Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1526507
84 "Congratulations on e Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts' 25th anniversary! e inception of e Health Foundation came from a strong drive to serve the community with health needs, and it has evolved to fund creative projects that address the social determinants of health that impact our communities. e Health Foundation's commitment to supporting health equity is essential to ensuring that every community member is supported by their communities, and they have a longstanding legacy of working alongside the community. It is a privilege to have e Health Foundation in Worcester, and to have a strong partnership with them in our city. Congratulations, and I wish you the best of luck in the years to come." – Mayor Joseph Petty, City of Worcester "e Foundation's efforts have profoundly enhanced our combined ability to improve the Commonwealth's development in being on the leading edge of access to safe drinking water." – Brian Scales, President & CEO, RCAP Solutions "I would like to congratulate you on 25 years of high performance and local and state outcomes. You have supported local organizations with funding and with wisdom. e ROGG process that you developed and implemented is ground-breaking. e 3 stages have led to the systematic development of really excellent projects that have yielded demonstrable outcomes. is is in stark contrast to the common practice of funding projects that sound good but have not shown outcomes and therefore, have not shown lasting impact. In addition, a number of your funded projects have led to state government expanding the programs to other parts of the state. I would also like to add that you have been early adopters, adapters and implementers of the empowerment evaluation approach—that helps nonprofits and other organizations understand that the basic logic and tools of evaluation can be helpful for program planning, quality implementation, continuous quality improvement and increased probability of achieving outcomes. THFCM is thriving in its young adulthood." – Dr. Abe Wandersman, President & CEO, Wandersman Center "I have served on many boards over the course of my fiy-five-year career in human services, and, in my opinion, the operation of THFCM is unique. What distinguishes it from others is its profound commitment to data collection and evaluation. Any project funded by THFCM has benchmarks and key outcomes defined as part of each initiative. ose projects which lacked strong evaluation skills were brought up-to-speed by the exceptionally talented THFCM CEO and staff team and other consultants. A key aspect of e Foundation's profound influence on health initiatives throughout Massachusetts and beyond is its very broad definition of "health." Naturally, health for THFCM includes such matters as physical, dental, and mental health. But health for THFCM goes way beyond that to address housing, public transportation, homelessness, food insecurity, criminal justice, education, childcare, violence prevention, and beyond." – Dr. Barry Walsh, Former Director, Senior Clinical Consultant, Open Sky Community Services and Former Executive Director, e Bridge of Central Massachusetts