Endowment transitions from grantmaker to changemaker.

Improving the health of communities is a foundational mission of the Medical college of Wisconsin (McW). the last 10 years have been characterized by substantial progress in fulfillment of our promise to the public, and plans for the future are poised to be even more transformative. the enhanced capacity to effect change began with blue cross & blue Shield united of Wisconsin’s decision in 1999 to become a forprofit stock corporation. this conversion led to the insurance commissioner of Wisconsin issuing an order directing that the proceeds from this process be allocated equally to Wisconsin’s two medical schools, McW and the university of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. McW’s portion of the funds was used to create an endowment with an initial value of $318 million called advancing a Healthier Wisconsin. in 2004, McW funded its first initiatives through the endowment in community health, research, and education. in the years that have followed, the advancing a Healthier Wisconsin (aHW) endowment has helped over 150 McW faculty members engage more than 350 diverse community groups to advance public and community health. the aHW endowment has awarded $164.8 million to 311 initiatives dedicated to improving community health, advancing biomedical and population health research, and enhancing education for health professionals