CMA

Physicians established the Columbus Medical Association Foundation (CMAF) in 1958 as a health education foundation. In 1992, the CMAF received a large infusion of cash from the sale of Physicians Health Plan establishing the CMAF as a health care grant maker. As one of the nation's largest medical association-affiliated endowments, the CMAF has awarded over $30 million to more than 400 local nonprofit organizations since 1992.

CMAF has also created numerous Grant making during the 1990’s saw the CMAF primarily serve as a reactive grant maker funding a wide range of health care projects through its Open Grants Cycle. The CMAF also began to roughly define strategic initiatives – access to health care and tobacco free – as a means to focus resources. The CMAF created Access HealthColumbus during this period. In the late 90’s the Foundation entered into the development and fundraising arena to provide opportunities for individuals and organizations to join them in their effort to improve the health of the community. A number of optional ways to participate were created including the establishment of charitable component funds of the foundation.

In 2005, the CMAF once again began to redefine its funding priorities. CMAF recognized that its limited resources would be overshadowed by the increasing community need for health programming funding support. Out of respect for the limited resources of grantseekers, CMAF led the community in the implementation of a pre-submission of ideas to gage the Foundation’s interest.

The CMAF also adopted a catalytic grant making philosophy, for responsive grants, seeking to exact significant change. The CMAF set priority initiatives and funded grant requests that offered the greatest hope for creating significant, constructive change or action in health systems related to increasing access to health care (both physical and mental health), health promotion, health maintenance, reducing health disparities, and increasing health literacy.

The CMAF also redefined how it approached strategic grant making. The CMAF invested its resources in five strategic areas in Franklin County and the six contiguous counties. The five areas of CMAF investment included: Affordable and Sustainable Health Care; Health Care Safety Net; Convening Conversations on Health and Health Care; Health Disparities; and Youth Philanthropy and Leadership.

This was a significant shift in CMAF’s approach and reflected the desire of the CMAF leadership to become a more strategic funder.