The foundation was formed from the proceeds of Group Health Cooperative’s sale to Kaiser Permanente. From the beginning, we had three goals: to be statewide, to be community-oriented, and to be equity-focused. Inspired by our roots, health equity was the term we used early on, and we tried to create a broader definition of health to include more than just health care.

As we connected with and listened to community leaders across Washington, we learned that health equity was simply not big enough to hold people’s hopes and dreams for improving their lives and communities.

We also affirmed that achieving equity of any kind meant achieving racial justice—that they are inseparable goals to pursue. To take responsibility more clearly for our part in driving racial justice and to be accountable to grantees, we revised our mission and value statements in 2022.

With that revision, we began in earnest to evolve beyond health. Yet, our name signaled to many organizations that they were only eligible for funding if they work in medical health. The name “Group Health Foundation” made it more difficult for us to reach the organizations we wanted to reach. So, we started to look for a new name.

No, Inatai is not exactly a health foundation. We exist to serve the people of Washington and to shift power in Washington state toward equity and racial justice. One way we do that is to provide multi-year flexible funding to grantee organizations. They decide how to use that funding to best serve their communities. If a grantee organization defines health as a part of their equity and justice work, we may fund those efforts. However, health equity work is not a requirement to apply for and receive funding.

We anticipate granting more than $67 million in 2023.

As a 501(c)(4), Inatai Foundation may fund 501(c)(3) nonprofits, 501(c)(4) nonprofits, other tax-exempt organizations, tribes, and even for-profit entities, as long as the organizations and activities we are funding advance “social welfare” and are consistent with our primary purposes. Like 501(c)(3) organizations, we may also engage in direct program activity that advances our purposes, including capacity building, educational activities, and coordination of funded programs.

Nonprofits that receive contributions from a 501(c)(4) have greater flexibility to pursue a range of advocacy, power-building, and political activities.

Data collection, research, and evaluation can be helpful to our collective work. At the same time, they may perpetuate harm if they are not conducted with accountability and in partnership with communities. As we outline in “Our Approach to Information, Learning and Evaluation,” we seek to work with communities to understand the kind of information they are interested in gathering as part of their efforts to build community power for a more just and equitable future.

We aim to partner with researchers who share our values, are trusted community partners, and will ensure those most impacted by injustices are centered in, leading, and co-designing research projects.