Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas Awards Nearly $3M in 2023-2024 Blue Impact Grants

Richardson-based Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas has announced $2.93 million in Blue Impactgrants to 101 community-based organizations across the state. The 2023-2024 grants focus on health care access and target impacts of socio-economic and social determinants of health, BCBSTX said. Many of the grants are going to North Texas-based organizations.

The Blue Impact program was launched more than a decade ago, initially as a three-year initiative designed to improve the health and wellness of at least 1 million children through community investments. The program was extended to advance BCBSTX’s ongoing commitment to the health and well-being of children and families in Texas—with a total of more than $23 million in grants awarded to date impacting the lives of millions of Texas children and families.

The 2023-2024 grant recipients were selected following an extensive evaluation process, BCBSTX said. The Blue Impact grant program is replacing Healthy Kids, Healthy Families grants to better reflect BCBSTX’s “enhanced focus to support optimal health outcomes for all Texans.”

Grant program is built on ‘five pillars’

Sheena Payne, director of BCBSTX community investments, emphasized the impact of local organizations in making the grants matter.

“For decades, we’ve worked in close collaboration with local community organizations and partners, leveraging their knowledge, experience and talents on a local level to help support healthier communities,” Payne said in a statement. “We’re committed to sustainable solutions with community partners to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those who need it most and to lay the groundwork for economic empowerment.”

The Blue Impact program is predicated on five key pillars, the BCBSTX said, which is reflected in the list of 101 grantees below. Those pillars are economic opportunity and stability; nutrition; neighborhood and built environment; locally defined health solutions; and optimal health outcomes. “These reinforce BCBSTX’s focus on health equity and its core purpose to stand with its members and the communities, in sickness and health,” the health insurer said.

Here are the 2023-2024 Blue Impact grantees:

In addition to its Blue Impact grants, BCBSTX’s community investments also include microgrants and sponsorships, as well as in-kind donations, employee volunteerism, and disaster relief.

The only statewide, customer-owned health insurer in Texas, BCBSTX is the largest provider of health benefits in the state. It reports working with more than 140,000 physicians and health care practitioners and 520 hospitals to serve more than 7 million members in all 254 Texas counties.