40 Years of Impact: Sierra Health Foundation's Progressive Programs, Partnerships and Philanthropy

What transformative power can philanthropy hold in addressing community health challenges? Explore this fascinating question as we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Sierra Health Foundation with President & CEO, Chet Hewitt. From its origins as a pioneering health conversion foundation to its role as a national model for over 350 similar organizations, Sierra Health Foundation has redefined community support through innovative partnerships and strategic initiatives. With a focus on empowering communities to identify and prioritize their needs, we unpack the foundation's impactful initiatives, such as the Black Child Legacy Campaign, which tackles the disproportionate mortality rates among African-American children in Sacramento. 

Discover the profound impact of collaboration and timing in philanthropy. Chet  shares the foundation's journey through various crises, including the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic, and how it adapted to continue supporting community health. We discuss how partnerships with state agencies, private entities, and community groups have enabled the foundation to address pressing issues like food insecurity, healthcare access, and the opioid crisis. Through targeted universalism and public-private collaborations, Sierra Health Foundation has demonstrated resilience with a model for sustainable community outcomes. 

Join me for an insightful exploration into the foundation's commitment to capacity building and philanthropic innovation. With a business mindset, the foundation has managed philanthropic investments to ensure accountability and success. From supporting smaller community-focused groups to leveraging technological advancements for operational efficiency, the foundation's approach is both strategic and compassionate. Reflecting on the past four decades, we celebrate the visionary efforts and thoughtful risk-taking that have solidified Sierra Health Foundation's role as a vital partner in promoting health equity and well-being across Northern California and the San Joaquin Valley.

To learn more about Sierra Health Foundation or The Center at Sierra Health Foundation, visit the website HERE

Chapter Summaries

(00:00) Sierra Health Foundation's Impact and Legacy
Sierra Health Foundation's 40-year journey, structure, and innovative approaches to community health and well-being in Northern California and the San Joaquin Valley.

(06:56) Community Impact and Collaboration
Timing, community awareness, and targeted universalism are key in philanthropy, exemplified by the Black Child Legacy Campaign.

(15:03) Enhancing Community Impact Through Partnerships
Partnerships between state agencies, Sierra Health Foundation, and organizations address community challenges and promote equity and resilience.

(19:22) Funding and Partnership for Public Good
Partnerships between public bureaucracies, community groups, and philanthropy use grants to achieve common public goods, with a focus on capacity building and financial responsibility.

(24:34) The Power of Collaboration and Impact
Colla

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Transcript

Chet Hewitt: [00:00:00] I also believe that the pathway outta poverty on a more permanent basis is opportunity. Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: we gotta get back to what does it mean to more equitably distribute opportunity in this country? And regardless of how you want to look at it, one of the most powerful tools is education. You know, that's why parents millennial have been telling you, go out, get educated, and that gives you the best chance for a better life, and we should be doing nothing to impede that.

Jeff Holden: Hi, I'm Jeff Holden. Welcome to the Nonprofit Podcast Network. Our purpose and passion is to highlight a nonprofit organization in each weekly episode, giving that organization an opportunity to tell their story. In their words, to better inform and educate the respective communities they serve, as well as provide one more tool for them to share their message to [00:01:00] constituents and donors.

Our goal is to help build stronger communities through shared voices and to both encourage and support the growth of local nonprofit organizations through podcasting. I'm thrilled to welcome Smudge Shine Awards as our episode sponsor supporting our nonprofit community with grants for more efficient energy usage.

With continuing thanks to our founding partners, captrust, fiduciary advice for endowments and foundations and Western Health Advantage, a full service healthcare plan for individuals, employer groups, and families. If I take you back a few years, provided you've been in town long enough and happened to literally be old enough to remember the mid to late eighties, there was a very progressive health initiative taking place by an organization known as Foundation Health.

We saw ease of access to healthcare in our neighborhoods with their facilities. They were progressive, big thinkers, and when they sold, they took some of those proceeds to establish an organization. And we now [00:02:00] recognize as Sierra Health Foundation, they were one of the very first health conversion foundations, and certainly now one of the oldest.

The big ideas never ceased. The progressive actions didn't stop, and today, 40 years later, Sierra Health Foundation is one of the most recognized names and health equity initiatives in the country. Partnerships and community have paved the way for investment in so many organizations, and the knowledge gained not only through recession and pandemic, but with only two leaders of this incredible operation since its inception, is what sets it apart in so many ways.

It's my privilege to speak with Chet Hewitt, CEO, and President of Sierra Health Foundation. Founder of the Center at Sierra Health Foundation to have him explain the relationship, the partnerships these organizations represent, not only in Northern California, but the state as well. Chet Hewitt, welcome to the Nonprofit Podcast Network.

Chet Hewitt: Thank you so [00:03:00] much, Jeff. Happy to be here with you. 

Jeff Holden: You know, your organization is no newcomer to the cycles of Funding and Healthcare Evolution. As a matter of fact, this is the 40th anniversary, I think 1989. 

Chet Hewitt: Yeah. We're celebrating our 40th year. 

Jeff Holden: That is amazing. What was the genesis of Sierra Health? What originated, how did it come about?

Chet Hewitt: You know, the creation of VR Health was, is really a big idea and a powerful idea, and I don't just say that because of its relationship to the foundation that I'm privileged to run, but because of the historic effect that it actually had. I. So mid eighties, the Foundation Health Plan was actually purchased by a for-profit health plan.

It had been a nonprofit health plan, and you cannot take the nonprofit assets into a for-profit company. Those assets revert back to the state. They're not owned by an individual. In this case, a group of forward-thinking [00:04:00] folks decided that perhaps what they could do, rather than make a payment to the state that could be spent on some good purpose, we'll just assume that, that you could create an evergreen entity that would carry forth the aspirations of the Foundation health plan in perpetuity.

And that gave rise to the creation of the Sierra Health Foundation. And what's really unique about these health conversion foundations as they're known, they are not about an individual's wealth. It's not named for a person who did extraordinarily well. Mm-hmm. We're, we're used to foundations that have that kind of relationship.

This was the wealth of the people from this part of California, which 40 years later is still making a return on the investment that gave rise 

Jeff Holden: to the foundation and significantly so, which is what I'm excited to speak with you about. And I'm not mistaken from our previous conversation just a few minutes ago.

You are only the second chief executive officer [00:05:00] president of the organization, correct? 

Chet Hewitt: That's right. In 40 years there have been two of us, uh, Len McCandless, who did a great job standing up this institution. We always say we stand on the shows of people who come before us. That is true. Got us off to a phenomenal start with some historical investments, things that we were really part of and we have built from that legacy until today.

