WHF’s Plan for the Future

The Board of the Washington Health Foundation met in Palm Desert in February of 2020 to consider the next steps for the organization.  The Foundation had essentially gone into hibernation in 2014- stopping its operations, limiting its communications, and waiting for the right time to consider its next phase of existence.

The Board, through its three board members, had continued to meet annually and satisfy all legal requirements to maintain its official existence, both under state and federal law.  Part of the logic for the hibernation was to make completely sure that there were no outstanding legal obligations that might compel the Foundation to use its limited remaining funds for such purposes.  Seven years later, it has been concluded that there are no outstanding legal obligations, and WHF is free to invest its remaining capital as it sees fit under its mission and purpose.

The Board members unanimously agreed that they should revive the Washington Health Foundation in 2020, with a target of an official announcement in the Fall of 2020.  Greg Vigdor was appointed to serve as President of the organization, in a volunteer capacity.  Greg had founded WHF in 1992 and served as the President & CEO from 1992 to 2013.

Dr. Ken Isaacs continued his role as Chair of the Board and Dr. Nancy Auer was appointed as Secretary-Treasurer of WHF.  The Board concluded that it would like to grow the Board, and will be reaching out to candidates in the months to come to join them.

The first stage of the revival of WHF was set as the development of a new website.  This website is to serve as the online presence of the organization and proof of life.  It is also to serve as a repository of the extensive work of WHF looking back, cataloguing and explaining this impressive work, including its relevance to today’s health issues.

The website will also serve as the host of the Foundation’s immediate plans for new activity—to continue to dialogue and stimulate conversation around contemporary health issues.  To start, WHF will do this through the publication of a monthly blog.  The website will host the new WHF Blog, as other distribution methods are developed over time.

The Board also expects that WHF will find other ways to stimulate conversation, agreement and action on major health issues, as the Foundation did over the last twenty five years.  The use of social media platforms will be part of the technological answer to its doing so and the ideas for change will continue to be driven by the values of the Foundation and its historic viewpoints.

The Board is also exploring other ways for it to rekindle its leadership efforts to improve health.  These are subject to the capacity of WHF to do so, including especially the need for new funds to support the activity and the Foundation’s overall capacity to manage a new portfolio of work.  Interested funders are encouraged to contact WHF Board members with thoughts they might have in this regard.

The pre-publication availability of Mr. Vigdor’s novel “The Theory of IRV: A Novel About Health Policy” is one example of one such new addition.

The Board is considering slight adjustments to the organization’s mission and purpose in line with what its current circumstances and what it believes will be the next phase of the Washington Health Foundation.  One important discovery already made is that the Foundation’s geographic scope has expanded beyond just Washington State to the nation as a whole, and other states.

Just two weeks after the February Board meeting where the revival of WHF was decided, the health crisis of Covid-19 struck the Nation and world.  It has slowed down some of the revival planning for WHF, for example, some in person events that were planned for the Fall of 2020.  Meanwhile it has created time for other parts of the Plan to move forward in a bigger and faster way, such as the new WHF website.

For thoughts and ideas on WHF’s revival, please contact WHF’s Officers.  The Future is now.