Not afraid to document disappointments as well as successes, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) informs the public about the impact of programs it funds. The seventh in an annual series, this year's To Improve Health and Health Care: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Anthology, reflects the foundation's commitment to sharing the knowledge that results from its grantmaking. Each chapter recounts the history of a specific funding initiative, and is written by an expert. From the highly regarded Clinical Scholars Program to the less than successful Teaching Nursing Home Program, the analysis in the volume's ten chapters allows others engaged in philanthropy to learn from the experience of RWJF. We also get a peek at the inner workings of this large and influential foundation.

In the Anthology's foreword Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, the foundation's new chief executive officer and president, cites the four goals of RWJF: to assure that all Americans have access to quality health care at a reasonable cost; to improve the quality of care and support for people with chronic health conditions; to promote healthy communities and lifestyles; to reduce the personal, social, and economic harm caused by substance abuse-tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs.

The foundation strives to meet these goals through a new framework for grantmaking across four program areas, which it calls "portfolios." The targeted portfolio addresses systematic problems in health and health care; the human capital portfolio seeks to train leaders and improve the health care workforce; the vulnerable populations portfolio supports direct services for people in need; and the pioneering portfolio funds innovative, high-risk projects that do not fit into the other three categories.

In the chapters covering the targeted portfolio the authors analyze the effectiveness of several local programs addressing substance abuse; they evaluate various efforts by the foundation to contain health care costs; and they contemplate the long-term outcome of the Teaching Nursing Home program, a project that ended more than 15 years ago. Chapters comprising the human capital section appraise the Foundation's Clinical Scholars program, its commitment to increasing minorities in the health field, and the National Health Policy Forum, a long-time RWJF grantee that provides high-quality, nonpartisan information and analysis on health policy. Assessments of the Injury Free Coalition for Kids and the Homeless Prenatal Program make up the section devoted to vulnerable populations. For the pioneering portfolio, the final chapter examines the Foundation's response to emergencies such as the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, bio-terrorism, and natural disasters.

Contributors to the Anthology include journalists, academics, and senior RWJF program officers. While of most interest to policy makers and practitioners, the general public may also find the issues and programs discussed in the Anthology fascinating.

For citations of additional materials on this topic, refer to the Literature of the Nonprofit Sector Online using the subject headings "Health," "Health care,"or "Foundations-grantmaking."