Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

By Deborah C. Plytynski

Graduate Student, Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University

Definition

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation works to promote health and the research of medicine to Americans. The Foundation works as a grantmaking organization providing funding in four major areas (taken directly from mission):

1. To assure that all Americans have access to quality health care at reasonable cost.
2. To improve the quality of care and support for people with chronic health conditions.
3. To promote healthy communities and lifestyles.
4. To reduce the personal social and economic harm caused by substance abuse—tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs. (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation).

The purpose of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is "support training, education, research (excluding biomedical research) and projects that demonstrate the effective delivery of health care services" (ibid). The Foundation supports larger groups and not individuals seeking care. Recipients of Robert Wood Johnson grants include hospitals, professional associations, government agencies and schools (ibid).

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey. Robert Wood Johnson made his personal fortune through his work as leader of Johnson and Johnson. In 1936, Johnson created the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to assist those in need in his hometown of New Brunswick, New Jersey. "Modest grants to the local hospitals were made to improve patient care and to young people who wanted to become physicians but could not afford the cost of a medical education" (Foster 1999). Johnson´s other philanthropic endeavors and ties to the Foundation include the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital network and The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)—Robert Wood Johnson University Medical School. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation also publishes a series of anthologies, which examines the programs funded (ibid).

Historic Roots

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation came from the personal wealth of Robert Wood Johnson. Johnson, though never a practicing medical professional, believed strongly in the social responsibility of corporations and the need for further professional training of medical professionals. Upon his death in 1968, Johnson bequeathed most of his personal fortune he had acquired during his life to the foundation previously established in 1936 (Cluff, 1989). "The national status of the foundation began in 1972" (ibid).

Throughout Johnson´s life he worked as a businessman at Johnson and Johnson, which today is the world´s largest supplier of medical products. Johnson´s wealth came from his leadership at Johnson and Johnson. Johnson entered the family business at the age of 16 following his father´s death (Forster, 1999). Johnson built it into the world´s largest health and medical care products company, which was guided by his Credo of social responsibility (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation). "During World War II, Johnson was commissioned as brigadier general in the army and appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the Small War Plants Corp" (Forster, 1999). Johnson continued the title of General following his service in the army. Though not a doctor, Johnson joined with Dr. Malcolm Thomas Mac Eachen, then president of the American College of Surgeons to found the first school of hospital administration at Northwestern University (Forster, 1999).

"In its first grantmaking year (1972-73), the Foundation provided funds to the nation´s schools of medicine, osteopathy, and dentistry to provide scholarships and loan support for women, students from rural backgrounds, and minority students" (Cluff 1989). Today, however, the scope of the Foundation´s grantmaking and programs include minority training programs, mid-level health professionals, nursing, dentist training, physician training, health policy, and training in health care finance. Since 1972, the Foundation has awarded more than $85 million to develop armies of health professionals venturing into a new field of "heal associates" with an improvement in both education and practice. The Foundation also allocated $14 million for programs to improve teaching and the practice of dentistry (Isaacs 1996).

Importance

"Today the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is the nation´s largest private philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving health and healthcare in America" (Forster, 1999). "In 2003, the Foundation made 927 grants and contracts, totaling $316.5 million in support of programs and projects to improve health and healthcare in the US" (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation). The Foundation ranks in the top three US Foundations giving grants for health, losing the number one position to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (Foundation Center). The Foundation also ranks number 5 in the top 100 U.S. Foundations by asset size and fourth in the top 100 U.S. Foundations by total giving (ibid).

"For several years, until recently, the foundation provided support to selected and prominent health research groups or individuals to conduct studies on subjects or problems they perceived as "on the cutting edge´ of issues facing the nation´s health care system" (Cluff 1989). Selected universities conducting this research on such issues of medical malpractice, productivity in the health sector, and research and training in health economics include Columbia University, Tufts University and Stanford University (ibid).

Ties to the Philanthropic Sector

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is in itself a grantmaking organization, which directly provides funding to help promote the cause of health in society. From the very creation of the organization, it recognized that access to healthcare to all was critical (Isaacs 1996). The Foundation works in conjunction with other nonprofit organizations including hospitals and universities. In addition to providing funds to organizations in need, the Foundation actively creates programs to direct monies to more specific areas of health. Some examples of workforce programs include the Medical Student Aid Program, Dental Student Aid Program, Clinical Nurse Scholars Program, and Program for Faculty Fellowships in Healthcare Finance (ibid).

Key Related Ideas

Foundation "is an entity that is established as a nonprofit corporation or a charitable trust, with a principal purpose of making grants to unrelated organizations or institutions or to individuals for scientific, educational, cultural, religious, or other charitable purposes" (Foundation Center). The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is a private foundation because its assets come primarily from the wealth of Robert Wood Johnson whereas a public foundation would have a greater amount of donors involved. "All private foundations must file the Form 990-PF, which is a valuable source of information about their finances, board members, and grants" (Ibid). Foundations are required by law to pay out a minimum amount of their total assets each year.

