Commonwealth Fund
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| Founded | 1918 |
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| Founder | Anna Harkness |
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Key people
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David Blumenthal, President |
| Endowment | $700 million |
| Slogan | A private foundation working toward a high performing health system |
| Website | www.commonwealthfund.org |
The Commonwealth Fund is a private U.S. foundation whose stated purpose is to "promote a high performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society's most vulnerable and the elderly." It is active in a number of areas related to health care and health policy. It is led by David Blumenthal, M.D.
The Commonwealth Fund, one of the first foundations to be established by a woman, was founded in 1918 with an endowment of almost $10 million by Anna M. Harkness. The widow of Stephen V. Harkness, a principal investor in Standard Oil, Mrs. Harkness wanted to “do something for the welfare of mankind.” Anna’s son, Edward Stephen Harkness, became the Commonwealth Fund’s first president and hired a staff of people to help him build the foundation. Edward Harkness possessed a "passionate commitment to social reform" and was "determined to improve health and health services for Americans." Through additional gifts and bequests between 1918 and 1959, the Harkness family's total contribution to the fund's endowment amounted to more than $53 million. Today, the Commonwealth Fund’s endowment stands at almost $700 million.
According to the Rockefeller Archive Center, the Commonwealth Fund’s “early grants supported a variety of programs while generally promoting welfare, especially child welfare.” Over the years, it has given support to medical schools and to the building of hospitals and clinics. In New York City, the Commonwealth Fund was a major contributor to the building of Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center of the College of Physicians and Surgeons and Presbyterian Hospital at Columbia University in 1922. By the mid-1920s the chief interest of the foundation had become public health, including mental hygiene, community health, rural hospitals, medical research, and medical education. Other grant areas included war relief, educational and legal research, and international medical fellowships.
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