SSHCO is the care coordination infrastructure that thousands of South Side residents depend on. We are building the partnerships to sustain this work for generations to come.
The South Side Healthy Community Organization is a collaborative of 13 healthcare providers — including safety-net hospitals, health systems, and federally qualified health centers — serving 15 zip codes where residents face some of the most profound health disparities in the country. SSHCO's community health workers and nurse care coordinators are embedded inside trusted community settings, connecting residents not just to doctors, but to the food, housing, transportation, and social support that account for 70 percent of a person's health outcomes.
We ensure every patient is connected to a trusted primary care physician — the first and most important step toward lasting wellness. Care coordinators navigate complex systems on behalf of patients who have historically been left behind.
We connect pregnant and postpartum mothers with comprehensive support including high-risk care, ultrasounds, doula services, and nutrition counseling — addressing Chicago's stark maternal health disparities directly.
Mental health is a holistic part of care at SSHCO. We integrate behavioral health into primary and emergency care services, removing the barriers that prevent South Side residents from accessing the support they need.
Housing, food access, transportation, employment, and financial stability — because 70% of health is shaped by life circumstances, SSHCO addresses those circumstances directly, partnering with dozens of community organizations across the South Side.
"This is not a request for charity. It is an offer of partnership in a solution that is already proven — one that every stakeholder in South Side health has a stake in sustaining."
SSHCO Sustainability Committee, 2026
Over 80,000 patient visits coordinated, 7,000+ social service connections, and 2,800+ rides to appointments. The outcomes are documented and the model is validated at scale across 21 sites.
No single hospital or clinic could replicate SSHCO's navigation infrastructure alone. Your investment funds the connective tissue that makes the entire South Side healthcare ecosystem work better.
By connecting patients to primary care and stabilizing social needs, SSHCO directly reduces costly emergency department visits and avoidable hospitalizations — delivering measurable ROI for managed care partners.
SSHCO has earned the trust of communities that had every reason not to trust healthcare institutions. That community trust — built over years — cannot be bought. It can only be sustained.
SSHCO provides corporations and health systems with a documented, credible vehicle for community benefit reporting, ESG commitments, and employee engagement — with outcomes data to match.
Chicago's South Side has a 30-year life expectancy gap compared to the North Side. SSHCO is one of the few organizations directly attacking that gap at the community and clinical level simultaneously.
SSHCO's sustainability strategy is organized across five simultaneous tracks — each with its own timeline, relationship logic, and revenue potential. The approach is designed to diversify SSHCO's funding base, reduce dependence on any single source, and build the institutional relationships that will sustain the mission for decades.
The following foundations represent the highest-priority institutional funding opportunities based on mission alignment, active grant cycles, and documented interest in Chicago South Side health equity. The red indicator signals an active or imminent deadline.
2026 Health Open Call investing in CHW-led models and care navigation across Cook County. Fall LOI deadline: June 1, 2026. Multi-year support considered. Program alignment is exceptional — this is SSHCO's model precisely.
$3M in RFPs through May 2026. Goal: "Closing the Life Expectancy Gap." Maps almost exactly onto SSHCO's geographic and demographic focus. Engage now to position as priority partner in the foundation's new 2026 strategy.
Nearly $10M in annual community grants. Blue Impact program open for 2026–27 applications. Also a major Medicaid insurer with a direct financial interest in SSHCO's outcomes. Dual grant and value-based partnership approach.
Chicago-area health conversion foundation with 5-year general operating partnerships. Awarded $6.29M to advance health equity. Build the relationship now for consideration in future open cycles.
The country's largest dedicated funder of health equity. Active opportunities in "Local Data for Equitable Communities." SSHCO's real-world model is a strong fit for RWJF's community learning agenda.
400+ grants annually averaging $160M in total. Dedicated community investment for health equity stream. Documented interest in housing-health intersections and Chicago community investment. High-value long-term relationship.
Corporations give when they see alignment between a nonprofit's mission and their own business interests, brand values, and ESG commitments. SSHCO offers all of these — and the partnership can be structured at any level of investment.
The sustainability plan is organized into five implementation phases, each building on the last. Every phase runs in parallel across multiple funding tracks — because one year demands urgency and discipline from day one.
Sharpen the case for support. Develop impact narrative, donor materials, corporate deck. Board assessment and development officer engagement.
Coleman LOI, Polk Bros. RFP, BCBSIL Blue Impact, HCF and CCT relationship conversations, RWJF and Kellogg research.
AbbVie via UChicago Medicine. Advocate Health Care partnership. Pritzker Traubert Foundation. Commission MCO economic impact analysis.
Wealth screening, prospect identification, cultivation dinners, Equity Champions Council launch. First individual major gift asks.
Annual Impact Gala. Close corporate sponsorships. Year-end major gift push. Community benefit commitments. MCO partnerships. Set 2027 targets.
SSHCO has earned the trust of thousands of South Side residents who had every reason not to trust a healthcare system that had historically underserved them. What the next twelve months require is not a proof of concept — the proof is already in the numbers, in the patient stories, in the appointments kept and crises averted across 21 sites and 15 zip codes. Your partnership is what sustains it.