Healthcare Philanthropy can be divided into multiple subsets of varying types of grant recipients. Various organizations focus on different areas of health in giving. "Health giving" classifications include mental health, global health, reproductive health, medical research, medical associations and services. Grantmaking foundations are not the only source of healthcare philanthropy. Hospitals, clinics, schools, and individuals also carry out and fund varying degrees of philanthropic endeavors.

Johnson and Johnson is the world´s largest manufacturer of health care products. The company began in the 1880s as the first producer of ready made and use bandages. Today, the company belongs to a network of 200 companies in 175 countries with over 100,000 employees. Johnson and Johnson utilizes the credo of social responsibility created by Robert Wood Johnson today in carrying out its mission (Johnson and Johnson).

Important People

• Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) appointed Robert Wood Johnson to position of Small War Plants Corp. during World War II.
  
  
• Dr. Malcolm Thomas MacEachern (1881-1956) joined with Robert Wood Johnson in founding the first degree in hospital administration at Northwestern University. He was also a former president of the American College Of Surgeons. (Foster 1999)
  
  
• Robert Wood Johnson (1895-1911) founder of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Today the foundation is the largest foundation dedicated solely to the purpose of promoting health and healthcare services (ibid).

Related Nonprofits

• Association of Healthcare Philanthropy "Established in 1967, AHP is the complete source for education, networking, information and research opportunities in health care philanthropy today. AHP is a not-for-profit organization with more than 3,400 members (more than 1,900 are from the largest health care facilities in the United States and Canada)" (Association of Healthcare Philanthropy). (http://www.ahp.org/)
  
  
• Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation today is the largest donor of health and health related causes. The philanthropic interests and recipients of funding from the Gates Foundation include libraries, education, homelessness and social well being (http://www.gatesfoundation.org/default).
  
  
• National Institute of Health is part of the US Department of Health and Human Services. The NIH conducts research on biological and behavioral health. The NIH not only conducts medical research at its headquarters in Maryland but also provides funding to other organizations (National Institute of Health) (http://www.nih.gov/).
  
  
• Robert Wood Johnson Health System Network includes the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School—both headquartered throughout the state of New Jersey (http://www.rwjuh.edu/home.html).

Related Websites

• The Foundation Center at http://fdncenter.org/ provides information on all foundations in the United States. The goal of The Foundation Center is to strengthen the knowledge of philanthropy in the United States. The Foundation Center is useful in obtaining statistics on philanthropy in the U.S., scholarly research, and resources for grant makers and grant seekers.
  
  
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation website at http://www.rwjf.org/index.jsp provides a detailed breakdown of the allocation of funds, current programs and news in the field of health research including the Foundation´s annual report.

Bibliography and Internet Sources

Cluff, Leighton E. Helping Shape The Nation´s Health Care System. Princeton: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 1989. ISBN:0-942054-01-6.

Foster, Lawrence. Robert Wood Johnson: The Gentleman Rebel. State College: Lillian Press, 1999. ISBN 0-9662882-0-3.

Isaacs, Stephen L., Lewis G. Sandy, and Steven A. Schroeder. Grants to Shape the Health Care Workforce: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Experience. Health Affairs, 1996. 15: 279-295.

Johnson and Johnson. Our Company. http://www.jnj.com/our_company/index.htm [Accessed 1, November 2004].

The Foundation Center. Top 100 U.S. Foundations by Total Giving. http://fdncenter.org/research/trends_analysis/top100giving.html [Accessed 27, October 2004].

The Foundation Center. Top 100 U.S. Foundations by Asset Size. http://fdncenter.org/research/trends_analysis/top100assets.html [Accessed 27, October 2004].

The Foundation Center. Top 50 U.S. Foundations Awarding Grants for Health, circa1999. http://fdncenter.org/fc_stats/subject02_99.html [Accessed 27, October 2004].

The Foundation Center. Top 50 U.S. Foundations Awarding Grants for Health circa 2000. http://fdncenter.org/fc_stats/subject02_00.html [Accessed 27, October 2004].

The Foundation Center. Top 50 U.S. Foundations Awarding Grants for Health circa 2001. http://fdncenter.org/fc_stats/subject02_01.html [Accessed 27, October 2004].

The Foundation Center. Top 50 U.S. Foundations Awarding Grants for Health circa 2002. http://fdncenter.org/fc_stats/subject02_02.html [Accessed 27, October 2004].

The Foundation Center. What is a Foundation? http://fdncenter.org/learn/faqs/html/foundfun.html. [Accessed 1, November 2004].

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. http://www.rwjf.org/index.jsp [Accessed, 11, October 2004].