From Strategy to Alignment: Strengthening HealthPath’s Role in Advancing Health Equity

Meeting a Critical Need

Across Ohio, communities face growing health challenges shaped by long-standing inequities in access, infrastructure, and investment. Behavioral health needs are rising, chronic disease remains widespread, and workforce shortages continue to strain care systems.

At the same time, the organizations working to address these issues often operate in isolation. Efforts are not aligned across regions, data is not consistently shared, and community voice is not always reflected in decisions.

HealthPath Foundation of Ohio had built a strong reputation as a trusted, equity-driven funder. But the moment called for more clarity. The organization needed a strategy that could strengthen alignment across the system and a diverse set of counties in their funding footprint  to support long-term change. And at the intersection of an ever-increasing set of health inequity needs and their significant but limited funding capacity, the organization needed support revamping their funding strategy to achieve maximum impact. 

KSG’s Approach: Strategic Partnership in Action

KSG partnered with HealthPath to define its role and build a clear path forward. The work combined research, engagement, and strategy to create alignment across the organization and its partners.

Our approach focused on three core areas:

Listen + Understand the System

Reviewed past strategies, grantmaking patterns, and Ohio’s health landscape to identify strengths, gaps, and opportunities for greater statewide impact

Engage + Align Stakeholders

Facilitated engagement with staff, board members, grantees, and partners, with guidance from a Strategic Advisory Committee, to bring together data and lived experience

Design + Activate the Strategy

Co-developed a Theory of Change, defined strategic priorities, and built a three-year roadmap with clear roles, decision points, and implementation pathways

This approach ensured the strategy was grounded in real conditions and built for action.

Tangible Results & Lasting Impact

Together, HealthPath and KSG established a stronger foundation for how the organization operates and leads within the health equity ecosystem.

Defined Role

HealthPath strengthened its role as a funder and clarified its position as a connector, amplifier, and field builder across Ohio

Aligned Strategy

Four priorities now guide the work, connecting funding, partnerships, and internal efforts

Clear Roadmap

A three-year plan outlines how the work will grow over time, with defined ownership and limits tied to capacity

These changes allow HealthPath to act with greater clarity, support stronger collaboration, and contribute to more coordinated, long-term progress.

Takeaways & Why It Matters

Clarity strengthens impact: Especially for funders, a clear role allows organizations to work more effectively within complex systems

Alignment drives progress: Coordinated efforts across regions and partners lead to stronger outcomes

Strategy must be actionable: A clear roadmap ensures ideas translate into sustained progress

Partnership accelerates change: Combining research, engagement, and practical strategy helps organizations navigate complexity and move forward