Jeff Holden: That's amazing to think that 40 years, two people, what a tenured history, but what an incredible amount of intellectual equity you've got for the organization and the community at large. Hmm. Tell us a little bit about the way that the organization is structured, because you really do have two entities under one roof.

We'll start with Sierra Health, but you do have two. Explain that a little bit for 

Chet Hewitt: us. Yeah. We have a Sierra Health Foundation, which is that 40 year entity that is derivative of, you know, the Foundation Health Plan, as I said earlier, has led to the creation of health conversion foundations across this country.

You know, [00:06:00] Lou Reed, who did a lot of legal work for us, went on to help create the California endowment. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: And several other health conversion foundations. And while Sierra Health is the first, we believe western Mississippi, there are now over 350 of 'em across the country. Oh my gosh. So when I say it was a big idea about how to localize philanthropy.

'cause we started with the 26th County region that we were focused on here in California. That big idea is still growing across other country structurally. You know, we have evolved. We're not the exact same institution we were 40 years ago. 'cause things have changed. Sure. We've learned a lot throughout grant making in our financial management, which led after the Great Recession where there was real turbulence in the philanthropic space.

Many institutions had lost a lot of wealth. And we really began to think differently about how do we continue to have the impact that we were desirous of having under different conditions. And that led to the idea of creating the Center at Sea Health and thinking about the [00:07:00] enterprise, not just the foundation.

Like what are the components, the institutional structures you need to really meet our mission, which is a healthful life for all. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: Right. And we believe that the foundation and its grant making work. The center with its capacity building development work, largely using resources from public and other philanthropic institutions, those kind of public private partnerships that led to the creation of what we describe as a philanthropic intermediary that allows us to, in very thoughtful and well-managed ways that really meets levels of accountability you have when you're spending public or private money to get those dollars into the hands of groups and communities who we know are doing tremendous work groups who might have otherwise not have been as competitive to receive those resources.

Perhaps because of their size or their lack of connections to public institutions or [00:08:00] even sometimes they're being unaware that there were opportunities for them to participate in any number of of programs that we have been fortunate to run. 

Jeff Holden: People are gonna play back that answer. Mm-hmm. Two and three and four times.

Mm-hmm. To really grasp the gravity of what you just said, because it's pretty significant in terms of the way the structure of the organization is built. Mm-hmm. Tell us now about Sierra Health, the programs that Sierra Health provides and what that represents in the community. Mm-hmm. That's 26 counties, correct?

That's right. 

Chet Hewitt: Well, senior health on that side, we're, we'll spend about five and a half million dollars this year. Mm-hmm. Funding a range of programs. We will, we will help food banks who are living food to populations who are food insecure. We will support and have supported programs that are testing new innovations in a social space, like a guaranteed income program.

Mm-hmm. To see what impacts that actually has. We are supporting work to stem gun violence in [00:09:00] communities as well. We're supporting people's ability to get access to specialty care and health insurance so that they can actually manage their physical health better, as well as supporting the expansion of behavioral healthcare.

We know that in this country's is a crisis for folks around behavioral health access and, you know, mental health awareness. And so, you know, those are the kind of things that we're engaged in locally and locally. I mean, across our primary funding region, which is the 26 counties of Northern California and increasingly the eighth counties into the San Joaquin Valley as well.

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. So maybe into Fresno area as far as Fresno. Okay. Well south as Fresno. Okay. And, and by funding that's a grant application into the organization is, are, are there windows of time when opportunities present themselves? Are those opportunities segmented for various. Categories. Tell us a little bit about, we do a little bit of 

Chet Hewitt: [00:10:00] both.

We have a responsive grants program. Mm-hmm. That has a theme to, it provides, you know, kind of core support grants to nonprofits to do the good work that they described, but they need help being able to do. Mm-hmm. And one thing about our former of philanthropy, as with other foundations that we're partners with, we're not always being overly prescriptive.

Right. People in communities have a good sense of what their communities are grappling with. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah. 

Chet Hewitt: But some of the priorities in their communities. And we try to really be responsive to what they see as the most pressing needs in those communities. And we do have some directed initiatives as well. And over the years we have done things focused on youth development, which has been a pretty consistent theme in our investment portfolio.

Several years ago, people I member of the REACH program we did, which is in several counties in our particular region, focused on the healthy development of young people. Our positive Youth justice work. We were kids who were coming into contact with justice [00:11:00] systems and trying to think differently about the types of interventions that we had with young people.

So it was more pro-social and developmental mm-hmm. Than just punitive kind of restorative justice models. We think, you know, a whole great way around improving public safety mm-hmm. In communities, particularly those that, that have disproportionate levels of harm taking place in those communities. We're very proud of our Black Child Legacy campaign, which is a very interesting program that was started and championed by Phil Cerna, which is our county supervisor in response to information that came from a Child Death review team, that for 20 years African American children died at two to three times the rate of other children in our county.

And I, I, I wanted to spend just a minute talking about that program because it's very, I mean, just to even 

Jeff Holden: think of this in the last 40 years. Last 20, whatever, what any time in this timeframe is amazing to me. It's incredible to believe that that's even the case. Yes. 

Chet Hewitt: Well, infant and maternal mortality for the African population [00:12:00] has been and continues to be an issue.

And I wanna take just a minute quickly to talk about this. 'cause I think it's a really interesting example of what I'm talking about and how sometimes when people are concerned about programs that focus on a specific population, how it can be helpful to, in a larger context. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: As well. You know, I like to say that good child and family policy, even when it's a program focused on a single population, tends to be good for everybody.

And the Black Child Legacy Campaign is an example of that. So one of the areas, four major causes of death that led to this disparity and through research and science, we found out that 82% of those deaths took place in seven communities. So we were able to focus our efforts mm-hmm. With our public sector partners and champions on those communities.

And I have to shout out First five and you know, the county great organization, uh, you know, health and human service organizations too. 'cause they have been extraordinary [00:13:00] players in this particular work as well. As well as Department of Children and adult Services. Mm-hmm. As well. And we have had an impact.

'cause the goal was to reduce those death waste by 20%. That has actually been achieved and we're now, okay, congratulations moving be beyond that, those particular markers in the next round of work. But one of the areas was leading areas of preventable deaths was sleep related accidents. Young children not having safe places to sleep.

Mm-hmm. Now, I know that many people thought you talking about African American community, that's probably gonna be some form of violence, but no, you know, neonatal conditions, which is a lack of access to healthcare and in sleep related deaths with top two causes. A black child disparities and death rates.

