Through collaboration and partnerships, the Kendrick Foundation leverages resources, increases collective action, and advocates for policy, systems, and environmental changes that promote health by making the healthy choice the easy choice.

In collaboration with community partners, the Kendrick Foundation promotes health and capacity building strategies into community initiatives and local organizations. Further community leadership efforts of the Kendrick Foundation include:

• Engaging in the community health improvement process
• Implementing evidence-informed public health practices by aligning grantmaking with What Works for Health
• Providing technical assistance and support to grantees, partners, and stakeholders related to data, evidence-informed public health practice, coalition building, etc. 

In 2021, the Kendrick Foundation accepted the invitation to lead the Morgan County Mental Health Task Force as part of the Better Communities Coalition. Since its inception, the task force has grown to over 90 individual members with over 50 organizations represented. The task force envisions a community where all individuals are supported and equipped to achieve mental health wellbeing. The task force is working to implement the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Strategic Prevention Framework.

Additionally, in 2021, the Boys & Girls Club of Morgan County recognized the Kendrick Foundation with its Partnership of the Year Award. In 2022, Youth First recognized the Kendrick Foundation with its Heart of Youth First award and the Morgan County Business Leader featured the Kendrick Foundation on its December cover.

Since 2022, the Kendrick Foundation has recognized individual and organizational community leaders for their efforts to improve health in Morgan County. These awardees work in sectors outside of healthcare and public health but use their influence across the social determinants of health (SDOH) to make a positive impact on people’s health, wellbeing, and quality of life.

SDOH are the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks.