American Nurses Foundation

The American Nurses Foundation (est. 1955), the charitable arm of the American Nurses Association, is committed to advancing the nursing profession and improving healthcare for all. We raise funds, develop programs, and administer grants to advance nursing research, education, and clinical practice; through this work, we promote the success of individual nurses and empower them to transform healthcare. Our vision is to foster a healthier world through the power of nursing. With the ongoing need for strong, resilient healthcare systems, nurses—5 million strong—are poised to serve as role models, educators, and advocates for health, safety, and wellness. The Foundation provides tools to help nurses achieve their full potential and maximize their impact on public health.

American Nurses Foundation’s vision is to achieve a healthy world through the power of nursing. Amer

Goal One: aims to transform nursing by preparing and supporting nurses to practice in new settings and in new ways to achieve better patient and community health results.

Goal Two: Re-orient our Nursing Research Grant program, to focus more strategically on topics that are essential at this time, and shift from small to larger grants for greater research impact.

Goal Three: Integrate our Well-Being Initiative and Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation programs – focused on improving nurses’ mental and physical well-being, respectively – for holistic engagement and greater impact.

The Foundation invests in leadership development across a wide range of issues, including opportunities for all staff. Examples include a board member completing Northwestern University’s 'Leading with Equity' program along with our Executive Director (ED). Our ED attended a 3-day 'Whites Confronting Racism' in 2020 provided by the non-profit of the same name. Our board has engaged in Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion training provided by Courage to Care that will continue into 2022. The entire staff completed Unconscious Bias training provided by ANA in 2020 and discuss DE&I topics in team meetings. Every staff member does a DiSC assessment, is a member of both ASAE and PEAK, and is encouraged to engage in trainings and benefits they offer. Foundation staff are engaged in comprehensive training on non-profit grantmaking, featuring sessions on Values-Based Grantmaking, Risk in Philanthropy, and Legal, Regulatory, and Ethical Issues in Grantmaking.

American Nurses Foundation experienced tremendous growth in the past year, while also navigating changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. We launched the Coronavirus Response Fund for Nurses in April 2020, designed to give immediate relief to frontline nurses experiencing life-threatening challenges in the pandemic, and in anticipation of long-term impacts. Based on nurses’ responses to our on-going survey series, our data informed COVID response planning across federal agencies (CDC, FDA, FEMA, GAO). We provided millions in direct financial assistance to nurses, advocated on their behalf with the US government, educated them with the latest scientific information on pandemic care, and launched the Well-Being Initiative, a slate of invaluable mental health resources and services for nurses. These free resources have continued to expand based on evolving needs, to include mood-boosting apps, confidential phone consultations with licensed professionals, a narrative expressive writing program, a podcast series on mental health and wellness, and free and discounted therapy services, among others. While our program team refined and enhanced offerings over the past year, the development staff grew our funds from $2 million to $17.7 million through strategic campaigns, grant writing, and soliciting institutional donors. The staff has accomplished all this while working remotely since March 2020. Working from home, the Foundation also established new partnerships, created new webpages, and produced two donor newsletters and countless updates, two successful board meetings, a virtual conference for our corporate advisory board, virtual team meetings, and an annual impact report. To build the capacity required to successfully operate the expansive programs, the staff grew from 3 to 12 employees, recruited, hired, and successfully onboarded in the last year, enabling the Foundation to continue to produce crucial results for the nurses we serve.