2000
An independent philanthropic foundation, MFH was created following Blue Cross Blue Shield of Missouri’s conversion from nonprofit to for-profit status. It is the largest organization of its kind in the state and among the largest in the country.
2001
The Foundation hires Dr. James Kimmey, a noted public health physician, as its first President and CEO. During his tenure, MFH grows from an idea into a philanthropic force for the well-being of all Missourians.
2002
The Foundation gives grants to 15 organizations to address lifestyle changes to improve health outcomes for families across our service area.
2002
Health Policy uses research, analysis, education, collaboration, and communications to support programs that promote health and well-being for Missourians. The team also supports grantees and community partners with programs like the MFH Link Project to help them understand and successfully influence the legislative process.
Learn more about our Health Policy work
2004
MFH commits $40 million over nine years to establish the Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Initiative. The effort helps Missourians kick the habit faster than the national average and saves former smokers an estimated $108 million in lifetime medical care costs.
Read the TPCI summary
2005
The Foundation works with community partners to address obesity in Missouri. The initiative increases community education and funds efforts like community gardens, walking trails, and after-school programs to remove barriers to wellness.
2008
This project focuses on helping Missourians make better-informed health care choices and works with health care professionals to improve communication with patients.
2009
Since its creation, CoverMissouri.org has connected Missourians with assisters who help navigate the complexities of health insurance in our state. Whether you’re looking for coverage under Medicaid or the Health Insurance Marketplace, finding and receiving personalized help as you work through this process can make all the difference.
Read more about Cover Missouri
2010
This model transforms primary care facilities into hubs where a primary care physician collaborates with a patient, their families, and their care team to ensure continuous, comprehensive care. The Foundation works to expand medical homes in Missouri, growing the number from just one to over 200.
2010
The Missouri Capture program is launched in 2010 to help Missouri nonprofits and government agencies secure national health funding. It offers free online resources and direct grant assistance including proposal editing, expert content advice, and data support, tailored to each organization's needs.
Read more about MoCAP
2011
When an E5 tornado tears through Joplin, MFH collaborates with nonprofits in southwest Missouri to quickly deploy funds for emergency response services to ensure everyone gets the care and resources they need.
Watch Joplin Response video
2012
Dr. Bob Hughes becomes the second President and CEO of the Foundation. Under his leadership, MFH evolves from being a traditional grant maker to a changemaker, focusing on supporting health and well-being by changing systems.
2012
This series of reports investigates the root causes of health disparities for people of different ethnic, socioeconomic, and sexual orientations across the state. It also examines the effects of food insecurity and challenges for aging Missourians.
Read the reports
2012
Through our Infant Mortality Reduction Initiative, we support community-led efforts in St. Louis and the Bootheel to address the high rates of infant deaths. Hear more from our partners who are working with their communities to ensure more babies celebrate their first birthdays.
Meet our IMRI partners
2013
Healthy Schools Healthy Communities brings together schools, community organizations, businesses, parents, and residents to identify and advocate for changes that increase access to healthy food and physical activity where our kids live, learn, and play.
Explore more about Healthy Schools Healthy Communities
2013
Through our Oral Health initiative, we work to identify coverage gaps, create and improve opportunities, develop innovative strategies, and increase access to oral health services. We utilize three approaches – multiplying touchpoints, expanding insurance coverage and acceptance, and increasing the number of providers. A lasting legacy is our role in the creation of the A.T. Still University-Missouri School of Dentistry and Oral Health in St. Louis.
Read the Oral Health initiative retrospective report
2013
Dr. Corinne Walentik was a tireless champion for children, and she received national attention for her work with infants in neonatal intensive care. She had a formative role at MFH, serving on the Community Advisory Council and the first Board of Directors. After her death in 2012, this award is created to support health leaders in Missouri who exemplify her passion, dedication, and energy.
Watch a video about Dr. Walentik and see the awardees
2014
The Foundation adopts a refreshed strategic direction and visual identity to better align with its mission and values. This includes refining how we drive change and introducing a new brand look that reflects our evolving work.
2014
The philosophy of supportive housing, which combines affordable housing with supportive services for individuals with one or more health conditions, has shown great promise in reducing Medicaid costs and improving health outcomes. MFH’s pilot investment project, Show Me Healthy Housing, provides funding to health-related nonprofit agencies for the construction of housing as well as the provision of case management and health care services for their clients.
2016
Michael Brown’s death and the community’s response in the aftermath is a turning point – for the St. Louis region, for the nation, and for the Foundation. It deepens our commitment to health equity and sharpened our understanding of how structural and systemic racism shapes our health. In response, we form new partnerships, make bold investments, and shift how we show up for communities, for change, and the work ahead.
Read Reflections on Ferguson: Five Years
2017
MFH launches a three-part strategy to strengthen Missouri’s public health infrastructure: providing direct support to local agencies, convening key partners, and funding innovative ideas to modernize the field.
Read the press release
2017
Through Opportunity Fund, we invest in bold ideas that challenge systems so that they work better for all of us. By funding community-driven solutions, we support projects that shift power, influence policies, and address critical issues impacting the health of Missourians.
Learn more about Opportunity Fund
2017
The Right Time is created based on the simple belief that everyone should have the opportunity to pursue the future they want, including if, when, and under what circumstances to get pregnant. Through this work, we help individuals take control of their own health by improving information about, and removing barriers to, contraceptive services, recognizing that the decision always rests with the patient.