So while we're still struggling with the neonatal one and we're making some progress around the sleep related issues, we've made a lot of progress. And one of the doctors who was part of the committee who worked with us to kind of resolve this, working with [00:14:00] seven great community institutions spread across the county of Sacramento, we were able to start a safe baby assessment program at Kaiser Hospital, one of the big providers.

Mm-hmm. That particular project now is in effect at all the major healthcare providers across the region. And it's not only for black women or black families. Every child born in our region gets a safe baby assessment done for that particular parent. And if that parent doesn't have a safe place for their baby to sleep, they are given one.

So as a great John Powell says, targeted universalism. You can focus a target on a population that's suffering and you can do it in a way that's not discriminatory. 'cause it results in the formation of good public policy. That good public policy will most often benefit all of us, the entire community, indirect and in indirect ways from seeing fewer children [00:15:00] die, which is something I think we can all applaud ourselves for.

Mm-hmm. This whole community for investing and supporting this work to the financial course of dealing with children who end up in hospitals in highly troubled states, which is a very, uh, expensive proposition that could be avoided with a very simple intervention. That's 

Jeff Holden: a great public policy. Chet, are you seeing this program roll out into other states and other communities as a result of the success you've had here?

Chet Hewitt: This program is nationally recognized. 

Jeff Holden: Awesome. 

Chet Hewitt: Born and developed in Sacramento. It has rolled out to Fresno County where some of the data is even more challenging. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: And inquiries from Los Angeles County who's interested as well. 

Jeff Holden: That's fantastic. And I think it shows and demonstrates the significance of an organization like Sierra Health who's sitting there saying, oh no, no.

This isn't just gonna happen. And we hope it works. It's tracked. And every key performance indicator that you're looking for [00:16:00] is monitored. And you can adequately say at the end, yeah, here's what it's done. 20 percent's incredible. That's a huge number. 

Chet Hewitt: We have a, a great, you know, network of folks who are doing it is BCLC, it's birth and beyond, and other folks all pulling to the same goal, working with different groups.

But as I said, same outcome. And I think that kind of public private partnership, which is what the center specializes in. Mm-hmm. And that's what makes it different from the foundation. The foundation is a, is a grant maker. Right Center is entity that we describe as an intermediary that accelerates both the implementation and the efficacy of programs that it helps to manage in support of partners who have a common set of goals that they're working to achieve.

Jeff Holden: So let me ask a question, 'cause you naturally moved right into the next question, which is the [00:17:00] center. But before we get there, is it conceivable that the foundation could pass monies through into the center and then out into the community? We often 

Chet Hewitt: invest in the projects that the center is engaged in.

Got it. Because one of the things that we believe in is if that we say to folks that if this is that important, we should have some skin in the game too. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: Right. We're not just out there looking for resources from other institutions. We're gonna be an investor. You know, part of what the foundation does and why it has a 40 year history.

'cause it has a corpus that's invested, right? Mm-hmm. And we always say that we would never invest in any fund that the leader of that fund was unwilling to invest his own money in. 

Jeff Holden: Mm. Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: And if you know, investment, you know, that's kind of how you manage your money. 

Jeff Holden: Right? 

Chet Hewitt: And so we're not looking anybody to invest in any project without us being willing to put some of our own capital at risk because we think it's that important.

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. So now the center. Mm-hmm. Congratulations. 11 years [00:18:00] later. Yes. Here we are talking about an institution. Yes. In the community and in the state. A separate 5 0 1 3 tell us what its purpose and its engagement is under the umbrella of Sierra Health. Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: It functions as a space for public institutions.

We do a lot of work with state governmental agencies, sometimes working in partnership with not only just. Sierra Health Foundation, but other foundations to address any number of issues that are pertinent throughout the state of California. It aggregates those resources and it creates a really great process for distributing those resources in ways that are more equitable, more transparent and more available to institutions or communities that here the Forward probably experience deeper challenges, getting access to those resources as well.

Mm-hmm. [00:19:00] And I, you know, I have to tip my head to the state who has seen this partnership being a valuable one, not a passing along of their responsibility, but I would say as someone who's spent a fair, a fair amount of my own career in the public sector, a partnership that they know enhances the work that they want to achieve.

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: Done. In partnership, we're always better together. I could talk about a few of the projects that we have actually done that I think have had an enormous impact from some of the initial, uh, communications work done, uh, during the pandemic. Many of you see that those commercials were brought to you by Sierra Health Foundation that was really brought to you by Sierra Health, the state, and a number of entities, RSA and other folks who have worked on that campaign.

One of our founding partners, right? One of the ethnic media that we worked with, a phenomenal campaign. We actually had an art show that was curated by some of the products that came out of that campaign. And the pictures of folks wearing masks that you saw on billboards mm-hmm. To, [00:20:00] you know, artwork and murals that were created in communities, particularly when, at the beginning of the pandemic, we didn't have a therapeutic, there was no vaccine and everything was behavioral.

Mm-hmm. And so how do you convey and reinforce those behavioral messages? Really, really proud, uh, of that particular work. Something that that, that we've been doing for the past number of years that's ongoing and still remains a challenge. That has a response to the fentanyl and opioid epidemic. That's, you know, ravaging communities across this country.

Mm-hmm. As well. We have a major partnership with the state that's actually ensuring that tribal communities, ethnic communities, the white community, that all communities that are confronting this are having opportunities to access resources, to build community supports and services that are really pushing back against, you know, that, you know, epidemic and the loss of life, the extraordinary loss of life it's actually causing 

Jeff Holden: Well, the interesting thing too, again, with your metrics mm-hmm.

You're gonna be able to track and demonstrate impact in that [00:21:00] category because it's extremely measurable. That's right. If people died and now there's less people dying, we know we've made an impact because of the programs that we've instituted. Mm-hmm. You were saying something in our. Pre-conversation that I want to address as well, that the center supports other organizations with, and that's some of the administrative of the backend and getting it right, so they don't have the challenges of funding, et cetera, from pass through to the state.

Share a little bit with us. Well, we, 

Chet Hewitt: yeah. One of the things we've learned at the center over our 40 years at the foundation of our 40 years and over the past 11 years at the center, is that there are a lot of groups who do fantastic work. They tend to be smaller, more community focused. That's part of what allows them to connect with people who are sometimes not wanting to be contacted because they're grappling with any number of issues, but who also lack to kind of in infrastructure that it typically takes to gain access to resources to support that particular work.

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: And we're big believers in accountability. We, we want those groups to be successful. We want folks to feel like the public dollars are being [00:22:00] spent well. And so we have worked hard over the past 11 years to build out and infrastructure that assists communities to do that. If you to say, simplify that for me, Chet.

We built out an architecture that allows them to do the things that they're really, really good at and for us to support the things that they're less good at. 

