Focus Area
Public Health
We champion the physical, mental, and social well-being of individuals by supporting conditions that promote healthy habits and lifelong well-being.
WHY IT MATTERS TO US
Health is more than the absence of illness. It’s physical, mental, and social well-being, and it depends on the conditions that people live in.
Many of the organizations we support are working to build and improve those conditions, with an intentional focus on children and communities often marginalized, undervalued, or negatively impacted by misinformation and disinformation.
WHAT WE BRING
Strategy, research, message development, and training for funders, coalitions, and front-line communicators advancing equitable access to health and health information, including some of the most trusted public health voices in the country.
For a health funder, coalition, or front-line communicator, we can help:
Facilitate community-informed strategic plans that put the people closest to the work at the center of effective solutions
Develop clear, plain language messaging and resources that help health information land, and when trusted, when it matters most
Train and coach communicators to deliver their message confidently and effectively
Reframe challenging and divisive health issues to spark greater engagement and action
Build organizational capacity through trainings, tools, and integrated communications support
Design campaign and events that connect health to everyday life, with an intentional focus on children and historically undervalued communities
Featured Case Study
CARESTAR
CARESTAR is a California-based foundation committed to eliminating racial disparities in emergency medical services. During a time of great change for the sector, Mission Partners was hired to facilitate a community-informed strategic planning process, which included interviews and learning sessions with grantees and field partners, as well as board and staff working sessions. Our strategic working sessions were designed to help answer one critical question: how do we deepen and accelerate impact on racial disparities in emergency care? The resulting 2025-2030 strategic plan organized the work around four core dreams within a financially sustainable framework that elevated community leaders and created greater opportunity for collaboration across a splintered sector. In the words of the former Board Chair, it was “one of the most meaningful and well-thought-out strategic planning experiences that I have ever been a part of.”
our work in action
Additional Case Studies
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We developed clear, real-time, and compelling communications over many years to support public health officials on the front lines of public health emergencies. We also produced the Insights to Practice virtual conference that convened public health communicators from across the country to build community and learn together.
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We build capacity for the nation’s leading nonprofit dedicated to mental health services, education, policy, and research during a time of executive transition and change.
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We helped this national nonprofit reframe its core messages and resources to spark greater national engagement and collective action.
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We led annual media and message training for this Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded program that supports health professionals in their ability to serve as champions for equitable solutions in their local communities.
Related insights and resources from Mission Forward:
Wellness Check. A Mental Health Awareness Month invitation to concrete actions, grounded in the belief that mental health is health.
See It Their Way. Noticing, and making space for a colleague who is struggling reminds us that empathy itself is a workplace-health practice.
How to Respond in Times of Uncertainty with Amanda Kwong. Tune in to a thoughtful conversation with the director of the Public Health Communications Collaborative on plain language, the politics of word choice, and leading a 40,000-person public health communications network.
How to Build a Legacy that Outlasts You, with Tanir Ami of CARESTAR Foundation. In this intimate interview, we reflect on the strategic planning process and how it set up this foundation for greater impact and clarity.