American Heart Association logoAmerican Heart Association

The Social Impact Funds

Funding Equitable Health and Well-being for All
A man standing in rows of vegetable plants at Bread and Butter Farms

Where you live shouldn’t determine how well, or how long, you live … but it does. The conditions in which we are born, live, learn, work, play and age — the social drivers of health — are a better predictor of health and life expectancy than our genetic code. In communities nationwide, people living in locations just a handful of miles apart can have a dramatic difference in life expectancy.

The American Heart Association’s Social Impact Funds were established to level the playing field.

Our financing fills a critical resource gap for traditionally overlooked and underfunded organizations — both for-profit and nonprofit — and catalyzes solutions that overcome barriers to high-quality, accessible health care, food security and economic empowerment. And for donors, we offer a unique opportunity to turn philanthropy into action that makes a real and exponential difference in peoples’ lives.
 

Inspired by the vision and legacy of Bernard J. Tyson, we channel funding to organizations that use their leaders’ lived experience to tackle the social drivers of health so that all people have the opportunity to live longer, healthier lives.

Ensuring Equitable Health and Well-being in 3 Key Areas

Funding solutions that help ensure equitable health and well-being is one of the many ways the American Heart Association is advancing health and hope for everyone, everywhere. We tackle inequity by leveraging the power of our trusted brand, scientific expertise and grassroots network — tens of thousands of staff and volunteers across the U.S. and around the world.

Health Care Access & Quality

A young Black girl is using a stethoscope to listen to the heartbeat of her Black female doctor in a patient room.
Overcoming barriers to high-quality, affordable, accessible health care that is age, gender and culturally appropriate.

Food Security
 

An Hispanic/Latino man is holding a large tray of freshly-picked produce in front of an outdoor Growing Together stand.
Increasing access to healthy, affordable food via sustainable farming, mobile markets, food hubs, food as medicine and more.

Economic Empowerment

A group of West Virginia Women Work participants are gearing up with safety equipment for a job assignment.
Promoting economic stability through job creation, skill upleveling, banking access, financial literacy, violence prevention, housing support and more.
See how the Social Impact Funds improve health equity and expand entrepreneurs’ access to capital

Accelerating Viability, Scalability and Sustainability

Our model pairs financing with capacity-building support, a combination that accelerates viability, scalability and sustainability for the organizations we fund. It’s also a model that can generate potential financial returns — all of which we recycle back into the program to improve health equity in more communities.
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$45 million+
committed to the Social Impact Funds to date
Black and red line art depicting the border of the contiguous United States with a red heart inside it
140+
nonprofit and for-profit organizations funded across the U.S.
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100%
of funds deployed to under-resourced companies and programs
An aerial view of a person typing on a laptop with a Python coding language book on the seat next to them.
An aerial view of a person typing on a laptop with a Python coding language book on the seat next to them.

A multiplying force for equitable health and well-being

Let’s collaborate to make a difference!
 
Get in touch

Nothing on this webpage is intended to be a solicitation for investment.