Download the 2008 Hartford Annual Report pdf
Introduction

A Call for Leadership in Aging

The Hartford Foundation’s Commitment to Leadership Development

As the country’s largest private foundation focused solely on aging and health, the John A. Hartford Foundation’s goal is to improve the health of older adults by creating a more skilled workforce and a better designed health care system. For over two decades, the Foundation has funded initiatives that nurture leaders who will transform health care.

The Greatest Good: A History of The John A. Hartford Foundation by Judith Jacobson, 1984.

In the late 1970s, the Hartford Foundation moved away from funding basic biomedical research (such as dialysis, laser surgery, and the first permanent artificial heart invented by Dr. Robert Jarvik) to focus on health care quality improvement and cost containment. Recognizing that shifting demographics would have profound implications, the Foundation ultimately began funding aging and health initiatives. The Foundation’s first grant in aging in 1982 focused on programs to strengthen leadership in geriatric medicine by encouraging mid-career faculty to pursue advanced training in geriatrics. The Foundation has been funding efforts that foster and support leadership among geriatric nurses, social workers, and physicians ever since.

26 Years of Investing in Leadership Development in Geriatrics and Gerontology Click here to Enlarge

These efforts—many of which are summarized in the timeline above and four of which are described later in this report—develop leaders and assist them in launching and sustaining sucessful careers. By virtue of this support, it is expected that individuals funded by the Hartford Foundation will have the capability to take the national stage and influence the field of health care.

Recent Hartford-funded efforts have recognized that in order to garner support and make sustained change, senior level leaders must be engaged. For example, through its Social Work Leadership Institute, project directors at the New York Academy of Medicine have enlisted deans and directors of schools of social work to participate in intensive training sessions to build capacity to address the needs of America’s aging population.

“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
Issac Newton

A guiding strategy of the Hartford Foundation has been to help people and organizations recognize their potential as leaders in the field of aging. The Hartford Foundation’s reputation is maintained and furthered by the quality individuals and institutions that it funds. For example, academic geriatrics programs designated as Hartford Centers of Excellence gain national recognition and respect, which helps them to recruit students and faculty. Individual Hartford-funded scholars and fellows achieve credibility as being among a select group chosen for their talents and promise.

When the Hartford Foundation began focusing on aging and health in the 1980s, the field of geriatrics was largely unrecognized. Little research was being done on the biological mechanisms of aging and few health care professionals were specializing in treatment of the elderly. While much work remains, the environment for geriatrics has noticeably changed and more funders have been brought to the table. The positive impact of the Hartford Foundation on the field can largely be attributed to its sustained commitment to aging and health issues and strong partnerships with its grantees.



Dr. William Hazzard, past president of the American Geriatrics Society and former chairman, Department of Internal Medicine of the Wake Forrest University School of Medicine.

Hartford grantees recently validated this impact in a 2008 survey conducted by the Center for Effective Philanthropy. The survey found that in a comparison with other foundations, the Hartford Foundation was rated above the 99th percentile on “Impact on the Field” and “Impact on Grantee Organizations” and at the 75th percentile in “Overall Effectiveness in Creating Social Impact.” Eighty percent of grantees agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that “The Foundation is on the right track to improve the health of aging populations.”

The Foundation rated above the 90th percentile in non-monetary assistance to grantees, which includes advising grantees, brokering connections, and strategic planning. The Foundation also rated above the 90th percentile for all foundations in assistance to grantees in securing funding from other sources.

Norman H. Volk, chairman of the Hartford Foundation concludes, “The prestige associated with the Hartford name is the product of the Foundation’s history coupled with the tremendous contributions of our grantees. This stature has served as a catalyst to advance our mission to improve the health care of older adults.”


Next: A Call to Action:
The Institute of Medicine Calls for Fundamental Reform