Jeff Holden: Yep. 

Chet Hewitt: Right. And therein lies the basis of our partnership. You know, we say at the center and at the foundation that we don't have grantees. We only have partners.

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: Whether they're public partners, large public bureaucracies, or small community groups. A grant is a transaction between the partners. It is not the nature of our relationship. The nature of our relationship is that we're working together for a common good, a public good, something that we both want to see achieved, and that allows us to hold the skill sets that we each have uniquely as a high value contribution toward that outcome.

Jeff Holden: And you're deeply [00:23:00] involved. This is not just, here's your money, tell us how it goes. You. You are integrated in that partnership, you have a responsibility as much as the entity you're serving. 

Chet Hewitt: No. No. You're, you're right. Because when we have a contract with the state to do this work, and we work with our subrecipients technical term, but folks that we are working to support who work our non-profit leadership gonna 

Jeff Holden: know exactly what you're talking about there.

You 

Chet Hewitt: know, we have a financial responsibility to the state. Mm-hmm. And we, we bear some of that risk that if things go wrong in certain ways, we could be accountable for disa allowances of certain types. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: That auction that I talked about is more than just, you know, structure. It's, it's, there are tools that allow the accounting to be done well, the invoicing to be done well, so that it passes audits, not just internal to the center, but whoever was to come and audit it.

So those groups are protected, that the center is protected and that the state can be assured that the investments it's made in [00:24:00] the center for those purposes of connecting with communities are being managed in the best way, you know, possible. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: And we do a lot of technical assistance and capacity building for those groups.

We deploy our own highly skilled financial experts, sometimes to be consultants to those groups at no cost. 'cause we want them to succeed. We do training about how to do the work that comes from some of the best experts and, you know, academics, researchers that we can find. So they are building their knowledge base about the work that they want to do as well.

And it is that combination of, you know, a great infrastructure supplemented by the foundation as well as you know, the resources they get that allows them to do, you know, extraordinary work over a longer period of time with a level of support that it gives them the best chance of being successful. 

Jeff Holden: This informative conversation with Chet Hewitt of Sierra Health Foundation [00:25:00] continues right after we hear from those who make the program possible.

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Jeff Holden: I am thrilled to have Western Health Advantage partnering with us as they do so much to support so many nonprofit agencies in our community. As a truly local health plan, you'll find individual and family options, employer options plans for CalPERS and Medicare Advantage.

From medical services to pharmacy health and wellness support, as well as behavioral healthcare. Western Health Advantage has a plan that fits what you need as an [00:26:00] employer for profit or nonprofit business, individual or family. You can find more@westernhealth.com. 

Scott Thomas: Hello, this is Scott Thomas with CAPTRUST in our Sacramento office.

I specialize in working with local nonprofits and associations annually. We survey private and public nonprofit organizations across the country to better understand challenges they see in today's environment. In our more recent survey, we heard concerns about proper board governance, mission aligned investment, and how to implement alternative investments.

If you would like a copy of the survey or do discuss your organization, look me up, scottThomas@captrust.com. 

Jeff Holden: That's a partnership. Mm-hmm. That is truly a partnership where you, you have skin in the game, in their game. Yes, we do. And if they are in the game as they should be, everybody wins. Mm-hmm. That's, it is just such a different way than some other ways that they may get their money and, you know, I, I applaud you for [00:27:00] that and I'm sure you saw that need with the center to say, no, no, this is, we need to get deeper into these organizations in the community and the difference on the center.

The center is statewide. Yes. The center actually operates across the entire state of California. Okay. Yeah. Talk to us a little bit about the funding because you, you've got two entities, Sierra Health, it's a private philanthropy. That is, is funding the operation, what does that look like? A lot of people are going, oh, where's that money coming from?

I don't understand. 

Chet Hewitt: Well, that comes from a corporate remains of the CEO of Foundation Health Plan to that for profit Concern created a corpus of about $68 million, which was invested over time. And of course we're required by law to give about 5% of our assets away. And you would think that over a 40 year period of time, you have the opportunity to either grow those assets or they deplete over time.

We're still almost as large as we were the day that we were founded, although we've given away close to [00:28:00] $115 million over those. Wow. Over those 40 years. And on the center side, which is a derivative of the foundation, and it's not only investments, but the knowledge gained through its operation will do about $241 million in grant making.

Two communities across the state of California this year alone. 

Jeff Holden: Wow. That's an amazingly huge number in terms of value and benefit to the individual communities that are recipients of the investment you've made in those nonprofit organizations. In each of these communities, 

Chet Hewitt: I. And only thing I would say is the investment that we have made.

'cause we have done this with resources that are largely derived from our partnerships with the, with number of large public agencies in the state of California and some of the local ones here in our region. But ultimately, when I say we, it's all of us. Mm-hmm. Everyone listening to this call because it is money from taxpayers being put to extraordinary use [00:29:00] in places and with people who need that support.

We're just really honored that we play a role in trying to hope that be done in the most efficacious and accountable way as possible. 

Jeff Holden: Thank you for that clarification too, because this isn't just Sierra Health. That's right. Just the center. This is state engagement as well. That's right. I, I look through the website and I hear how you're speaking.

A lot of times we have collaborative in the discussion, you don't exist without collaborative. Mm-hmm. You're engaged with our healthcare institutions, you're engaged with the organizations on the street and the communities that are, are distributing that equity into the community, that service to the community.

Is there anybody that is maybe more significant than others because you are connected to every nonprofit that you service. Mm-hmm. So to say, well, who do you collaborate? Well, you collaborate with every, everybody. But you did mention a [00:30:00] few in, in the, in the discussion that are significant, for example, maybe the state or some of the, the healthcare institutions.

Talk to us a little bit about what some of those big collaborators with Sierra Health and or the center look like. 

Chet Hewitt: You know, and big is a relative term 'cause because I think some of our biggest collaborators are, are folks who walk the streets in some of the communities that are higher suffering and do it with both a level of pride and and impact.

That is extraordinary. And they couldn't do that without the big commitments from public institutions. Our approach to this, our vision and values that we bring to it is that everybody's big. And that big is not just about money or about the number of employees you have or sets of relationships that you have.

Big is about the role and the impact that you can help us achieve. And I would argue that none of us would be as impactful in this work or in these lines of work. 'cause there are several, I think is more appropriate way to describe it, [00:31:00] without each of us being at the table. We each have a core role to play and it is an essential role to play.

I'm not trying to be pithy and just trying to spread, you know, a claim to all parties so that no one's offended. I say this out of experience. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. '

Chet Hewitt: cause when we're all not there, I've seen things not go well. Mm-hmm. 

