Kaiser Permanente, one of the nation’s largest providers of health-care services and one of our largest donors, has engaged in a remarkable partnership to help fund “The Weight of the Nation” campaign. The campaign is a comprehensive awareness and health-education project aimed at obesity, a major risk factor for chronic conditions responsible for 75 percent of health-care costs in America.

The partnership approach followed by Kaiser Permanente in order to deploy what we call “The Power of Many” is available to any individual, family or organization wanting to ensure their charitable giving has impact.

“Regardless of the size of your philanthropic resources, using partnerships to magnify the impact of your giving is effective,” says Dr. Raymond Baxter, Kaiser Permanente’s Senior vice president, Community Benefit, Research and Health Policy.

Kaiser Permanente made a large grant from one of its charitable funds at the East Bay Community Foundation to help form a partnership with the Institute of Medicine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation.

This partnership has produced an anti-obesity campaign comprising four documentary films, a three-part HBO Family series, 14 film shorts, a book, and a nationwide outreach program including 40,000 community action kits to community-based obesity-prevention organizations.

We at the East Bay Community Foundation provided consultation services on the campaign’s outreach strategies and materials to community-based organizations and to community foundations. We provide Kaiser Permanente with ongoing services, including research, administration, investment management and due diligence in deployment of its charitable funds.

If you’re searching for a way to get results and impact from your charitable giving, contact us today.