by Scott McIntyre on Wednesday, January 20, 2010
2Earlier this week, Grinnell Regional Medical Center announced the good news about setting a record for contributions to its annual fund. In a down year for the economy, this could be considered an amazing achievement. But here at IHA, we are hearing similar news from other hospitals. At the same time, many Iowa hospitals are at various stages of construction, whether it be partial or large-scale remodels or entire hospital replacements. Nearly all of these projects were made possible, at least in part, by community philanthropy (as well as contributions from the hospital employees themselves).
The timing and support of these efforts says a lot about where hospitals and health care stand among Iowa’s priorities. Clearly, with 118 hospitals, more than 70,000 employees and $5.8 billion in economic impact, Iowans recognize the value that these institutions bring to their communities, our state and everyone’s quality of life.
Iowans are known for their generosity, but they are also thoughtful about their giving, especially in these times. Our hospitals continue to be a sound investment. And for those who want to contribute, hospitals offer their own legacy of giving and growth that instills community pride and individual achievement.
I would agree with this post and certainly have experienced the same at our facility. We set records for board and employee giving this year, with a 35% increase in employee giving from a year ago and a 73% increase in giving with our board members.
Our success is attributed to increased communication and goal setting with the campaign as well as the involvement of our staff and board members in garnering participation in the campaign. We made the campaign less of an “ask” with a letter and focused more on events throughout the two weeks calling attention to the campaign and built it on a competitive “race” theme.
We really stressed the importance of participation and not so much on the goal. This was the first year in our foundation’s history that we have eclipsed our goal of $20,000 raised with our employees.
It will come as no surprise for many that have been raising funds for our hospitals for several years, but people have been more cautious about donating for any cause in the recent past. They have become much more careful and informed about who they are supporting. For those of us promoting healthcare philanthropy in Iowa, that’s great news! We have a great story to tell and can readily show how donations have made our organizations better because of it. Here at BVRMC, we have recently been the recipient of significant estate gifts. This, along with a good foundation of annual support, keeps us growing and financially sound. But before we think those of us fundraisers should get the credit, the truth is the support we receive is a direct result of the high quality care and personal attention given by the dedicated staff…at all levels. They deserve the thanks! Despite our challenges, Iowa healthcare workers continue to “do the right things.”