LWW/NAQ
NAQ-D-14-00040
September 4, 2014
16:49
Nurs Admin Q Vol. 38, No. 4, pp. 294–298 c 2014 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Copyright
Fund-raising Tips for Nurse Leaders and Nurse Executives Joyce J. Fitzpatrick, PhD, MBA, RN, FAAN Fund-raising may be new to most nurse leaders and executives. This article focuses on dispelling the myths and mystery that surrounds nursing philanthropy. Key myths are addressed with supporting information to dispel them. Several practical tips are presented to enhance nurse leaders’ involvement in philanthropy. Two recent gifts to hospital nursing departments are described as exemplars of relationship building and of nurses investing in their own future and that of the profession. Key words: endowed chair, nursing research, philanthropy
M
Y INTRODUCTION to fund-raising began immediately after I assumed the position of dean at one of the top private schools of nursing in the United States. As dean colleagues will attest, fund-raising is a major part of the role of academic nurse leaders, especially in private schools of nursing. Since I left the dean role, I have spent much time working with chief nursing officers and nurse leaders at all levels within hospitals and major health systems, where it has been rewarding to see that many of my students are now leaders in major health systems. I have been able to observe that the demands within health care delivery systems seem to leave little time for nurse leaders to even think about the responsibility of fund-raising and even less time to practice or learn the new skills required to become an expert in this arena. It is important for our profession to make the work of fund-raising transparent and to demonstrate how this work can be integrated
Author Affiliation: Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. The author declares no conflict of interest. Correspondence: Joyce J. Fitzpatrick, PhD, MBA, RN, FAAN, Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44106 ([email protected]). DOI: 10.1097/NAQ.0000000000000055
into everything else nurse leaders do. In fact, fund-raising is integral to what we know as nurses and it can be integral to what we do as nurses. We have the skill set needed (excellence in communication and relationship building) but have not specifically directed these skills toward generation of new resources to support our nursing work. We have not yet embraced the philanthropic model used by health care executives and physicians. Most nurses say that they do not want to ask for money, therefore shying away from fund-raising, and much of the nursing work that is done in our health care delivery organizations remains invisible to patients and families. There is a common lack of involvement of nurse leaders with key staff members of the development departments of the health care institutions. Thus, when grateful patients want to make donations in recognition of the excellent care that they receive, they most often give the money to support medicine, which is visible. To help nurse leaders become comfortable with philanthropy, it is important to dispel some myths about fund-raising. Then, it is essential for nurses to develop specific skills and activities that can help take individuals to the first step in philanthropy. Myth 1: Fund-raising is just about asking for money. The description of their work by those who make fund-raising their profession is that fund-raising is
294 Copyright © 2014 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
LWW/NAQ
NAQ-D-14-00040
September 4, 2014
16:49
Fund-raising Tips for Nurse Leaders and Nurse Executives at the heart “friend-raising.” Nursing is, at its core, about relationship building, with patients, families, clinical colleagues, and the community. Nurses, and nurse leaders, know how to build relationships, across disciplines and departments. Relationships matter. And relationships matter a great deal in fundraising. People give to people, and they give gifts to health care institutions that they know, based on who they know and trust within the institution. Since nurses have consistently been judged by the public as being trustworthy, we should be able to build on this trust in our philanthropic work. Myth 2: Successful fund-raising is easy if you know the right people. While the basic principles of fund-raising may seem simple to understand, fund-raising requires work. To be successful and maintain success over time (ie, more than the first gift, and more than a onetime gift), fund-raising requires careful planning, implementation, and evaluation. Again, these are skills that are familiar to nurse leaders in the context of their work and skills that can be applied to their work in philanthropy. Fundraising requires you to know your organization, from the inside out and the outside in; knowing what the organization needs to move to the next level of excellence; and knowing who has the money, and the interest (or potential interest) to support that movement. It is also important to know how much donors can give. Myth 3: People give only out of selfinterest. Individuals give money for several reasons. They may want to invest in an institution that is near and dear to their hearts and for the good work they perceive is being done. They may want to honor a loved one or recognize a teacher or mentor who has been supportive of them. They may also want to leave personal legacies or memorialize family members who have been personally influential. It is most impor-