Jeff Holden: As well. Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: So, you know, we've gotten to this particular point, not because we started out with some grand idea.

There were trips and falls and stumbles and scarred knees and elbows that came along with trying to achieve big ideas and being unsuccessful. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: And what led to the development of the Center to Work in partnership with the Foundation was our ability to leverage our investments for those of aligned partners to do incredible work.

And I'd like to be believe that any partner you would invite, whether it was roles, family development [00:32:00] from South Sacramento, or you know, someone from the partner Children and family services from the county of Sacramento, that they would all say that the partnerships that we've been able to develop have been beneficial to each of us.

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. I think that was a wonderful way to say that everybody. Is involved in collaboration with the organization. Everybody from the highest executive to the person on the street that's administering a program to an individual. 

Chet Hewitt: Yes. It, you know, it's, you know, it is an evolving way of thinking. It's not just unique to our institution, but I think it carries and requires a level of humbleness.

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: About who you are in the ecosystems that we're a part of, and a better sense of trying to equalize some of the power imbalances that typically walk into those rooms and those spaces when we're all there. Are we perfect at it? I don't think so, but I do think that we've gotten really, really good, and I think the data [00:33:00] suggests because of the positive impact that we 

Jeff Holden: have, that it tends to be working.

I hear some of the things that you're doing and I can't help us start thinking some of the organizations I have to share this with, 'cause I know they don't know. Mm-hmm. There's an opportunity for them there. Mm-hmm. And that's one of the benefits of these conversations. That's indeed. Because we just reach out and say, Hey, did you know?

No, I didn't. Okay. Well you need to reach out because there's something here. So you will be hearing from some people as just a result of this. This couple of of questions, one of the things I want to ask you, because you have some visibility at a high level, you have some visibility at a very community driven level.

Over the course of the last, let's narrow it down to maybe just the last 10 years, not from when you started. What have you seen that's changed significantly? What are some of the most significant developments? Good and or not so good? Yeah. I can almost 

Chet Hewitt: put it into like three periods and one is recent Yes.

And new. And we're starting to grapple with it. Right. And [00:34:00] we could talk a lot about it. Yeah. In some ways, and I'm sure we'll get to it at least a little bit. Yep. But as I said, it's still unfolding. You know, I started at the end of 2007, the beginning of 2008. That was a great recession. Mm-hmm. And many institutions, including many charitable foundations, lost a lot of money.

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: And you know, if they survived. Yeah. And some went outta business. Yep. And you know, one of the things that we at Sierra Health Foundation did during that time was to meet all of our commitments despite having really powerful impact or erosion of our corpus going forward. And I remember one of my first conversations with the board, we have a few members who are still with us from that time, that our sense was, while one could make a good argument of kind of forming back some of the commitments that we had made, that we were still in a better position than most nonprofits.

Mm-hmm. Because foundations are nonprofits and so we should do as much as we can to help folks. Now we did change our grant making a little bit. You may recall we started one of the [00:35:00] first funds for the region to help. You know, support food banks to help people pay utility bills, given all the layoffs and job losses and things that people were experiencing.

And so we did less, more traditional healthcare focus work and more kind of social determinants of health work. Sure. During that period, and that was about four years, you know, we, we ran through that and, and while we're required by law to give away 5% of our assets, there were years when we was high as 12%.

I was 

Jeff Holden: say, you probably ate into some of the corpus, right? Yeah. 

Chet Hewitt: And, you know, we had, we had a mantra that we, we, we used during that time to provide some comfort because, you know, that's not the, what some would argues the best way to run a foundation, but we started saying that we would be less concerned by how long we were here and more concerned about what we've done.

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: And, and for us, again, it sounds like pithy, but these value statements, when they resonate with people, I. Really caused them to act upon that, those big ideas. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: And so that's what we did. [00:36:00] I'm not suggesting that we weren't prudent, that we weren't thoughtful, but we knew that our community and region was suffering and we wanted to be helpful in whatever ways we could to resolve some of those particular challenges.

And I think that we, we played a role amongst many others in getting through that time. And then, you know, 2012 things got better and, you know, we launched The Center Shrunk a lot in terms of our corpus and the Center was a way to try to think about how to leverage our impact. Mm-hmm. Through partnerships.

And that has gone very, very well. I think over time the Center has contracted over $1.5 billion. Worth of investment working again in partnership with public sector and private donors. 95% of which has been reinvested back. And this is 

Jeff Holden: just in your 11 years. 

Chet Hewitt: So that's not in our 11 

Jeff Holden: years significant amount of money.

Yes. 

Chet Hewitt: And you know, people say, well you, you should be screaming that from, from the rooftops. And I guess we do have a story that one could screen. Yeah. But we have been really focused on the work [00:37:00] and with the belief that it speaks for itself by the reputation we hold in communities that we've had great privilege of working with.

Mm-hmm. As well across the state of, of California. I think the second period was the pandemic. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: Which kind of uprooted so many things for so many people. Deep economic effects again, and of course the health effects and the loss of life that we've seen happening across the state of California. And for us, again, activated met commitments, spend it at a higher rate and took on new forms of programmatic work where we had to get really smart really quickly, particularly around our media campaigns.

And I think that in partnership with RSE and with the state and bringing folks together who are really thoughtful about those type of campaigns along with ethnic media, did a fantastic job that touched on my numbers. I'm doing from memory here about 14 million Californians. 

Jeff Holden: I won't hold you to those [00:38:00] numbers.

Chet Hewitt: So good enough, good enough, good. And they're, they're very good numbers. If I'm doing anything, I'm probably underestimating a little bit here about, you know, how to get through that particular period in the healthiest way possible. We did a lot of food bank and, you know, vaccine hesitancy work. To give people the kind of information they need so they can make the choices they felt were best for them.

Mm-hmm. As well. But really trying to work so that people had all the information they needed to make the choice that they felt was, was best for them. We believe that, you know, following through on vaccines things, you know, made a lot of sense. We knew a lot of people, you know, didn't, but that should not be derivative of misinformation.

Right. You should understand exactly what risks you're taking on for yourself, your family, or wherever else might be impacted as you go forward. Mm-hmm as well. So we think that was good public health work for a foundation that's focused in, in that public health, uh, space. We also increasingly began to focus on a community and economic [00:39:00] opportunity as a health intervention.

Because the better job you have, the better your wages are. And as increasingly we say your zip code, we can tell how long you live. And as you know, your zip code is purchased. Mm-hmm. But that's a root of your, your social economic status. And so how do you improve that for people as well? And we launch our community economic mobilization initiative, which we think is for forward-Leaning for Health Foundation.

