The CDC Foundation is a nonprofit organization that provides financial support to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a federal agency of the United States government under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services responsible for surveillance and prevention of infectious and chronic disease. ¹

Background

The U.S. Congress established the CDC Foundation as the sole entity authorized by the government to raise funds for and organize philanthropic institutions and private-sector resources on behalf of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). ¹

Activities

Since its founding in 1995, the CDC Foundation has started about 1,000 programs and raised about $740 million as of January 2018. It had managed 300 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-led programs in the U.S. and in more than 130 countries through 2017. ¹ According to a 2022 estimate, the CDC Foundation had launched 1,200 programs, raised over $1.6 billion to support the CDC’s work, and has managed operations in more than 160 countries as of June 2022. ²

The CDC Foundation claims that the outcome of the CDC’s research projects and scientific activities has no bearing on the funding it provides to the agency. It also claims that there are review procedures in place, some operated by the CDC Foundation and others by the CDC itself, to ensure that there are no conflicts of interest. ¹

According to the CDC Foundation, as of June 2021, it had 21,036 partnerships with individuals, philanthropies, corporations, and other organizations; 243 community-based organizations in 46 states; 203 emergency response projects including some related to COVID-19; and 136 domestic and 83 global programs with the CDC and other public health partners. ³

Finances

In January 2020, the CDC Foundation started an Emergency Response Fund with a catalyst donation of $1 million from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) in light of the outbreak of COVID-19. ⁴ The description explained that the grant was to be used to help fund the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s public health measures taken to combat the virus, which the CDC said included “additional support for state and local health departments, support for the global response, logistics, communications, data management, personal protective equipment, critical response supplies and more.” ^{5 4}

The CDC Foundation has given funds to Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) in the past. ⁶

According to IRS filings for 2020, the CDC Foundation had a total revenue of $196,475,047, total expenses of $191,204,889, and net assets of $259,704,681. ⁷

Leadership

As of June 2022, Judy Monroe was the president and chief executive officer of the CDC Foundation. Prior to joining the Foundation as president in 2016, Monroe was the deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and director of the CDC’s Office of State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support. Alongside Monroe at the president’s office at this time were Lauren A. Smith, the chief health equity and strategy officer; Lisa F. Waddell, the chief medical officer; and Kathy Cahill, the vice president for systems integration. ⁸

As of June 2022, the CDC Foundation’s board included retired CEO and executive vice president of Superior Essex, Inc. David Aldridge; senior vice president of community benefit, research and health policy at Kaiser Permanente Raymond J. Baxter; founder and executive chairman of Brooks Bell, Inc. Brooks Bell; senior vice president and chief legal officer of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. Vanessa M. Benavides; former board chair of the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health Elaine Chambers; professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Leah Devlin; senior advisor to the president of Emory University Robert M. Franklin; former Mayor of Atlanta Shirley Franklin (D); former chairman and CEO of Turner Broadcasting Systems, Inc. Phil Kent; vice president for global health at Emory University Jeffrey P. Koplan; chief corporate affairs office of UPS Laura Lane; former executive vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation James Marks; chair of UT Health San Antonio Amelie G. Ramirez; and executive vice president for policy at Business Roundtable Kristen Silverberg. ⁹

Former board members included Richard W. Edelman of Edelman, Bob Jeffrey of JWT, co-founder of Home Depot Bernard Marcus, retired president and CEO of the Annie E. Casey Foundation Doug Nelson, retired chairman of Southern Company David Ratcliffe, the late former professional basketball player and chairman of the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation Dikembe Mutombo, and chairman of the Andrew J. Young Foundation Andrew J. Young. ⁹

1. “CDC Foundation.” CDC.gov, 9 January 2018. Accessed 20 June 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/about/business/cdcfoun.htm.
2. “Our Story.” CDC Foundation. Accessed 20 June 2022. https://www.cdcfoundation.org/our-story.
3. “Year in Review – FY 2021.” CDC Foundation. Accessed 20 June 2022. https://www.cdcfoundation.org/FY2021/index.html.
4. Monroe, Judy. “Coronavirus Spread Spurs Emergency Response Fund Activation and Catalytic Donation from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.” CDC Foundation, 27 January 2020. Accessed 20 June 2022. https://www.cdcfoundation.org/blog/coronavirus-spread-spurs-emergency-response-fund-activation-and-RWJF-donation.
5. “Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Donates $1 Million To CDC Foundation.” Council of New Jersey Grantmakers, 27 January 2020. Accessed 20 June 2022. https://www.cnjg.org/news/robert-wood-johnson-foundation-donates-1-million-cdc-foundation.
6. “Funders.” Trust for America’s Health. Accessed 20 June 2022. https://www.tfah.org/about/annual-report/.
7. CDC Foundation, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990, Part I lines 12, 18, 22), 2020.
8. “Leadership Team.” CDC Foundation Accessed 20 June 2022.
9. “Our Board.” CDC Foundation. Accessed 20 June 2022. https://www.cdcfoundation.org/who/board.