Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
ActivePhilanthropy & VoluntarismMakes PRIsFunds Individuals
About Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
RWJF primarily funds research, policy advocacy, and civic-power building that advance health equity, strengthen the safety net (especially Medicaid), and change narratives and systems shaping health. They favor national policy and research intermediaries, university partners, and base-building networks that mobilize communities and influence state and federal policy. Grants often support technical assistance, evaluation, and narrative-change campaigns as well as campaigns to expand coverage and caregiving supports. The foundation’s portfolio blends traditional public‑health research with investments in community power, organizing, and narrative/reproductive justice work.
Focus Areas
Health equity policy and measurement (county health rankings, data systems, evaluation)Medicaid and safety‑net advocacy and monitoring (state-level policy, enrollment, automated decision-making)Community power and base-building for health (funding grassroots networks and organizing groups)Care infrastructure and caregiving policy (campaigns to expand public support for caregiving and care workers)Narrative change and reproductive justice (media, storytelling, and public narrative campaigns to shift public attitudes)
Who They Fund
Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color (including Latino/Latinx communities)
About Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation backs health equity work that moves through research, policy, organizing, and narrative change. A defining feature of its portfolio is support for national intermediaries that coordinate multi-state initiatives, such as Community Catalyst, which received $10,490,000 in 2023 to serve as the national coordinating/program office and $10,025,000 in 2024 to support the Coverage and Care Initiative. The foundation also invests in infrastructure for public-health measurement and storytelling, including University of Wisconsin Population Health grants tied to County Health Rankings & Roadmaps and the development of narratives about structural drivers of health inequities. Beyond research, it funds civic-power and racial-justice organizations such as Race Forward and the Roosevelt Institute, along with large endowments for national advocacy networks. Its grantmaking also reaches pipeline and leadership programs, technical assistance to states, and emergency assistance during the COVID-19 period. The result is a portfolio that combines long-term institutional support with targeted grants meant to influence policy, strengthen community power, and change how health equity is understood and acted on.
What Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Funds
In coverage and enrollment work, the foundation gave $4,356,000 to Community Catalyst for assisting with enrollment and renewal for populations most likely to be or become uninsured. In Medicaid and safety-net policy, it awarded $3,735,000 to Urban Institute to identify policy and practice changes for Medicaid and the social safety net. For health equity measurement, it provided $7,428,357 to University of Wisconsin Population Health for the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps path in developing narratives to address the structural drivers of health inequities. In narrative change and racial healing, it funded New Venture Fund twice in 2023 and 2024 for cohorts connected to the Culture of Health Leadership Institute for Racial Healing.
How Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Gives
Typical grant sizes are modest at the low end and much larger for national program infrastructure: the 25th percentile is $750, median $17,308, and 75th percentile $112,417. The recent portfolio shows repeated support to the same intermediaries across 2023 and 2024, including several continuing or multi-year awards, alongside one-off grants and emergency assistance. The foundation is structured as a regular funder, and it also funds individuals and makes program-related investments. Unsolicited applications are accepted for some established and programmatic opportunities, including fellowships and signature research programs.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$1.6B
Total Assets
$13.4B
Total Revenue
$855.3M
Total Expenses
$966.7M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $750 and $112K, with a median of $17K.
25th Percentile
$750
Median
$17K
75th Percentile
$112K
Geographic Reach
National48 states funded
About 14% of grants go to recipients in CA.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Where Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Funds
Top 4 recipient countries by grant volume for Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
| Rank | Country | Grants | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United StatesDomestic | 11,447 | $1.9B | 100.0% |
| 2 | France | 1 | $161K |
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