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Delta Dental Community Care Foundation

Delta Dental Community Care Foundation

We are committed to building caring, resilient communities by increasing access to oral health care.

History: Our legacy of care

As a purpose-driven organization, Delta Dental of California has a legacy of philanthropy throughout its history. The Delta Dental Community Care Foundation began when we identified hundreds of clinics across our enterprise who we could provide funding grants to for oral health services. Many of those clinics are still partners today. As the Community Care Foundation has grown, we have evolved our grantmaking and partnership model.

Today, we look for areas in which we can have a large impact on health outcomes. In support of our mission to build caring, resilient communities, we work with nonprofit partners across our 15-state and Washington, D.C. enterprise to increase access to oral health care, fund oral health education and support organizations that serve vital needs in our communities. In 2022, the Community Care Foundation broadened its philanthropic focus by launching a multi-year program to fund community-based coalitions to address the oral health crisis among older adults in the U.S.

Since 2011, the Community Care Foundation has granted more than $140 million. The San Francisco Business Times recognized Delta Dental of California as one of the top 20 corporate philanthropists in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2022, marking the sixth consecutive year of placement in the top 50.

Senior oral health

Did you know that a quarter of seniors living in poverty have lost all their natural teeth?¹ At Delta Dental, we know through our experience as one of the nation’s leading oral health benefit providers that older adults struggle with oral health problems and lack the support they need for proper dental care. The 2021 National Institutes of Health  Oral Health in America report underscored the challenges seniors face to the extent that it has become a public health crisis.

That is why in 2022 the Delta Dental Community Care Foundation launched a multi-year program to identify and address systemic causes of poor oral health among older adults, especially those living in poverty, people of color and those whose mobility issues keep them from receiving oral health care. 

Foundation news

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Community Care Foundation facts

Focus areas

The Delta Dental Community Care Foundation provides grants to nonprofits across our 15-state and Washington, D.C. enterprise to increase access to care, support oral health research and education and invest in community needs.

 

Access to care

Each year, the Community Care Foundation awards several million dollars in Access to Care Grants to dental clinics across the country. These awards enable underserved individuals in the community to get preventive and restorative treatments in accessible locations.

Research and scholarships

Our scholarships and research grants support our partnerships with universities and the education and development of future dental professionals. 

Community investments

We invest in communities by providing smaller grants that focus on local communities where we operate, as well as encouraging employee engagement in the form of giving or volunteering within their local communities.

We are proud to support well over 300 nonprofit partners and community health clinics across the country. Grant support is by invitation only, but if you feel like your organization is a good fit for the Delta Dental Community Care Foundation, please reach out to foundation@delta.org.



Social impact

Delta Dental is a company of purpose. Check out our  social impact report to learn more about our values, culture and how we create a positive impact to our business, communities, workplace and planet.

Serving our communities

In addition to Community Care Foundation grants, Delta Dental employees support our communities through charitable donations and volunteering. Employees receive 16 hours of paid time off and $1,000 in matching funds for charitable donations each year.

Employees can also nominate causes to receive grants from the Delta Dental Community Care Foundation. We have four community councils that align to our office locations: Alpharetta, GA; Mechanicsburg, PA; Rancho Cordova, CA; and Bay Area, CA. Our councils award grants each year to causes in our communities that are championed by our employees.

1. Drilling Down on Dental Coverage and Costs for Medicare Beneficiaries. Kaiser Family Foundation, 2019.