Cigna Foundation

Healthier Kids For Our Future Evaluation

Project Date
March 2020 – Feb 2025

Type of Evaluation
Implementation, Planning

Setting
Foundation

Overview

The Healthier Kids For Our Future® program, funded by the Cigna Foundation, was a five-year, $25M investment to improve the health and well-being of children across the globe. The initiative had three strategies, which were aligned with three of the 17 leading global challenges identified by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: No Poverty, Zero Hunger, and Good Health and Well-Being.

The Evaluation Center partnered with the Cigna Foundation to develop and implement initiative- and strategy-level evaluation plans for the initiative. The Center also provided technical assistance to the initiative, its partners, and grantees; and collected and analyzed evaluative data.

Project Description

Background

Established more than 50 years ago, the Cigna Foundation carries out the company’s corporate philanthropy goals of bringing Cigna’s mission to life for individuals and communities around the globe. The Cigna Foundation accomplishes these goals through strategically focused charitable grants to nonprofit organizations whose work enhances the health of individuals and families and the well-being of communities. In 2019, after combining with Express Scripts, the Foundation launched a philanthropic initiative called Healthier Kids For Our Future (HKFOF). 

The HKFOF initiative aimed to connect dedicated local organizations with resources and volunteers to amplify their impact. In 2019, the initiative provided funding to its first cohort of grantees with a focus on addressing food security needs of children and youth. In 2020, the second strategy was implemented to address the mental health and emotional well-being of children, with emphasis on loneliness, anxiety, depression, and suicide.

Evaluation Center Activities

  • Identified stakeholders.
  • Developed evaluation plans (including logic models, evaluation methods matrices, and dissemination plans).
  • Conducted literature reviews.
  • Provided consultation on strategy design and implementation.
  • Designed data collection and analysis systems and protocols for evaluation.
  • Identified common metrics to be collected by grantees for each strategy.
  • Summarized evaluation findings and provided recommendations.
  • Assessed grantees’ evaluation-related capacity (including data collection, analysis, and translation).
  • Conducted web-based trainings and provide tailored technical assistance to grantees.

Our Products

  • Evaluation plans (including logic models, evaluation methods matrices, and dissemination plans)
  • Data collection and analysis protocols
  • Literature review reports
  • Dissemination plans
  • Grantee engagement plans
  • Evaluation findings (reports, presentations, data dashboards)
  • Case studies
Project Funder

Cigna Foundation

Contact Person
Rachel Barth, MSW

Rachel Barth, MSW

Evaluation Manager (she/her/hers)