Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) catalyzes its 70 member health systems to leverage their hiring, purchasing, investing, and other key institutional assets as part of an intentional, place-based strategy to maximize their community impact. When health systems commit to place-based investing, they redirect a portion of their investable assets toward investments that improve the health and wellbeing of the communities where they provide care.
CommonSpirit Health is a founding member of HAN and pioneer of place-based investing programs in the nonprofit healthcare sector. Through its Community Investment Program, CommonSpirit Health supports mission-oriented organizations to address the social drivers of health, promote health equity, and foster healthy communities. As of December 2025, its current loan portfolio consists of $262 million approved loans to 84 organizations across the system’s national footprint. Since inception, the program has made a total of 400 loans for $515.4 million.
CommonSpirit Health has collaborated with Step By Step, a Washington State First Steps provider that offers intensive, long-term support for new mothers overcoming trauma and poverty to help build healthy families. Step By Step uses a holistic approach to Maternity Support Services and Infant Case Management through a network of licensed providers and wrap-around services, including educational scholarships, peer mentorship, and an employment training program with placements in Step By Step’s social enterprises, which include an event space, coffee shop, the Farm 12 restaurant, and a greenhouse. Step By Step owns the social enterprises, and all the profits go to further Step By Step’s mission.
Krista Linden, CEO and Co-Founder of Step By Step, recalls a moment that shaped her decision to open a childcare center: “Not long after Farm 12 Restaurant opened, our assistant manager came to me and asked for a demotion and a pay decrease. She told me she was now making too much money to receive state childcare assistance, and yet she could not afford to pay the full tuition. There was no in-between. This request went against everything I stand for, and it’s why we built this social enterprise. Going backwards was not an option for me. The anguish I observed with this employee as she weighed her options of how to care for her babies while she was at work left a huge mark on me. She is not unique in her struggle; so many mothers face this same anguish. So I decided to build it…to build a childcare center and to build one as big as I could.”
Going backwards was not an option for me… So I decided to build it.” — Krista Linden, CEO and Co-Founder, Step By Step
CommonSpirit Health provided a $5 million bridge loan to support the construction of The Barn early learning child center, which opened in March 2026. The 14,000 sq. ft. center will provide high-quality early childhood education for 200 children to support working parents in the Step By Step program and in the community. CommonSpirit’s capital was critical in providing gap funding so that Step By Step could draw on other, more limited sources, such as funds from the Department of Commerce. As an impact investment, it also offered a lower interest rate and more flexible terms, enabling construction to move forward with the expectation that pledged funding will be received over the coming years.
“CommonSpirit Health and Step By Step have been partners for a very long time,” said Alex Choy, Manager of the Community Investment Program at CommonSpirit Health. “It exemplifies CommonSpirit Health’s values of compassion, inclusion, integrity, excellence, and collaboration. An investment from the Community Investment Program is a continuation of this partnership to achieve our shared mission of advancing social justice for all.”
An investment from the Community Investment Program is a continuation of this partnership to achieve our shared mission of advancing social justice for all.” — Alex Choy, Manager, Community Investment Program, CommonSpirit Health
The investment from CommonSpirit Health is the result of close collaboration across all levels of the organization—from leadership to local community health and care team members who are instrumental in providing the local presence and knowledge to find strong community partners like Step By Step. Deep-rooted ties to the community, together with strong national leadership and resources, allow the Community Investment Program to successfully operate across its diverse geographic footprint and help communities thrive. For more information about Step By Step, visit stepbystepfamily.org.