On September 28, 1983, the Group Health Board of Trustees incorporates the Foundation of Group Health Cooperative. The foundation is established to generate funds for research and special programs and to engage the community's larger circle of civic and philanthropic leaders in the work of Group Health, thus raising raise the cooperative's public profile. For the first decade, this mission will be carried out by the foundation's first president, Barbara Lardy.
The foundation kicked off its first major fundraising effort on December 11, 1985, by hosting the world premier of Dune, a science fiction film based on a popular novel by Frank Herbert, who was a Group Health member. Another event sponsored a few years later was a mile-long fun-run through Seattle's new bus tunnel.
In 2005 the mission of Group Health Community Foundation was to improve the health of children and adolescents, and to promote diversity within healthcare. Services include:
- Awarding grants to address current health issues as well as emergent community needs in the Pacific Northwest;
- Operate health promotion programs throughout the region;
- Evaluate community-based health programs locally and nationally, and publish the results for the benefit of all health care professionals;
- Fundraise for these programs and for Group Health.
