The Hellman Foundation invests in community-led, cross-sector initiatives that build equity and opportunity in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2019, the Hellman Foundation sought to identify challenges and opportunities for a deep philanthropic investment in San Francisco’s safety net clinic system, which includes clinics run by the San Francisco Department of Public Health and those run independently as part of the San Francisco Community Clinic Consortium. The Hellman Foundation hired Facente Consulting to research potentially high-impact, clinic-based investment strategies.
Facente Consulting conducted a literature review of the state of health in San Francisco, with particular attention to racial health disparities. We interviewed health clinic providers and administration, dental service providers, consumer advisory panels, patient advisory committees, and health equity councils to identify potential areas of high-impact investment. After clinic-based food security interventions emerged as a high-impact investment opportunity, Facente Consulting gathered detailed information about the feasibility and best practices for this type of investment and worked with the Hellman Foundation board to develop a theory of change for this strategy. After refining the investment strategy with the input of community experts in food security in 2022, the Hellman Foundation then launched a $20M long-term investment in this area, hiring Facente Consulting as the external evaluator. Facente Consulting developed a detailed evaluation plan in collaboration with Hellman Foundation staff and grantees and currently provides technical assistance to grantees to support implementation of the evaluation.