Visit TheRightTime.org
2017
Whether taking the form of homicides, suicides, or accidents, firearm violence deeply impacts all Missourians. Solutions can feel elusive, but change is possible. The more people we bring together, gun owners and non-owners alike, the closer we will be to finding the approaches we need to put an end to the cycles of firearm injury and death. Through a variety of partnerships, we play a role in connecting communities to critical resources and elevating information about the impacts of gun violence.
Learn more about our Firearm Violence Prevention work
2017
With staff based in St. Louis but serving communities across the state, we knew we needed a new approach to engagement. Our community liaisons serve as trusted partners in different regions in Missouri, helping us better understand the opportunities and challenges in different communities. This relationship-based model uses the power of active, engaged listening to foster relationships and work within communities to drive change.
Watch a video of our community liaison in the Bootheel region of Southeast Missouri
2018
Our first Foundation-led communications campaign. Through this work we share #TheNetBenefit of our health and social safety net and how we’re all better off when our families, friends, and neighbors have what they need to live healthy, productive lives.
Learn more about #TheNetBenefit
2019
In January 2019, we officially join the vibrant Forest Park Southeast neighborhood in St. Louis City. The move to our new headquarters is a strategic one, positioning us to be better at working with and engaging communities. The new building features shared convening spaces, which serve as a vehicle for “connecting the dots,” bringing people, organizations, and ideas together to facilitate change.
Watch videos about our new home
2019
In anticipation of the 2020 Census, the Foundation creates an awareness campaign to ensure that #MissouriCounts. We join forces with businesses, faith organizations, and other groups to make sure Missourians are counted accurately and that the state receives its fair share of federal resources.
2019
MFH expands its portfolio of changemaking tools, utilizing strategic communications and elevating the roles of policy and learning throughout our programmatic work. The goal? Focus on systems to improve the health and well-being of all Missourians, regardless of their background.
Read more about our transition from grantmaker to changemaker
2019
The Exemplary Advocate Cohort model is developed to strengthen the field of health advocates in Missouri at the individual, organizational, and partnership levels. Designed to transfer leadership to team members so that advocates’ voices and needs are at the center, this six-and-a-half-year project builds trust, action, and power – between the Foundation and advocates, between individual advocates, and creates connections between organizations.
2019
In partnership with KFF, MFH launches the Midwest News Bureau in alignment with our commitment to ensure Missourians have access to local reporting on the health issues that matter most.
Read more about why we invest in media
2020
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, MFH quickly moves to protect the health and well-being of Missourians. From supporting health centers to partnering with food banks, we work with partners across the state to meet urgent and evolving needs.
Read more about our response
2020
As part of our Medicaid Expansion initiative, MFH creates the Makes Sense MO campaign to help the public and policymakers understand the many benefits of expansion, how it can be implemented, and how it makes sense for Missouri. On August 4, 2020, Missouri voters said loud and clear that expanding Medicaid just makes sense.
Learn more about the Makes Sense Mo campaign
2020
A new, more expansive mission statement is adopted by the Foundation to go along with our recently defined core values. Our mission: To eliminate underlying causes of health inequities, transform systems, and enable individuals and communities to thrive.
2020
Build Missouri Health (BMH), a charitable partner to MFH, works to connect Missouri’s efforts to address health disparities and improve health outcomes with national endeavors. BMH serves as a fiscal sponsor, supporting collaboration among smaller organizations and helping to attract funding from larger philanthropies, while amplifying the work of local coalitions that advance health equity across the state.
Learn more about Build Missouri Health
2021
Dr. Dwayne Proctor joins MFH, bringing over two decades of experience in the nonprofit sector to his role as the Foundation’s third President and CEO. Under his leadership, MFH adds a stronger emphasis on racial justice, community empowerment, and systems change.
2021
When a mental health or substance use crisis occurs, too many people end up in jail or the emergency room instead of getting the care they need. Diverting to Care is rethinking crisis response by partnering with communities to build a better system that connects people to treatment and support services.
Learn more about our crisis response work
2023
In 2023, the Foundation launches its first 20-year initiative focused on food justice to ensure all Missourians have the food they need to live active and healthy lives.
Read the Food Justice launch press release
2023
Impact investing is a strategy that allows us to align our financial investments with our mission. By investing in organizations, projects, or funds that generate both financial returns and positive health impacts, we’re able to extend our reach beyond our traditional changemaking tools.
Learn more about our investment partnership with St. Louis Community Credit Union.
2024
Upward Momentum is a collaborative philanthropic initiative investing in community-led solutions to address the root causes of generational poverty. The initiative invests in three pillars: caring for our families, navigating work, and bridging divides.
Learn more about Upward Momentum
2024
Speak Up MO is an annual public opinion poll designed to get a better understanding of how Missourians feel about important health issues. Conducted by a bipartisan research team, this is just one of the ways we’re listening to and learning from communities across the state.
Explore the 2024 MFH public opinion poll
2025
In partnership with The Marshall Project, MFH launches a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to in-depth reporting on Missouri's legal system and its impact on the health and well-being of Missourians. This collaboration aims to fill gaps in local journalism by providing data-driven investigative reporting and sharing expertise and resources with other newsrooms throughout the state.
Learn more about our partnership
We look back on our first 25 years with a sense of pride, mixed with the acknowledgment of how much more needs to be done. As we build on our progress and evolve into a new era, we’re committed to dismantling structural barriers, investing in community-led solutions, and reimagining what’s possible when everyone in our region has an equal chance to be healthy. Together with our partners, we are forging a future where all Missourians – no matter where they live – have a fair and just opportunity to thrive.
© 2025 Missouri Foundation for Health