Uh, we worked in partnership with the James Irvine Foundation, big shout out to Don Howard and his particular team. And we are investing about $25 million in helping groups that traditionally provide services in community to think about the economic development of those community, how to restore businesses and are kind of economic vitality in those places where poor health and poor economic outcomes are concentrated.

Jeff Holden: And this is all coming just in the, the realm of that COVID era. That's 

Chet Hewitt: right. 

Jeff Holden: Coming outta. Well that's a lot of work that, 

Chet Hewitt: that particular era doing what, what all great institutions do, and that is [00:40:00] not only trying to respond to the moment 

Jeff Holden: mm-hmm. But 

Chet Hewitt: to learn from the moment and use those lessons to plan forward.

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. Right. 

Chet Hewitt: That's kind of, I think, the sweet spot for the foundation. And while we, over the 40 years have had Hendricks success and since the creation of the center, I continue to kinda walk that forward. New institutions, new structures, rather than thinking about the foundation, thinking about the enterprise associated with the production of good health, particularly in communities that are falling behind as an emphasis for us as well.

And then the third phase of this for us clearly will be the period we're entering in now. A new administration in Washington, going back of funds everywhere, ev all everywhere, everything all at once kind of scenario. Kind of a playoff of the movie theme and kind of stress that it is invoking within the nonprofit sector and increasingly 'cause on the front end of this, the kind of impact it's actually having.

Mm-hmm. In populations [00:41:00] and geographies, communities as well. 

Jeff Holden: It's still fresh to us 'cause we really don't know. Mm-hmm. Where this is isn't, we're not even a year into this, there's three more to come. Mm-hmm. As you see it today. In this third phase, what are some of the most significant things you're seeing?

Now, right. Just today. And, and this is being recorded in May of 2025 for the benefit of somebody who's listening in the future. We know where we are here at this point in time. 

Chet Hewitt: I see it as being more mean-spirited than thoughtful. I mean, there are a lot of challenges in this country. We have to deal with that.

Other things, which, you know, most of us can get our, our minds around, but my mother used to always say, it's not always what you say, it's how you say it. It's not always what you do, it's how you do it. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: And while those things need to be dealt with, you know, I think we need to be really clear about what we're putting at risk.

And I, as someone who's worked in public policy for a long time, don't believe that you should put the [00:42:00] health of seniors or the future of young people at risk, even as we're dealing with more contemporary issues as well. And so when I see things that are altering the possibility of young people getting great educations going on to college.

Or you know, trade schools to learn skills that move you towards, you know, better wages and opportunities. The kind of randomness of it. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: The clawing back of resources. I'll give you an example. And this is one that happened to us for a project that we had where we were notified. We were notified on March 28th at the program, which was, uh, coronavirus Rapid Response Fund was gonna end on March 24th.

And that no activity, billable activity from March 24th on would be paid for. And we were notified on March 28th. We forgot four days that you've been operating a week. 'cause that was the afternoon a week. Remember the following day, Monday was a [00:43:00] state holiday, so mm-hmm. We couldn't even inform our partners.

200 groups impacted by that decision. Upside down. Upside down because there's already investment maintenance spent since they had been working for that particular week. Sure. That puts the already fragile nonprofit sector particularly involve some moral groups in harm's way. Sure. And so when I talk about the way you do things, I'm not saying that I'm, I agree with those dollars being clawed back.

That's not the point. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: I said I've worked in a public sector, usually there is a responsible way to ramp things down. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: I would say this, this as a global statement, if you're thinking about policy and change, regardless on what side of whatever aisle you think you happen to be on, what should be first and foremost in one mind is what impact that will have on people.

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: And I think we gotta be clear that even as we deal with, you know, long-term structural issues in this country, the idea is not to do harm to people. And I know that's a high watermark you say is easy way and simple things. Do you [00:44:00] lay people off from Department of education or, or whatever. But that has an impact.

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. On 

Chet Hewitt: the lives, livelihoods and life, chances of tens of millions of individuals. We should be really, really thoughtful about how we go about achieving some of those aims 

Jeff Holden: and knowing when we're speaking and having this conversation, we've yet to see what this ultimate impact is gonna look like and or where it goes.

I think we're 

Chet Hewitt: really concerned about how, what we're seeing. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: I think the approach has been very clear. It's very concerning. 

Jeff Holden: Oh, and I meant that with great concern. Yeah. I didn't mean that with, with casual. I didn't 

Chet Hewitt: take it any other way. Yes. I'm just trying to be really clear. Yes. I don't want, people say, well, is Chet seem he's okay with it?

No. No. I mean, I'm not, what I am saying is that some of the things that people are saying that they're concerned about are legitimate issues. 

Jeff Holden: Yes. 

Chet Hewitt: You know, if we're gonna say we're gonna be fact-based and we're gonna be thoughtful, then we have to deal with all facts and we gotta be thoughtful about, you know, all things.

Jeff Holden: Yep. 

Chet Hewitt: But I, but [00:45:00] I, I am also being very clear that how you go about addressing those issues says a lot about who we are as a nation. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: And we should still care about. The poor. We should still care about seniors. We should still care about anyone in between. And we d on well should be caring about our children.

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. Yeah. I, I couldn't agree with you more. Couldn't agree with you more. Looking at things from a, a different perspective, and this is unique for you because no organizations, not many organizations have the benefit of both sides of it. A philanthropic endowment as well as a grant driven and funded organization money.

No object. Mm-hmm. What does the organization look like? If, if you weren't dealing with anything that's, you know, causing you boundaries and guidelines, if you che here's all the money you need to do whatever you need to do in the state of California, what would be different? 

Chet Hewitt: Well, I think we'd be working in, in, in more areas, bringing the [00:46:00] same skill sets to bear.

I'd like for us to do more around economic opportunity. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. I 

Chet Hewitt: spent most of my career in the social service space. Believe in social service programs from supplementing families around the nutrition snap to some of the income support programs and clearly, you know, healthcare, subsidized healthcare access for people as well.

But I also believe that the pathway outta poverty on a more permanent basis is opportunity. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. I think 

Chet Hewitt: we gotta get back to what does it mean to more equitably distribute opportunity in this country? And regardless of how you want to look at it, one of the most powerful tools is education. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm.

Chet Hewitt: You know, that's why parents Millennium been telling you, go out, get educated, and that gives you the best chance for a better life. We should be doing nothing to impede that, but a part of any child schools should be oasis in the more poor communities. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: For people who are willing to struggle to gain the skills and knowledge so they can advance themselves as well.

So more work in that [00:47:00] particular space. More work in the economic opportunity space. 'cause that is a pathway, the better health and wellbeing and less reliance on those punitive systems, juvenile just, and others that really get kids off track from being, contributing adults in healthy 

Jeff Holden: and productive ways.

