Every year, the Unity Medical Center governing board approves its fiscal year capital budget, and then we at the UMC Foundation start lining up financial resources provided by donors to meet those needs. 

The Foundation meets those needs in a variety of ways, including: 1) special events like the Harvest Auction, 2) annual interest earned by its endowment funds, or 3) community members who make larger commitments or pledges that can be paid slowly over time, usually five years, which may come with tax benefits. I thought I would focus on Item No. 3, our “major” donors, for this quarterly column. 

Once we have UMC’s budget priorities, the Foundation identifies prospective donors, based on past giving history and personal conversations. If you, your family or business has supported the Foundation since its inception in 1987 or through a major construction project such as the 2008 addition for the Medical Laboratory or Radiology Department, you may be included on this list. 

First of all, this group of our greatest supporters has earned the right to receive a timely update each year on our financial priorities. This tells them how we have built on their past support and continue to move forward. We may then ask these donors if they are able to continue their support of UMC through a new or renewed pledge. 

Sometimes a donor may respond that the time is not right, and that is OK. Maybe they have kids in college or limited income. Maybe they just need more information. As we continue having these conversations, we hope to reach donors at a point in their lives where they may have been thinking of making a philanthropic gift to their community to improve rural health care. Maybe they have been thinking about naming a space at UMC in memory or in honor of a family member. It’s like the saying we’ve all heard: “You just never know until you ask.” 

So that’s primarily what we do at the Foundation in between special events and seasonal giving days, starting with an introductory letter and moving into conversations over coffee or at our office. And each year, we reconfigure our prospective donor list to reflect the conversations that we’ve had with people as we learn what works best for them and what they feel strongly about. Ultimately we hope everyone appreciates these touchpoints, whether they result in a gift or not. 

Of course, I have to add that if you haven’t heard from us but you would be interested in making a gift, please let us know! The “list” is never 100 percent right, and we are always happy to get to know all of our donors.