295
tant to remember that it is the donors’ choice as to what to support and how to frame and name a gift. At the same time, nurse leaders can help potential donors understand nursing and the role nurses play in quality care delivery, education, and research. We are used to translating health care jargon for patients and families and can use our communication skills to translate the value of nursing care to potential donors. Fund-raising is first and foremost about doing important and necessary work. Money is the means for doing that work. Patients (and their family members) are often not aware that nurses are monitoring them, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, while they are in the hospital. They are often not aware that we are doing a complete assessment when we are asking them questions about their health or how they slept or ate. They are often not aware of the holistic approach we take because they only see nurses doing tasks, and we do not make our work explicit to them. In a recent study, my colleagues and I completed and published in the inaugural issue of the Journal of the Patient Experience, there were differences in how patients and nurses described nurse caring behaviors.1 Nurses saw their health teaching, and their support and listening, as caring behaviors. Patients indicated that nurses provided information to them, but they did not identify nurses’ health teaching as an important caring behavior. This small study was instructive. It demonstrated for us that we need to help nurses learn to be more explicit in their communications with patients and to tell patients about each nursing action that they initiate. Nurses often take their work for granted and do not understand the importance of educating others about it. Telling our story is important. Nurses save lives through their monitoring, through their recognition of changes in health status of patients, and through their constant attention to quality and safety issues. Of course, nurses do not do this work alone, but as all nurse leaders know, without nurses the health system would not function.
Copyright © 2014 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
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NURSING ADMINISTRATION QUARTERLY/OCTOBER–DECEMBER 2014
EXEMPLARS Two recent gifts, both to hospital nursing departments in major health care institutions, offer evidence of nurses giving to nursing, demonstrating the value we hold for our own profession. There are, no doubt, many other examples that can be cited, as in the past decade, nursing philanthropy has made strides. Both of the gifts described later exemplify the components of successful fundraising identified earlier. The first is a gift given by a hospitalbased nursing school alumnae association. The school is no longer in existence. It was a diploma school that closed in 1971, but the association is still very active. In December 2013, the alumni made a major gift to the Nursing Department at the Mount Sinai Hospital (New York). They invested in nursing education and research. The gift included $100 000 to be placed in an endowment fund and $100 000 to support current research and education projects. In the words of Dr Theodora Sirota, President of the Mount Sinai School of Nursing Alumnae Association: We realized . . . just how significant it is for a nursing organization to offer philanthropy that benefits activities related to advancement of the profession and how such gifts can help move a Nursing Department into a new sphere of recognition in the perception of other disciplines within an institution. It also helps to infuse a Nursing Department with a broader sense of purpose and desire to excel. It’s very good for the self-esteem of all who work so hard to advance new nursing knowledge and evidence-based clinical best practices. And I think it sends a message for all nursing organizations to be more aware of the current and future trends in nursing practice and research and the need to support them. It sets a precedent for others nurses and non-nurses, to offer further philanthropy.
