Establishing a Local Wellness Fund: Lessons from the California Accountable Communities for Health Initiative

Originally published in 2019 and updated in 2025, this brief provides practical guidance for designing, governing, and sustaining locally controlled wellness funds as part of the Accountable Communities for Health (ACH) model. At its heart, the concept remains simple but powerful: pool and align resources across sectors, center community voice in decisions, and create a lasting financial structure that supports equity-focused systems change.