The foundation has an incredibly positive impact through its programs and partnerships with community-based groups across the state."

The foundation has an independent governance structure and mandate. It is focused on three areas to advance its mission:

In 2019, the foundation awarded 115 grants totaling $33.4 million to improve lives, including:

$2.4 million to support efforts to eliminate domestic violence in Northern California.
$2.2 million (including 2018) to support U.S. Census Bureau outreach in 2020 to help at-risk communities get appropriate funding for social and health services.
$350,000 to Mujeres Unidas y Activas, to support the California Domestic Worker Coalition to test a new leadership and organizing model and identify policy innovations for domestic workers' health and economic security that could influence the future of work and health.

Here is a breakdown of how foundation grants were made across the state in 2019:

Sacramento Valley	2	$ 500,000
SF/Bay Area	11	$ 2,593,638
Central	10	$ 2,802,590
Los Angeles	20	$ 3,916,000
South	16	$ 3,100,000
Statewide	42	$ 18,645,582
National	14	$ 1,832,673

"Blue Shield of California's continued investment in the Foundation speaks to the strength of its commitment to creating a healthier California – and to improve health and well-being for our state's most vulnerable communities," said Raymond Baxter, president and CEO of the Blue Shield of California Foundation. "With Blue Shield of California's support, we are working with partners across the state to achieve our bold goal: to make California the healthiest state with the lowest rates of domestic violence."

About Blue Shield of California Foundation
Blue Shield of California Foundation is one of the state's largest and most trusted grantmaking organizations. Our mission is to build lasting and equitable solutions that make California the healthiest state and end domestic violence. For more information, visit www.blueshieldcafoundation.org.

About Blue Shield of California
Blue Shield of California strives to create a health care system worthy of our family and friends that is sustainably affordable. We are a tax paying, not for profit, independent member of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association with over 4 million members, 6,800 employees and more than $20 billion in annual revenue. Founded in 1939 in San Francisco and now headquartered in Oakland, Blue Shield of California and its affiliates provide health, dental, vision, Medicaid and Medicare health care service plans in California. The company has contributed more than $500 million to Blue Shield of California Foundation since 2002 to have an impact on California communities.

For more news about Blue Shield of California, please visit news.blueshieldca.com.
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