The second exemplar is a gift from a hospital board member, Marian Shaughnessy, RN, and her husband, Michael. This gift was made to support the next phase of stellar nursing leadership at University Hospitals of Cleveland. The Shaughnessy’s gift of $1.25 million
is the largest nursing-specific contribution in the history of the hospital and will endow a Director of Nursing Education position. In the words of Marian Shaughnessy: “A lesson I’ve learned as a nurse inspires me as a philanthropist: that giving is more joyous than receiving. When we give to others we experience renewal and joy.” WHAT CAN YOU DO DIFFERENTLY TO GENERATE RESOURCES THROUGH PHILANTHROPY? 1. The first step is to be a giver yourself. Give some of your own funds to an organization that is engaged in nursing work. Most of us are approached by the schools of nursing from which we graduated. If we were recipients of scholarships given by the school, or by organizations or individuals who supported the school, we should give forward to the next generation of nurses. Many of us are approached by professional nursing organizations or foundations that directly target nursing work, for example, the American Nurses Foundation. If we truly believe that our work as nurses is important, we should support our own organization’s work. 2. Build relationships with key members of your organization, including but not limited to the members of the Board of Trustees and the Development Office, as well as formal and informal leaders. It is important that these key stakeholders know who you are, as a person and as a leader. It is critical that they know the work of nurses within the organization. Regular meetings are required to inform them of all new developments. They should receive written materials such as Annual Reports, synopses of current nursing research and practice innovations taking place within the organization, and any news of the nursing department. Visibility is key to success. 3. Participate in all events that honor the hospital and health care system,
Copyright © 2014 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
LWW/NAQ
NAQ-D-14-00040
September 4, 2014
16:49
Fund-raising Tips for Nurse Leaders and Nurse Executives and all events that celebrate the work of others, for example, nurses and other health care colleagues honored by their professional organizations or by specialty organizations, such as the American Heart Association. If there is a reception to honor donors, be sure to attend even if the donors have no current link to the nursing department. All of these events provide an opportunity to build relationships and to understand the philanthropic culture of your institution and of related health care organizations and societies. 4. Educate yourself about philanthropy. There are books and articles that provide information that will be helpful to you as you discover the world of nursing philanthropy.2-5 Some of your colleagues have blazed a trail, and they can provide advice and support as you make your way and learn new skills. As with other activities, it helps to have a supportive group of colleagues. Nurse leaders in academic institutions can provide expert advice. My best estimate (based on prior research) is that there are now about 300 endowed professorships in schools of nursing, with endowments for each of these professorships ranging from $100 000 to more than $2.9 million. Endowments of positions in hospital nursing departments are new, and there are obvious opportunities for donors to give to both the schools and the hospital nursing departments for the creation of joint endowments. These funds would support joint appointments to senior leadership positions between schools of nursing and health systems, an important step as nursing advances its academic-clinical partnerships. 5. Review the main Web site of your institution. Is nursing visible on the front page? Is nursing visible at all on the institution’s Web site, or is it assumed that the nursing is subsumed under the typical medical departments? Make
297
the necessary changes for nursing and nurses to be visible, and make certain the Web site is routinely updated to be attractive and current. 6. Make your work as a nurse and a nurse leader explicit, and teach other nurses at your institution to do the same. In fund-raising, there is no room for selfeffacing behavior, for ourselves as individuals or for the profession. The public and our patients need to know the value of nursing care. They need to know that quality nursing care saves lives. They need to know that nursing education and research are important to quality nursing care delivery. 7. There is much research to support innovation and excellence in nursing care provision, but most people are not aware that nursing is a discipline with strong academic and research components. Examples of research funded through the National Institute of Nursing Research can help inform the key constituents and potential donors. Nurse “edge-runners” identified by the American Academy of Nursing for their cutting-edge nursing contributions can be profiled, especially edge-runners who live and work in your community. They can be invited to speak at nursing Grand Rounds and at other institution-wide events. 8. Know where the nurses are in your organization’s community of influence. My experience is that most individuals have at least one close connection to a nurse. If there is a nurse on the Board of Trustees, befriend that nurse. This nurse can be your greatest supporter. If there is not a nurse on the board, lobby to have a nurse appointed. Find out if there are nurses who are mothers, sisters, brothers, spouses/significant others, daughters, or sons of CEOs and other prominent members of your organizations’ community. One of my best connections to a corporate CEO occurred when I was referred to him
Copyright © 2014 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
LWW/NAQ
298
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September 4, 2014
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NURSING ADMINISTRATION QUARTERLY/OCTOBER–DECEMBER 2014
by a high school friend, who was another nurse editor I met at a national nursing meeting. 9. Attend to the image of nursing within your institution. Professionalism is important in how we look and what we do and say. Polished verbal and nonverbal communications are important. 10. Make certain that you are an active member of the community in which you live and work. Become involved in work other than your job. Join a board of a nonprofit organization, for example, a school, a church group, a local foundation, or a social service agency. You will learn about board governance and the expectations of board members. You will learn to share your work, wisdom, and wealth. In summary, there are 2 key tenets to successful fund-raising. First, it matters what
you know. Competence in care delivery and knowledge development are critical to garnering support. Donors want to invest in stellar programs that will be successful in achieving the goals set forth by the nurse leader. Second, it matters who you know. People give to people, not to mission statements or to strategic plans. Donors and potential donors want to meet the leader and want to trust that the leader knows how to achieve the goals identified. The relationship that you build with individuals will last and will benefit the nursing program and the profession in years to come. Small and large gifts to nursing are meaningful and, once publicized, raise the awareness of what we collectively do. Large gifts serve as beacons to others who might be considering a gift. There is great potential for future development of nursing philanthropy, and nurse leaders can pave the way.
