We invest in solutions, initiatives, and partnerships that significantly improve community health and well-being.
What matters
East Texans deserve programs that focus on improving their health and well-being. We believe that strategic grant-making is best done in collaboration with East Texans and the communities where they live and work.
According to recent studies published by The University of Texas at Tyler, age-adjusted mortality rates in Northeast Texas are higher than the entire state exceeding national averages for each one of the leading causes of death in the U.S. — heart disease, cancer, stroke, and chronic lower respiratory diseases.
The causes are many, but chief among them is limited access to primary care providers, scarce behavioral health resources, and lower utilization of prenatal care. Combined with a rural geography that often requires our citizens to travel for health care, low levels of insurance coverage, and limited access to broadband (which is necessary for telehealth and other online healthcare services), the current circumstances are not acceptable. East Texans deserve more.
Source: The 2021 edition of The Health Status of Northeast Texas 2021 can be found at https://utsystem.edu/netx/.
Who we help
The ETMC Foundation believes that communities are at their best when they work together with non-profit organizations to develop sustainable programs and services that demonstrably improve the health and well-being of its citizens. We are committed to supporting our communities and non-profit partners through education, program development, and, ultimately, through strategic grant-making.
The Foundation recognizes that many interconnected issues impact the health and well-being of our residents and communities. To best prioritize our resources to achieve meaningful impact, we have chosen to focus our work in two primary program areas: youth mental health and access to care.
Youth Mental Health
We support efforts that improve the mental health and well-being of youth so they can learn, grow and reach their full potential.
As echoed by many experts, the ETMC Foundation is also concerned with the all-too-limited behavioral health services available in our communities. As such, we are interested in those programs that support early behavioral health interventions, particularly for adolescents, and programs designed to train and retain exceptional behavioral health professionals.
Access to Care
We support efforts that ensure individuals and families have access to healthcare services that improve their health outcomes and quality of life.
We are particularly interested in services that focus on under-served and/or at-risk populations in ways that address the unique needs of our community. Whether expanding the availability of providers or the access to needed services, we hope to partner with the community in ways that improve overall physical and mental health outcomes in East Texas.
About funding
Grant-making is estimated to begin again in 2024, and we will evaluate all requests based on the impact each proposes and demonstrates within our communities. Additionally, we partner with other foundations and institutions to amplify the impact of our projects.
Where we fund
Our work focuses on impacting Smith County and surrounding communities.
