The document—Our Strategic Direction—is the result of thoughtful reflection on the first nine years of the Foundation’s work and equally enthusiastic anticipation of the success the Foundation can enjoy in the future.  It is intended to guide the Foundation in its work in the coming years.  It is the collective work of both Board members and staff, and it will enable the Board to know more confidently that the Foundation’s work matters; that it makes a positive and measurable difference.

Our Strategic Direction begins with the mission, vision and values of the Foundation and specifies its significant relationship with Moses Cone Health System. It continues to identify the functions of the Foundation in regards to its mission.

The Foundation’s work involves the following roles:

Analysis and Research ~ The Foundation will be engaged in activities that assess the status of the community’s health and that measure change in the various indicators related there to.

Catalyst and Convener ~ The Foundation will partner with others to do what needs to be done using the Foundation’s resources.   This involves identifying other organizations, fostering relationships and encouraging vision and action.

Health Program Investor ~ The Foundation will make its assets available in support of projects and programs aimed at improving the health of the community.  The term Investor is designed to emphasize the Foundation’s keen interest in outcomes directly related to valid measures of health status; i.e., a return on investment.

Advocate and Communicator ~ The Foundation considers it vitally important to connect with the community it seeks to serve.  A step beyond that is its role of advocate—within the framework of its health investments.  As an advocate, the Foundation focuses on negative health issues caused by behavior and lifestyle, by public policy or by the environment. 

Utilizing these fundamental roles, Foundation seeks to invest in projects that are:

• Strategic-- projects that result in permanent and positive change one or more fundamentals that influence the health of the community
• Scalable-- those that can be expanded to community-wide scale
• Sustainable-- those that can become self-sustaining