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Connecticut Health Foundation
The Connecticut Health Foundation was established in 1999 with the assets generated when ConnectiCare, a Connecticut-based health plan, converted from...
Connecticut Health Foundation
The Connecticut Health Foundation was established in 1999 with the assets generated when ConnectiCare, a Connecticut-based health plan, converted from nonprofit to for-profit status. President and CEO Tiffany Donelson runs the foundation, guided by a board that includes Blackstone Alternative Asset Management Managing Director Getty Atienza as Vice Chair. The foundation operates as an independent, nonpartisan philanthropy exclusively focused on Connecticut, making it structurally distinct from national health funders that spread capital across multiple states. Grantmaking targets health equity for people of color, but the investment portfolio extends far beyond mission-aligned allocations. The foundation's strategy covers buyout, growth, venture capital, distressed debt, CLOs, and direct secondaries across North America. Confirmed investment activity includes a Program Related Investment (PRI) in Capital for Change, a Connecticut-focused community development financial institution. The foundation also maintains a direct real estate position through its headquarters lease at 100 Pearl Street in Hartford. Membership in Mission Investors Exchange signals a deliberate posture toward impact investing within the broader portfolio. The foundation's investment team, with CFO and VP of Operations Todd Thomas serving as primary liaison on asset management, manages an estimated $110 million endowment. Donelson simultaneously serves on the boards of Grantmakers In Health and The Connecticut Project, connecting the foundation to national health philanthropy discourse and local antipoverty work. May 2024: CEO Tiffany Donelson continued to steer the foundation's advocacy agenda, which includes leadership development programs designed to build a pipeline of health equity champions across Connecticut communities. Unlike grantmaking foundations that outsource all investment decisions to an OCIO, the Connecticut Health Foundation's structure embeds investment management within its operational leadership. The board composition — combining a senior Blackstone executive, a health-tech founder, and in-house financial officers — creates an investment committee with both institutional asset management expertise and direct knowledge of the communities the foundation serves. This governance architecture allows the foundation to evaluate both financial returns and health-equity outcomes without siloing the two functions.
General information
Firm type
Endowment / Foundation
Year founded
1999
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Hartford
Corporate office
100 Pearl Street, 6th Floor, Hartford, CT 06103, United States
Principals
Tiffany Donelson
President & CEO
Chekesha Kidd
Board Chair
Getty Atienza
Board Vice Chair
Todd Thomas
CFO & VP of Operations
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who oversees investment decisions at the Connecticut Health Foundation?
CFO and VP of Operations Todd Thomas serves as the primary liaison on asset management. The board includes Getty Atienza, a Managing Director at Blackstone Alternative Asset Management, who brings institutional portfolio construction expertise to investment committee deliberations. Day-to-day management integrates with the foundation's operational team under President and CEO Tiffany Donelson.
How does the Connecticut Health Foundation's investment strategy differ from other health philanthropies?
The foundation runs a broad multi-asset strategy including buyout, growth equity, venture capital, distressed debt, CLOs, direct secondaries, and PRIs — not just mission-aligned impact investments. This combination of market-rate return-seeking assets alongside targeted program-related investments like the Capital for Change PRI creates a dual mandate that is more common in larger foundations but unusual for an endowment of its scale.
What is the foundation's connection to ConnectiCare?
The Connecticut Health Foundation was capitalized in 1999 using proceeds from ConnectiCare's conversion from a nonprofit health insurer to a for-profit entity. ConnectiCare remains a significant Connecticut health plan, but the foundation operates independently with its own board and no ongoing financial ties to the insurer beyond the original endowment funding.
Does the Connecticut Health Foundation make direct investments or commit to funds?
It does both. The foundation's strategy encompasses fund-of-funds commitments, direct co-investments, and direct secondaries. Its Program Related Investment in Capital for Change represents a direct mission-aligned deployment, while its broader portfolio appears to access private markets through fund commitments as well.
Which geographic regions and communities does the foundation serve?
The foundation is exclusively focused on Connecticut, with a mandate to improve health outcomes for people of color and advance health equity statewide. Its grantmaking, policy advocacy, research, and leadership development programs operate only within Connecticut's borders, unlike national health foundations that work across multiple states.
What role does the board play in shaping the foundation's direction?
The board combines institutional investment expertise — Getty Atienza of Blackstone Alternative Asset Management — with entrepreneurial and philanthropic experience, including Board Chair Chekesha Kidd, founder of Kinumi. This composition enables the foundation to evaluate grants, investments, and policy positions through both financial and community-impact lenses, with the board actively involved in strategic oversight.
What grantmaking priorities does the foundation pursue?
Grantmaking centers on health equity for people of color, including access to affordable high-quality care, policy advocacy, and leadership development. Tiffany Donelson's board service with Grantmakers In Health and The Connecticut Project reinforces the foundation's dual focus on statewide health systems and the economic conditions that drive health disparities.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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