Philanthropic organizations have stepped forward to partner with community-based organizations and local agencies to create healthier communities and neighborhoods. This support has allowed communities to test a range of approaches to improve health outcomes, providing valuable lessons and models for other communities to learn from and emulate. Some of the most prominent current and recent place-based and statewide foundation initiatives in California include:

• Building Healthy Communities (BHC), a program of The California Endowment
• Active Living By Design, founded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
• Healthy Eating, Active Living (HEAL) Cities Campaign, a joint effort of the League of California Cities, California Center for Public Health Advocacy, the Cities Counties and Schools Partnership and supported by Kaiser Permanente
• The Food and Fitness Initiative of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation

These efforts, as well as initiatives sponsored by the California Department of Public Health and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, provide opportunities to collaborate and share information with one another through California Convergence, a statewide partnership network.