REFERENCES 1. Modic MB, Siedlecki SL, Quinn Griffin MT, Fitzpatrick JJ. Caring behaviors: perceptions of acute care nurses and hospitalized patients with diabetes. J Patient Exp. 2014;1(1):28-32. 2. Fitzpatrick JJ, Deller SS. Fundraising for Health Care Executives. New York, NY: Springer Publishing; 2000. 3. Fitzpatrick JJ, Fitzpatrick ML, Dressler MB. Endowed chairs and professorships in schools of
nursing: a 2004 update. J Prof Nurs. 2005;21:244252. 4. Judge K. Philanthropy and nursing leadership. In:Glazer G, Fitzpatrick JJ, eds. Nursing Leadership From the Outside In. New York, NY: Springer Publishing; 2013:125-132. 5. Nickitas DM. The gift of giving: nurse philanthropy. Nurs Econ. 2011;29(6):297, 316.
Copyright © 2014 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
NAQ-D-14-00040
September 4, 2014
16:49
Nurs Admin Q Vol. 38, No. 4, pp. 294–298 c 2014 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Copyright
Fund-raising Tips for Nurse Leaders and Nurse Executives Joyce J. Fitzpatrick, PhD, MBA, RN, FAAN Fund-raising may be new to most nurse leaders and executives. This article focuses on dispelling the myths and mystery that surrounds nursing philanthropy. Key myths are addressed with supporting information to dispel them. Several practical tips are presented to enhance nurse leaders’ involvement in philanthropy. Two recent gifts to hospital nursing departments are described as exemplars of relationship building and of nurses investing in their own future and that of the profession. Key words: endowed chair, nursing research, philanthropy
M
Y INTRODUCTION to fund-raising began immediately after I assumed the position of dean at one of the top private schools of nursing in the United States. As dean colleagues will attest, fund-raising is a major part of the role of academic nurse leaders, especially in private schools of nursing. Since I left the dean role, I have spent much time working with chief nursing officers and nurse leaders at all levels within hospitals and major health systems, where it has been rewarding to see that many of my students are now leaders in major health systems. I have been able to observe that the demands within health care delivery systems seem to leave little time for nurse leaders to even think about the responsibility of fund-raising and even less time to practice or learn the new skills required to become an expert in this arena. It is important for our profession to make the work of fund-raising transparent and to demonstrate how this work can be integrated
Author Affiliation: Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. The author declares no conflict of interest. Correspondence: Joyce J. Fitzpatrick, PhD, MBA, RN, FAAN, Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44106 ([email protected]). DOI: 10.1097/NAQ.0000000000000055
into everything else nurse leaders do. In fact, fund-raising is integral to what we know as nurses and it can be integral to what we do as nurses. We have the skill set needed (excellence in communication and relationship building) but have not specifically directed these skills toward generation of new resources to support our nursing work. We have not yet embraced the philanthropic model used by health care executives and physicians. Most nurses say that they do not want to ask for money, therefore shying away from fund-raising, and much of the nursing work that is done in our health care delivery organizations remains invisible to patients and families. There is a common lack of involvement of nurse leaders with key staff members of the development departments of the health care institutions. Thus, when grateful patients want to make donations in recognition of the excellent care that they receive, they most often give the money to support medicine, which is visible. To help nurse leaders become comfortable with philanthropy, it is important to dispel some myths about fund-raising. Then, it is essential for nurses to develop specific skills and activities that can help take individuals to the first step in philanthropy. Myth 1: Fund-raising is just about asking for money. The description of their work by those who make fund-raising their profession is that fund-raising is
294 Copyright © 2014 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
LWW/NAQ
NAQ-D-14-00040
September 4, 2014
16:49
Fund-raising Tips for Nurse Leaders and Nurse Executives at the heart “friend-raising.” Nursing is, at its core, about relationship building, with patients, families, clinical colleagues, and the community. Nurses, and nurse leaders, know how to build relationships, across disciplines and departments. Relationships matter. And relationships matter a great deal in fundraising. People give to people, and they give gifts to health care institutions that they know, based on who they know and trust within the institution. Since nurses have consistently been judged by the public as being trustworthy, we should be able to build on this trust in our philanthropic work. Myth 2: Successful fund-raising is easy if you know the right people. While the basic principles of fund-raising may seem simple to understand, fund-raising requires work. To be successful