The Horizon Foundation is leading community change so everyone in Howard County can live a longer, better life. We are committed to improving health through innovative initiatives, collaborative partnerships, strategic grantmaking and thoughtful advocacy.

Our work is driven by community needs and is shaped around strategic solutions that promise a significant lasting impact on physical and mental health in Howard County. As the largest independent health philanthropy in Maryland, we are driven to help everyone in our community – especially those facing the greatest challenges.

For over 20 years, we have invested $55 million in 300 community programs tackling major public health challenges in Howard County. Our track record shows we are making progress helping people make healthy choices and improving access to health care. Among our achievements, we helped bring a federally qualified health center to the county that provides critical health care to people in need. Our work with our partners also has led to one of the lowest rates of uninsured people in the country. We have helped improve school lunches, supported a county bikeshare program to make it easier to get vital exercise and led an initiative to reduce the consumption of sugary drinks that resulted in a 20 percent drop in soda sales.

We focus on four key strategies to make Howard County a healthier place to live and work. We:

• Lead our own family of results-driven outreach and policy initiatives, including Howard County Unsweetened, Open Streets Howard County and Speak(easy) Howard;
• Partner and collaborate with community organizations and leaders to advance health and wellness priorities;
• Provide grants to support innovative programs and build organizational capacity among our partners; and
• Build coalitions and advocate for policies that improve the quality of life for everyone who lives or works in Howard County.

Our mission is to improve the health and wellness of people who live or work in Howard County.

Our vision is for all people in Howard County to live long, healthy lives.

• The Horizon Foundation fosters healthy systems, environments and behaviors to help people thrive in complete physical, mental and social well being.
• The Horizon Foundation promotes fair and equitable opportunities for everyone in our community to live a long, healthy life.
• The Horizon Foundation leverages research, evaluation and diverse community partnerships to maximize our impact.
• The Horizon Foundation leads independently to address public health challenges.