Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
An American philanthropic foundation focused exclusively on improving health, health equity, and population well-being.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is a major American philanthropic organization dedicated exclusively to improving health and health equity. Based in Princeton, New Jersey, it is one of the largest health-focused foundations in the United States. Its work spans access to health care, public health, prevention, community conditions, health policy, leadership development, research, and efforts to address the social and structural factors that shape health outcomes. The foundation traces its origins to the Johnson-New Brunswick Foundation, established in December 1936 to support charitable activities in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It adopted the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation name in 1952. Its transformation into a national health philanthropy followed the death of Robert Wood Johnson II in 1968, when he left the foundation more than 10 million shares of Johnson & Johnson stock. The bequest, valued at more than one billion dollars at the time, provided the capital base for the foundation's expansion. In 1972, RWJF became a national philanthropy. During its early national period, RWJF supported health-care access for impoverished and minority communities, infant and elder care, mental health, rural health services, and emergency medical systems. Its emergency-services grants helped communities equip ambulances, train dispatchers and drivers, coordinate agencies, and create centralized response systems. The program contributed to the spread of the 911 emergency system across the United States. The foundation also supported the Nurse-Family Partnership, minority medical faculty development, rural hospital swing beds, and initiatives for people experiencing homelessness. In the 1980s and 1990s, RWJF expanded into HIV/AIDS services, substance-abuse prevention, tobacco control, palliative care, and children's health coverage. Its AIDS Health Services Program emphasized community-based care and coordination among social-service organizations. Its tobacco initiatives helped states develop prevention and cessation policies during the period leading to the 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. Research funded by the foundation into end-of-life care helped advance palliative-care programs and influenced the development of new standards and advocacy organizations. The Covering Kids campaign worked to increase enrollment of eligible uninsured children in public insurance programs. In the 2000s, the foundation devoted substantial resources to childhood obesity prevention, healthier communities, eldercare alternatives, public-health education, and population-health measurement. It supported the Green House Project, which offers a small-home, resident-directed alternative to conventional nursing-home care, and helped establish the County Health Rankings with the University of Wisconsin's Population Health Institute. The rankings compare counties using health outcomes and social, economic, behavioral, and environmental indicators. In the 2010s, RWJF moved from a primarily issue-specific grantmaking model toward a broader strategy centered on building a Culture of Health. This approach treats health as a product not only of medical care but also of housing, education, employment, food access, neighborhood conditions, discrimination, transportation, and civic participation. The foundation supports community-led programs, policy research, public-opinion surveys, leadership and training programs, impact investments, and tools that can be adopted by governments or local organizations. Under Richard Besser's leadership, health equity and the removal of barriers created by discrimination became central priorities. RWJF has funded research on racial disparities in medical treatment, the health effects of police violence, discrimination, the COVID-19 pandemic, disability inclusion, and unequal neighborhood opportunities. It has worked with organizations including NPR, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the RAND Corporation, the Urban Institute, the University of Wisconsin, Boston University, and the Ford Foundation. Its present work combines grantmaking, research, communications, data tools, coalition building, and systems-change strategies aimed at improving health outcomes across the United States.
History
The foundation was created in December 1936 as the Johnson-New Brunswick Foundation, with an initial charitable focus on New Brunswick, New Jersey. It was renamed the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in 1952. The decisive change in its scale came after Robert Wood Johnson II died in 1968 and left more than 10 million shares of Johnson & Johnson stock to the foundation. The bequest was worth more than one billion dollars at the time and enabled the organization to become a national philanthropy in 1972. From 1972 through the mid-1980s, RWJF concentrated on access to health care and the development of health-service infrastructure. Its emergency medical services program provided grants for ambulance communications, dispatcher and driver training, interagency coordination, and centralized emergency response. By the end of the program, the proportion of participating areas with centralized emergency systems had risen dramatically, helping establish the infrastructure associated with 911 response. Other programs addressed care for disadvantaged and minority populations, infants, older people, people with mental illness, rural residents, and people experiencing homelessness. The foundation also backed the Nurse-Family Partnership, minority medical faculty development, and the rural hospital swing-bed model. In 1985, RWJF and The Pew Charitable Trusts committed funding to Health Care for the Homeless pilot programs. The pilots used locally adapted approaches, including links between hospitals and shelters and delivery of care in community settings. The initiative helped demonstrate models later reflected in federal homelessness policy. Beginning in 1986, RWJF also addressed HIV/AIDS through a program in 11 communities that integrated health and human-services organizations and emphasized community care. By 1989, the foundation had committed tens of millions of dollars to AIDS care and prevention. The presidency of Steven Schroeder, beginning in 1990, brought a major emphasis on substance abuse and tobacco control. The foundation funded cessation, public education, policy development, and state-level organizing. Smokeless States, launched in 1993, helped communities understand tobacco's effects and consider regulation. RWJF also supported tobacco-control organizations during the litigation and policy process surrounding the 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. From the late 1980s onward, it funded extensive work on palliative and end-of-life care. A large longitudinal study examining patients' preferences and prognoses documented the gap between many patients' wishes and the aggressive hospital care they received. Its findings contributed to new palliative-care advocacy, standards, and hospital programs. During the 1990s, the foundation also worked to reduce the number of uninsured children through Covering Kids, which operated from 1997 to 2002. In the early 2000s, under Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, it made childhood obesity prevention a central priority and committed substantial resources to research, advocacy, and local environmental changes that could support physical activity and healthier food choices. It funded projects such as sidewalk and bicycle-lane improvements and supported the Green House Project, an alternative long-term-care model organized around small residences and resident choice. It also worked with the College Board on the Young Epidemiology Scholars program, which encouraged secondary-school students to explore public health. RWJF increasingly broadened its definition of health. The Commission to Build a Healthier America, established in 2008, examined how education, income, neighborhoods, prevention, and community conditions influence health outside the medical system. In 2010, the foundation and the University of Wisconsin's Population Health Institute launched County Health Rankings, a data platform comparing counties using health outcomes and more than 30 behavioral, social, economic, and environmental measures. The foundation later added community coaching, competitions, and investment partnerships. The organization formally adopted the Culture of Health framework in the 2010s. Rather than organizing all work around separate diseases or service categories, the framework sought broad social change through community power, policy, institutional practice, and improved living conditions. The transition generated some criticism from observers concerned that certain professional-training and health-policy programs would receive less support, but it became the foundation's principal strategic orientation. Since the late 2010s, RWJF has emphasized health equity under Richard Besser. Its grants and research have examined discrimination, racial disparities in medical treatment, police violence, disability inclusion, neighborhood opportunity, structural racism, and the unequal effects of COVID-19. It has supported public-opinion research with NPR and Harvard, surveys with RAND, health-disparity analysis by the Urban Institute, pandemic-policy tracking with Boston University, and disability-inclusion collaboration with the Ford Foundation. The foundation continues to combine grantmaking, research, measurement, communications, leadership development, and impact investment in pursuit of more equitable health outcomes in the United States.
- 2020
Childhood Opportunity Index update
[1]An updated index assessed neighborhood access to resources associated with childhood development and later health.
- 2017
Health-equity emphasis strengthens
[1]Under Richard Besser, the foundation placed greater emphasis on discrimination and structural barriers to health.
- 2013
Culture of Health framework adopted
[1]The foundation established a framework for pursuing broad systems and community changes affecting health.
- 2010
County Health Rankings launched
[1]RWJF and the University of Wisconsin created a county-level population-health measurement program.
- 2008
Commission to Build a Healthier America established
[1]The commission examined nonmedical conditions and policies affecting health.
- 1997
Covering Kids launched
[1]The campaign sought to increase public-insurance enrollment among eligible uninsured children.
- 1993
Smokeless States launched
[1]The program supported local tobacco-control education and policy work.
- 1972
National expansion
[1]RWJF became a national philanthropic organization focused on health.
- 1968
Major Johnson & Johnson stock bequest
[1]Robert Wood Johnson II left more than 10 million shares of Johnson & Johnson stock to the foundation.