So the organization would almost envelop all of those. Whereas today you're somewhat limited because you only have so much you can do. Mm-hmm. You end up either embracing or developing, creating some sense of, you know, an economic program that's built within an educational program that's built within and under the, the guise of, and or the umbrella of Sierra Health.

Statewide. 

Chet Hewitt: Yeah. And our belief is that we think that there's a space for the model that we created. We don't believe that we have to be the only one out there doing it all by ourselves, but I do believe that having more philanthropic intermediaries around the state or around this country to help those communities who we often complain about the lack of [00:48:00] capacity in their nonprofit sector to build that capacity would be really important.

Mm-hmm. And it goes back to something I said at the beginning of this conversation. Our ability to achieve the outcomes we want in any number of domains really rest on communities having a central roles to play in whatever those interventions 

Jeff Holden: mm-hmm. Are. 

Chet Hewitt: What we've learned in this country is that you can't do things to people or for people without the those people themselves.

Jeff Holden: And an interest in doing. 

Chet Hewitt: That's right. 

Jeff Holden: They have to participate interest, they have gotta participate, ordon them. Correct. 

Chet Hewitt: Otherwise, whatever gains you have are often temporary if you have gains at all. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: And on internalized in a way that allows communities to embrace and hold on to the achievements they make and to sustain them.

Mm-hmm. You know, over time I talked about a humbleness that, that you, I see permeating the world of philanthropy. I think we're, we're, we're not only learning that lesson. I think we have for a long time. I think we're embracing it 

Jeff Holden: mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: In, [00:49:00] in a very, in a very different way. And that holds promise for, you know, great returns on philanthropic and public investments in the days ahead.

Jeff Holden: We are absolutely seeing an acceptance of leadership as humility. Mm-hmm. And understanding authenticity and transparency. Whereas before we. It was a different bravado that needed to be exhibited or displayed or, or worked. And we're also seeing, I think it's because of a lot of organizations like yours and understanding of business acumen, input to the organizations where it's not, how skinny can I make it on service at the expense of administration?

How big can I make it with the investment of opportunities that come my way? And you 

Chet Hewitt: know, it's a really important point, and I hope people got that from this competition. Although I don't, I don't think I spoke to directly, [00:50:00] but I'm a businessman. Mm-hmm. And I'm in the business of helping aligned entities, you know, improve the life and wellbeing of individuals.

But how we think about things has a very business mindset associated. Mm-hmm. With it. We're co-investors in our programs. I, we build funds. You've seen in our website we have mm-hmm. Different portfolios. We are managing those portfolios in the same way people of wealth have other folks managing their retirement accounts.

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: Right. Who get fees for doing that. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: They don't do for free. And the return on those investments is the level of performance that you see from them. And we're willing to be held accountable on our performance. 

Jeff Holden: Well, 'cause you know, your performance translates directly back into, even if it's just that 5%, that 5% grows at whatever the investment grows back.

That's right. Back to funding that you can put into the community. That's right. 

Chet Hewitt: And, and I would hope that if we were feeling on performance, that would be a combination we'd have to have with our investors about what we're gonna do about 

Jeff Holden: that. Mm-hmm. [00:51:00] 

Chet Hewitt: But no, you don't get it. Don't get those kind of outcomes on a skinny.

You don't get it by starving nonprofits and undervaluing what their contribution is. And while, yes, I'd agree that we wanna maximize the level of resources that go into providing the service. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: Giving them that a great back office operation so they can tell you what they're achieving is really important.

And you can do that in a number of ways. I know you need to build that capacity in every nonprofit, but we hold some of that capacity. We have an evaluations unit, we have a financial team that's top notch along without financial unit. We have communications team and we deploy those folks to be of assistance, the folks and when they encounter obstacles.

I'll give you one example. One of the things that we've seen a number of nonprofits dealt with was that, you know, during the pandemic there was lots of federal money. Most nonprofits had that, uh, level of insurance to be able to draw down an invoice for the work that they were actually doing. When we found out that many of our nonprofits who were doing work were [00:52:00] being withheld payments because they didn't have, or they did not meet the insurance thresholds.

The foundation invested in a million dollar account with cow nonprofits, a great organization also associated with, I served on the board to do an insurance program for folks so that we could help them buy the insurance. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: That's what I mean about investing in the things that we believe 

Jeff Holden: in. 

Chet Hewitt: Mm-hmm.

Bringing all of our assets, both time and treasure, relationship and knowledge to bear on a resolution of a problem. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: And being less concerned about who gets credit for it and celebrate more. The fact that we've been able to improve whatever that condition was. 

Jeff Holden: Taking that thought is again, bridges right into the next question.

Mm-hmm. What is the greatest need? What do you see today as the greatest need for the operation you're responsible for? 

Chet Hewitt: You know, I think there is levels of efficiency that we could. Achieve and we're, we're still investing in kind of building out that [00:53:00] technology backbone that allows us to do our work even better and more efficiently.

There's some incredible tools coming out of the tech sector that we believe will be, will be helpful to folks moving beyond, you know, we do everything a CH payments and people can invent, submit invoices now, which, you know, folks can go through electronically, you're not allowed to mail and back and forth and things.

So it's a, it's a much simpler process, a more, much more elegant process. We think that there is more to be done in that regard, and this may seem like a strange one given the times that we're in, but I'd like to see more public investments in the developmental activities that we know allow people to move in more permanent ways to a better place.

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: Right. So supporting groups like IYT and others who are helping young people around their education And there are groups. Improve your tomorrow. 

Jeff Holden: That's right. Michael Lynch's group. 

Chet Hewitt: Michael Lynching apologize for using acronyms, but that's how I kind know them. And there are others in that space [00:54:00] as well.

Mm-hmm. 

Jeff Holden: Back to education for the benefit of health equity, 

Chet Hewitt: but would be education for the benefit of health, equity and wellbeing. 

Jeff Holden: Yes. 

Chet Hewitt: For people as well. 'cause that's an important contributor to wellbeing. I think we, I think there's still more work to us to do around getting people access to healthy foods.

Mm-hmm. I know we know a few years ago we talked a lot about food deserts. There are still food. Yes. Food deserts and we need to do something about that. And you know, if you just say what's number one on our list? And my sabbatical last year I did some touring around this particular issue is homelessness.

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: It's hard to eat well, it's hard to do your homework if you have a young person living in a car. Yes. Trying to do your homework in the backseat, you know, those are not the conditions that bode well for our economic, social future. Mm-hmm. The vitality of our region, the state of California, our nation.

