Over the course of seven years, Partners for Livable Communities collaborated with the Ford Foundation on an initiative known as Shifting Sands: Arts, Culture and Neighborhood Change. The core of this initiative was a collective of nine community-based arts and cultural institutions working to become more integrated with the community development issues in their immediate neighborhoods. This primer was designed for the arts organization that wishes to initiate programming focused on local health issues, or create partnerships with health groups in order to best meet the needs of the community. Best practices are included.