- 1952
Renamed Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
[1]The foundation adopted the name it uses today.
Products and positioning
A large, evidence-oriented health philanthropy that seeks to improve population health by changing communities, institutions, policies, and social conditions rather than focusing only on clinical care.
Population-health data platform · 2010
County Health Rankings & Roadmaps
A county-level measurement and action program developed with the University of Wisconsin's Population Health Institute. It compares communities using health outcomes and a broad set of social, economic, behavioral, and environmental indicators, then provides resources intended to help local leaders act on the findings.
Health-policy framework · 2013
Culture of Health Action Framework
A strategic framework that treats health as a community and social-systems issue. It guides grantmaking and partnerships addressing conditions such as housing, education, employment, food access, discrimination, and civic participation.
Tobacco-control program · 1993
Smokeless States
A program that helped local groups communicate the health effects of tobacco use and develop policies to reduce smoking and exposure to tobacco products.
Children's health-access campaign · 1997
Covering Kids
A national campaign supporting outreach and enrollment assistance for children eligible for public health-insurance programs but lacking coverage.
Long-term-care innovation
Green House Project support
RWJF supported the expansion and evaluation of small-home, resident-directed long-term-care communities intended to provide a less institutional alternative to conventional nursing homes.
Marketing campaigns
- 2020COVID-19 health-equity response
United States
RWJF supported surveys, policy databases, virtual discussions, and research into the pandemic's health, educational, financial, and racial effects.
Outcome. The work documented unequal pandemic impacts and highlighted structural discrimination as a health issue.
- 2008Commission to Build a Healthier America
United States
A bipartisan commission studied ways to improve health beyond the clinical-care system, including education, prevention, and community conditions.
Outcome. Its accumulated research was presented in a report released in 2014.
- 2003Young Epidemiology Scholars
United States
RWJF and the College Board created a program encouraging high-school students to study epidemiology and public health.
Outcome. The program operated for eight years.
- 1997Covering Kids
United States
The campaign supported efforts to identify and enroll uninsured children who qualified for public coverage.
Outcome. Research associated with the campaign reported a decline in the overall share of uninsured American children during the campaign period.
- 1993Smokeless States
United States
The campaign equipped local organizations with information and support for tobacco education, cessation, and regulation.
Outcome. By 2007, 31 states and the District of Columbia had adopted the program.
- 1986AIDS Health Services Program
United States
The program supported coordinated HIV/AIDS care and prevention through networks of health and human-service organizations in 11 communities.
Outcome. Its community-care approach and service-integration model contributed to wider HIV/AIDS policy development.
- 1985Health Care for the Homeless
United States
RWJF and The Pew Charitable Trusts funded 19 pilot programs that tested community-based ways to connect people experiencing homelessness with medical care.
Outcome. The pilots influenced later policy discussions and approaches to federally supported homeless health services.
- 1972Emergency Medical Services Program
United States
A major grant program helped communities build coordinated emergency medical systems, including ambulance communications, dispatcher training, interagency coordination, and centralized response systems.
Outcome. By 1977, coverage by centralized emergency-services systems in participating areas had risen from a small minority to the vast majority.
Brand decisions
2017
Health-equity and anti-discrimination prioritizationStrategyBackground
Research and public-health evidence increasingly linked discrimination, place, income, and institutional practices to unequal health outcomes.
Action taken
Under Richard Besser, RWJF emphasized removing structural barriers to health and funding research on racial, economic, disability, and community inequities.
Aftermath
The focus shaped later work on COVID-19 disparities, police violence, neighborhood opportunity, disability inclusion, and unequal medical treatment.
2014
Shift from issue programs to a Culture of Health strategyStrategyBackground
The foundation concluded that health outcomes are shaped by social, economic, environmental, and community conditions as well as by medical services.
Action taken
RWJF reorganized its strategic emphasis around systems change, community conditions, health equity, and a Culture of Health framework.
Aftermath
The change broadened the foundation's agenda, although some observers questioned whether certain professional-training and health-policy programs would receive less support.
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