As nonprofit facilities continue to face increasing financial challenges and uncertainties, executives are tapping and expanding their philanthropic activities to provide funding for vital construction projects, advanced health education, critical patient programs and unique medical technologies.
To learn more, Smart Business turned to Cecilia Belew, president of Saddleback Memorial Foundation in Laguna Hills and San Clemente, and Paul Stimson, director of Orange Coast Memorial Foundation in Fountain Valley.
Why is philanthropy so important?
Nonprofit hospitals typically began when concerned citizens raised funds to ensure local access to high-quality health care. Over the years, donors continued their support, helping add the programs, services and facilities necessary to keep pace with medical advances and innovations.
These are your community hospitals, and your philanthropy makes a difference. Even in difficult times, we are witnessing a larger number of philanthropic friends making decisions based on the fundamental reason people give — to make a difference and ensure the best health care is available close to home. To protect and enhance this kind of care, ongoing philanthropic investments are critical.
How does it impact hospitals?
Philanthropy elevates a life of success to a life of significance. We see people making that choice every day: children raising $12 for cancer research through a lemonade stand, individuals that fund charitable trusts and annuities making outright major gifts, board members who provide expert leadership, the hundreds of volunteers and organizations that sponsor fund-raising events. Many choose to fund endowments that provide sustainability to critical patient programs and continuing medical education.
Every gift we receive has a story. All stories begin with a philanthropic friend, continue through the work of our health care team and then impact the lives of our patients and our communities. Every week, premature babies are saved, elderly patients comforted, illnesses diagnosed, bones mended and lives saved — thanks to the generous philanthropy of individuals, corporations and private foundations in our caring communities.
Philanthropic donors and organizations are vital partners in achieving success at Orange Coast Memorial and Saddleback Memorial Medical Centers. This is especially true during a time when hospitals are challenged in securing the newest technology and in expanding programs to meet the needs of the community. Thanks to the countless philanthropic friends, our hospitals are able to add the programs, services and facilities necessary to keep pace with the latest advances. And all our philanthropic friends appreciate the value of having extraordinary patient care today and in the future.
