Five years of learning, investment and collective action

By Rachel Bouzis, Director of Policy & Learning

Five Years of Learning, Investment and Collective Action

Welcome to Advocacy Corner, a monthly series of nonpartisan advocacy posts by the Natrona Collective Health Trust, aimed at advancing our mission of improving the health of Natrona County residents. Each month, we explore key issues that impact community well-being, providing insights and information to empower residents. If you have a topic suggestion or question, please reach out to Rachel Bouzis, Director of Policy & Learning.

It’s been five years since the Natrona Collective Health Trust was founded. Five years is both a brief moment and a meaningful marker—long enough to learn from mistakes, and long enough to understand that lasting change takes patience. In celebration of this milestone, we’re reflecting on what we’ve accomplished and previewing what’s next.

How the Trust Began

Banner Health acquired Wyoming Medical Center in October 2020, triggering a major shift in Natrona County’s healthcare landscape. From that transaction emerged Wyoming’s first private healthcare conversion foundation: the Natrona Collective Health Trust. While new to the state, this model has long existed nationwide to ensure community health assets continue to serve public benefit through grantmaking, programs and policy work.

Accountability in Action

As a private foundation, the Trust is required to distribute at least 5% of its assets each year. What makes the Trust’s structure unusual is an added layer of responsibility: 3.3% of its net assets must go to Banner WMC each year.

Banner WMC also has obligations as a result of the transaction, including maintaining Level II Trauma Center status, providing indigent and charity care, and protecting access to essential services. To enforce these commitments, the Trust engaged independent firm PYA to evaluate compliance. PYA’s 2024 report found Banner largely in compliance, underscoring the importance of active monitoring.

Five Years of Community Investment

Over five years, Natrona Collective Health Trust has invested $64,098,620.98 in our community through grants ranging from $26.97 to $9,552,234.

• 369 grants to more than 150 organizations
• $44,025,590 distributed through Banner-related funding
• $44,308.91 invested through board and staff match programs

Grantmaking has emphasized flexibility and infrastructure, not just programs. The Trust has funded general operating support, capacity building, participatory grantmaking led by youth and justice-involved individuals, translation and grant writing services, strategic planning, advocacy, scholarships, and workforce support.

Beyond the Check

Beyond grants, the Trust has invested directly in shared infrastructure. Original programming includes the Natrona Council for Safety and Justice, Youth Mental Health Collective, local support for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, and funding the Wyoming Nonprofit Network’s Director of Learning and Development position.

Special projects include Masterson Place, Kind Grounds, Jae’s Boots, the ACEs and Homelessness Study, and support for a Community Action Partnership case manager. These investments focus on prevention, coordination and long-term capacity.

The Trust has also engaged in advocacy work grounded in a simple reality: money alone can only go so far. Grants can support programs and people, but long-term, generational change requires attention to the systems and policies that shape daily life. By engaging with people, institutions, and policymakers, the Trust is working toward lasting change, well beyond any single grant or funding cycle, using our position to elevate community voices and long-term thinking.

What We’ve Learned in Five Years

Five years of work point to a few clear lessons. Flexible funding helps organizations stay strong. People closest to challenges often know best what will help. Real change takes time and cooperation. Health is more than stethoscopes and prescriptions. It’s also safe housing, stable income, education and human connection.

Philanthropy cannot replace public systems or the people who provide services every day. It can help by backing good ideas, strengthening organizations, and supporting work that looks ahead rather than reacting to crisis.

Looking Ahead

In 2026, we’re turning the page to our next chapter. We’re currently in the initial stages of a new five-year strategic planning process to help set our course for what’s to come. Guided by research and data, focus groups, broad community input and nonprofit perspectives will inform current conditions and future needs. Throughout this effort, the Trust will continue to listen, learn and apply what we hear. Because if there’s one thing the last five years have taught us, it’s that you know best.