Strategic Planning – Howard Community Health Foundation

Howard Community Health Foundation is responsible for setting and evaluating our strategic plan, which the Horizon Foundation then carries out

Horizon's Next Strategic Plan

As we develop our next strategic plan, we are seeking the involvement of community members and grantees most impacted by health disparities. Our goal is to understand their experiences, learn about their priorities in the community and their perspective on our future strategies and focus.

Our Strategic Planning Process

During our last strategic planning process, we conducted around 100 interviews with community members to hone in on the issues we should prioritize. This time, we want to co-design what our new strategic plan and programs look like with the community. So, we plan to at least double that number by connecting with grantees, partners, community members and other stakeholders through one-on-one interviews, surveys, focus groups, small group round-tables and a Community Summit that will take place in the spring.

Our Next Steps

Last time, we brought on two community leaders to sit on our Planning and Evaluation Committee along with current Board members to help guide our strategic goals and measure our impact.

This time, we are expanding that committee and ensuring that its makeup is a 50/50 split between HCHF board members and outside community members to help hold us accountable and steer us in a direction that best suits the needs of the community. This Committee will make final recommendations related to the strategic plan to the full Board. We are seeking to share power and not just receive input.

Last time, we were just beginning our journey to better understand and prioritize racial equity in our work.

This time, we intend to go even deeper to determine how we center anti-racism and trust-centered philanthropy in our work. We want to ensure good health for all in Howard County, especially for people of color, who face the most significant disparities in care – not through any fault of their own, but because this country’s systems of health care, education, housing, the economy and more have historically discriminated against them and impacted their overall health.

Our Priorities

Doing all of this means we must embark on a more inclusive strategic planning process, share decision making with community members who have traditionally held less privilege and income, and prioritize Howard Countians of color. It means we must go deeper on policy work to upend and change policies and practices that have marginalized people of color.

We are committed to being as transparent, equitable and inclusive as possible so we can co-create a shared future that will make good health achievable for everyone in Howard County.

Take Our Survey

What We’re Learning

We’ve been hard at work engaging with our community and gathering important information about the lived experiences of and significant barriers faced by residents of color, especially those who live in lower-income households. Hear more about what we’re learning in these presentations from several of our partners who have been with us along the way.

Our Research

Our Webinars

Surveys and Interviews with Hispanic Residents

View the Webinar

Door Knocking Campaign and Community Interviews

View the Webinar

Key Terms

Equity means that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to lead a long healthy life.

Racial equity is a process of eliminating racial disparities and improving outcomes for everyone. It is the intentional and continual practice of changing policies, practices, systems, and structures by prioritizing measurable change in the lives of people of color.

Racial Justice is a vision and transformation of society to eliminate racial hierarchies and advance collective liberation, where Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, in particular, have the dignity, resources, power, and self-determination to fully thrive.

Anti-racism is the practice of actively identifying and opposing racism. The goal of anti-racism is to actively challenge and change policies, behaviors, and beliefs that perpetuate racist ideas and actions.

Trust-centered philanthropy is a holistic approach to grantmaking that is rooted in shared values and true partnership with grantees, where grantees not only provide input but co-create programs and policy solutions that achieve our joint vision of social change.

Social Determinants of Health are the conditions of where people live, work, learn, play, pray and age that impact their health and wellbeing. Examples of the social determinants of health include, but not limited to: housing, transportation, education, income, environmental factors, air & water quality, etc.