and maintain success over time (ie, more than the first gift, and more than a onetime gift), fund-raising requires careful planning, implementation, and evaluation. Again, these are skills that are familiar to nurse leaders in the context of their work and skills that can be applied to their work in philanthropy. Fundraising requires you to know your organization, from the inside out and the outside in; knowing what the organization needs to move to the next level of excellence; and knowing who has the money, and the interest (or potential interest) to support that movement. It is also important to know how much donors can give. Myth 3: People give only out of selfinterest. Individuals give money for several reasons. They may want to invest in an institution that is near and dear to their hearts and for the good work they perceive is being done. They may want to honor a loved one or recognize a teacher or mentor who has been supportive of them. They may also want to leave personal legacies or memorialize family members who have been personally influential. It is most impor-
295
tant to remember that it is the donors’ choice as to what to support and how to frame and name a gift. At the same time, nurse leaders can help potential donors understand nursing and the role nurses play in quality care delivery, education, and research. We are used to translating health care jargon for patients and families and can use our communication skills to translate the value of nursing care to potential donors. Fund-raising is first and foremost about doing important and necessary work. Money is the means for doing that work. Patients (and their family members) are often not aware that nurses are monitoring them, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, while they are in the hospital. They are often not aware that we are doing a complete assessment when we are asking them questions about their health or how they slept or ate. They are often not aware of the holistic approach we take because they only see nurses doing tasks, and we do not make our work explicit to them. In a recent study, my colleagues and I completed and published in the inaugural issue of the Journal of the Patient Experience, there were differences in how patients and nurses described nurse caring behaviors.1 Nurses saw their health teaching, and their support and listening, as caring behaviors. Patients indicated that nurses provided information to them, but they did not identify nurses’ health teaching as an important caring behavior. This small study was instructive. It demonstrated for us that we need to help nurses learn to be more explicit in their communications with patients and to tell patients about each nursing action that they initiate. Nurses often take their work for granted and do not understand the importance of educating others about it. Telling our story is important. Nurses save lives through their monitoring, through their recognition of changes in health status of patients, and through their constant attention to quality and safety issues. Of course, nurses do not do this work alone, but as all nurse leaders know, without nurses the health system would not function.
Copyright © 2014 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
LWW/NAQ
296
NAQ-D-14-00040
September 4, 2014
16:49
NURSING ADMINISTRATION QUARTERLY/OCTOBER–DECEMBER 2014
EXEMPLARS Two recent gifts, both to hospital nursing departments in major health care institutions, offer evidence of nurses giving to nursing, demonstrating the value we hold for our own profession. There are, no doubt, many other examples that can be cited, as in the past decade, nursing philanthropy has made strides. Both of the gifts described later exemplify the components of successful fundraising identified earlier. The first is a gift given by a hospitalbased nursing school alumnae association. The school is no longer in existence. It was a diploma school that closed in 1971, but the association is still very active. In December 2013, the alumni made a major gift to the Nursing Department at the Mount Sinai Hospital (New York). They invested in nursing education and research. The gift included $100 000 to be placed in an endowment fund and $100 000 to support current research and education projects. In the words of Dr Theodora Sirota, President of the Mount Sinai School of Nursing Alumnae Association: We realized . . . just how significant it is for a nursing organization to offer philanthropy that benefits activities related to advancement of the profession and how such gifts can help move a Nursing Department into a new sphere of recognition in the perception of other disciplines within an institution. It also helps to infuse a Nursing Department with a broader sense of purpose and desire to excel. It’s very good for the self-esteem of all who work so hard to advance new nursing knowledge and evidence-based clinical best practices. And I think it sends a message for all nursing organizations to be more aware of the current and future trends in nursing practice and research and the need to support them. It sets a precedent for others nurses and non-nurses, to offer further philanthropy.
