Dogwood Health Trust to transform communities
The Health Equity Coalition will hold a forum to explore new ways of connecting community to philanthropy. The $1.5 billion trust from the sale of Mission Hospital has created an opportunity to invest in life-changing initiatives for many of the 900,000 citizens in the 18-county Western North Carolina region.
The Cutting Edge Philanthropy Forum will be held from 8:45 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. May 24 hosted by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in the Reuter Center Manheimer Room at UNC Asheville, a partner in the event. The forum is free and open to the public.
Keynote speakers are Brenda Solorzano, executive director of Headwaters Foundation of Montana, and Kelly Ryan, president and CEO of Incourage community foundation in central Wisconsin. Solorzano is an expert on issues related to health policy, the health care safety net and community health issues affecting vulnerable populations. Ryan has been named one of the 50 most influential leaders in the nonprofit sector by the NonProfit Times and a Rural Innovator by the White House for her focus on values-led and user-centered approaches.
“The leaders of the Dogwood Health Trust have an awesome responsibility to guide a massive philanthropic investment in the region,” said Alan McGregor, of the Health Equity Coalition. “Just as important, Western North Carolina must embrace this unprecedented opportunity by developing the aspirations, vision, and capacity needed for our people to take advantage of what is before them.”
The 2019 sale of Mission Hospital network to HCA Healthcare created this once in a generation windfall. The nonprofit Dogwood Health Trust and six affiliated foundations will administer the $1.5 billion from the sale.