If you have growing numbers of families and young people having those experiences and mm-hmm. Now, my sabbatical, last summer I was off for three months. After [00:55:00] 17 years, I actually toured this country and seen some folks who are doing some pretty incredible things around homelessness from 3D printed homes, which was a phenomenal thing to see.

Mm-hmm. It's actually real, the communities who are building smaller homes and doing it in ways where it's not just a lot of small living environments, crowded into, you know, some limited amount of space, but really building communities of small homes where people are experiencing the kind of dignity one should have.

We all should have. In the places that we call home. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: And in the communities that we 

Jeff Holden: call 

Chet Hewitt: home. 

Jeff Holden: Wrapping up, what's the best way to learn to find out more about both Sierra Health and the Center? Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: I would say, you know, go to our website, they'll, the center and the Foundation, that'll give you a good start.

Sometimes people get a little confused at saying the Center Foundation, but hopefully this conversation has clarified some things for people. Mm-hmm. In a way that we think about the enterprise, not just a single institution and how they work together. Of course, [00:56:00] we often have gatherings at the foundation in our conference center, which we have made available for nonprofit use for entirety of the time that we've had that beautiful building on, on Garden Highway at no cost to, to those groups, but to come to one of our convenings and to engage us.

We are relational in our nature and in our approach child programming. And so we find great enjoyment in having conversations like this one here today. Mm-hmm. And we get to explain ourselves. I would say this to people, it's not as complicated as it sounds and there are three things you should know about us.

One, that partnership is our preferred method of operation, that a level of humbleness about who we are. We're not gonna be running around. We've done some tremendous things. We're not gonna be running around our town saying, we're great, we're great. Look at us. That's not our approach. And if we do celebrate, 'cause we are not Luddites in that regard.

They are about the partnership work that we're engaged 

Jeff Holden: in. 

Chet Hewitt: Mm-hmm. It's about [00:57:00] all of us and what the collective is capable of of doing around any issue as well. And the last thing I'll say is we are hopeful about the future despite the times that we're in 

Jeff Holden: currently, which is what we all need to remain.

Mm-hmm. Hope is everything. That's right. We see hope. We continue to progress. We see people who become hopeless. We either need to do what we need to do, change that perspective, or move them so they don't get in the way. Of stopping the progress and eventually they'll come back. That's right. Because they'll recognize that the opportunity does exist.

You, you mentioned the building and, and I have to say, I was at the grand opening of that building. I was at the radio stations at the time, operating a group of radio stations, and I remember going to the building and I was amazed 

Scott Thomas: mm-hmm. 

Jeff Holden: By what this facility looked like on garden height was beautiful.

Mm-hmm. The amazement today is, it still looks the same. I mean in terms of its, its its maintenance and its its facility. It, it's every bit the same as it was then. [00:58:00] And the way that it was designed has stood the test of time. It's still is contemporary as anything today. Mm-hmm. And it, it's, it's such a neat facility for all the things that you do there.

And, and you do have that as a fee for service lease, correct. At some point. That's right. We allow 

Chet Hewitt: nonprofits to use, we have never charged anybody in 28 years to builds. Been operation. We have about 15,000 people. Come through our, okay, so it's not a fee, it's just an application. No, that's an application.

You just gotta get the time. And if it's available and you're a nonprofit, you can use the space. Well, thank you for clarifying that. It is, in some ways, it is a very tangible manifestation of all the things that we've talked about in this conversation. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: You know, we have decided that we would say less, do more.

And as we say, we, we, we want to be about the things that, that we say that we, we believe in. And so if you really wanna know more about us, come visit us. We'll, we'll, we'd love to have a conversation about who we are. We do. I, I done a lot of [00:59:00] technical assistance. We have a number of groups around the country who are trying to replicate what we are.

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Chet Hewitt: And we take that as a high honor in terms of folks believing that we may, in fact be onto something that's worthy of being replicated. Like many of our programs have been in other places around California or the country. 

Jeff Holden: Jet, I'm amazed by the growth of the organization, 40 years of solidarity in spite of economic recessions and, and pandemics.

Mm-hmm. And still here, standing today in a, in a wonderful position and what you present to so many of our local nonprofits, the opportunities you present, not in the facility, but what you do in the field, what you do in the state, what you do through the center and or Sierra Health as, as a funder. It's, it's just amazing to know that that sort of operation exists right here in Sacramento in our state capital.

And that you're able to reach all the people that you do through the [01:00:00] organization over such a period of time and what you represent for those in the underserved communities who know that they've got an associate who becomes a partner in their operation. I. So for what you do, what you've done, what you've built, you're almost 20 years there.

You're only the second guy guy to run the thing. Mm-hmm. You know, congratulations to you and thank you. The team. Thank and, and thank you for what you do for the organization, what you do for the community, what you're doing for the state, and for those who are replicating what you're doing. 

Chet Hewitt: Thank you so much.

And you know, I'd be Remi if I didn't say I have a, I've had a great team, a pretty stable team, a senior exec who helped us start, some have transitioned on and a couple have retired, but a new team of folks and a, an extraordinary board who really said what I think and represent the, the best of philanthropy.

And there's a lot of good philanthropies around it. So I don't say that to exclusion of anyone at all. But they were thoughtful risk takers. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. Who 

Chet Hewitt: believed that one of the essential things that [01:01:00] Zero Health Foundation can bring to its work locally, statewide, and nationally, was to be an innovator.

Around how you really work with communities to improve their life and wellbeing. And I, I really do appreciate the people I've worked with, the board I've had the pleasure of serving for, and most importantly, the communities that we've been able to partner with. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. And I think we should say thanks to Foundation Health for having the vision to set this thing up.

You know, Dan Crowley and his group of people back in the day, they were innovative in the way they rolled out the health plan with the, you know, the facilities all around the city. And the next thing you know, it's, it's unfortunately sold, but look at the benefit we've gained as a result of that. Yes. So thank you again.

I appreciate your time. Thank you. Thank you for listening to the Nonprofit Podcast Network. I hope you enjoyed the episode. If what you heard moved you, please reach out to that organization and do what you can to help [01:02:00] if you like and appreciate what we're doing to support local nonprofits. Please give us a positive review, subscribe and share.

If you're a nonprofit with an interest in participating in an episode, you can reach me at jeff@hearmeowstudio.com. Once again, we're grateful for the businesses who have made this program possible. CAPTRUST fiduciary advice for endowments and foundations. You can find them in Sacramento, Roseville and Folsom captrust.com.

SUD Shine Awards helping support our nonprofit community with grants For more efficient energy usage, smud.org/shine and Western Health Advantage, a full service healthcare plan for individuals, employer groups, and families western [01:03:00] health.com.