Judge Scott’s final documents make it clear that he wanted to use his estate to support health and well-being 1) locally and 2) regardless of gender, race, economic status, or other demographics. In addition to those basic guideposts, the Advisory Commission prioritizes the following in its grants program:

1. Equity.  Local data demonstrate tenacious, systemic barriers to health equity in McLean County. Applicants honor the Scotts' legacy by focusing their work on population(s) that experience disparate health outcomes, thoughtfully targeting barriers, and advancing health equity for the people and neighborhoods that need it most. Target populations may be associated with a particular race, ethnicity, zip code, sexual orientation, gender identity, income status, disability, or other characteristics shown to be correlated with negative health outcomes. Grantees are required to limit the use of Trust funds to those who may not be able to pay for health care, which includes folks that are Medicaid eligible or uninsured and under 185% federal poverty limit. Finally, we reward applications from organizations with demonstrable diversity in governance and leadership.
2. Social Determinants of Health (SDOH).  SDOH are “the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age” and “the fundamental drivers of these conditions,” such as education, built environment, financial security, safety, social isolation, housing quality, food access, recreational opportunities, and other social determinants, that are highly predictive of health outcomes for both communities and individuals. In other words, "health begins where people live, work, and play," and quite literally, "zip code matters more than genetic code.” Knowing this, most fundamentally, grant applicants must always communicate how their proposed work leverages SDOH to improve health outcomes.
3. Built environment and capital improvements. Mrs. Scott recalled certain unfavorable conditions in Bloomington when her family first arrived in the city in 1844 – no banks, city schools, or sidewalks. Ann said, “…In the muddy season, sociability had to be eliminated … because of the condition of the streets.” This critique resonates with modern research showing that the quality of the “built environment” correlates highly with community health outcomes. “Built environment” means physical spaces within which people interact, live, work and play, including affordable or mixed-income housing, early childhood centers or charter schools, grocery stores, health clinics, or other commercial or community facilities. Grantees are permitted to use grant funds to improve the built environment in McLean County, which may include capital improvements, revitalization, and abatement for public spaces and/or housing (but which excludes otherwise publicly funded infrastructure). Permitting capital expenditures and overhead costs is also a nod to Judge Scott’s original vision of building and operating a hospital. The Commission understands that capital and unrestricted grants are not widely available, even though health care often requires significant capital investment and overhead costs.
4. Eliminating Social Isolation, Offering Client Wraparound, and Doing “Whatever it Takes.” Judge’s Scott’s original will specifically expressed a concern for people “without any friends to help them.” He understood what modern research clearly demonstrates: that social isolation is detrimental to health and well-being, and that retaining relationships with clients and helping connect them to whatever they need is the most likely way to stabilize their health and well-being. Thus, applicants that maintain long-term relationships and do “whatever it takes” to meet each individual client’s varied needs are strongly preferred. Providers should be nimble and responsive rather than siloed and narrow in their approaches, bolster social connections and foster strong, positive relationships over time.