The second exemplar is a gift from a hospital board member, Marian Shaughnessy, RN, and her husband, Michael. This gift was made to support the next phase of stellar nursing leadership at University Hospitals of Cleveland. The Shaughnessy’s gift of $1.25 million
is the largest nursing-specific contribution in the history of the hospital and will endow a Director of Nursing Education position. In the words of Marian Shaughnessy: “A lesson I’ve learned as a nurse inspires me as a philanthropist: that giving is more joyous than receiving. When we give to others we experience renewal and joy.” WHAT CAN YOU DO DIFFERENTLY TO GENERATE RESOURCES THROUGH PHILANTHROPY? 1. The first step is to be a giver yourself. Give some of your own funds to an organization that is engaged in nursing work. Most of us are approached by the schools of nursing from which we graduated. If we were recipients of scholarships given by the school, or by organizations or individuals who supported the school, we should give forward to the next generation of nurses. Many of us are approached by professional nursing organizations or foundations that directly target nursing work, for example, the American Nurses Foundation. If we truly believe that our work as nurses is important, we should support our own organization’s work. 2. Build relationships with key members of your organization, including but not limited to the members of the Board of Trustees and the Development Office, as well as formal and informal leaders. It is important that these key stakeholders know who you are, as a person and as a leader. It is critical that they know the work of nurses within the organization. Regular meetings are required to inform them of all new developments. They should receive written materials such as Annual Reports, synopses of current nursing research and practice innovations taking place within the organization, and any news of the nursing department. Visibility is key to success. 3. Participate in all events that honor the hospital and health care system,
Copyright © 2014 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
LWW/NAQ
NAQ-D-14-00040
September 4, 2014
16:49
Fund-raising Tips for Nurse Leaders and Nurse Executives and all events that celebrate the work of others, for example, nurses and other health care colleagues honored by their professional organizations or by specialty organizations, such as the American Heart Association. If there is a reception to honor donors, be sure to attend even if the donors have no current link to the nursing department. All of these events provide an opportunity to build relationships and to understand the philanthropic culture of your institution and of related health care organizations and societies. 4. Educate yourself about philanthropy. There are books and articles that provide information that will be helpful to you as you discover the world of nursing philanthropy.2-5 Some of your colleagues have blazed a trail, and they can provide advice and support as you make your way and learn new skills. As with other activities, it helps to have a supportive group of colleagues. Nurse leaders in academic institutions can provide expert advice. My best estimate (based on prior research) is that there are now about 300 endowed professorships in schools of nursing, with endowments for each of these professorships ranging from $100 000 to more than $2.9 million. Endowments of positions in hospital nursing departments are new, and there are obvious opportunities for donors to give to both the schools and the hospital nursing departments for the creation of joint endowments. These funds would support joint appointments to senior leadership positions between schools of nursing and health systems, an important step as nursing advances its academic-clinical partnerships. 5. Review the main Web site of your institution. Is nursing visible on the front page? Is nursing visible at all on the institution’s Web site, or is it assumed that the nursing is subsumed under the typical medical departments? Make
297
the necessary changes for nursing and nurses to be visible, and make certain the Web site is routinely updated to be attractive and current. 6. Make your work as a nurse and a nurse leader explicit, and teach other nurses at your institution to do the same. In fund-raising, there is no room for selfeffacing behavior, for ourselves as individuals or for the profession. The public and our patients need to know the value of nursing care. They need to know that quality nursing care saves lives. They need to know that nursing education and research are important to quality nursing care delivery. 7. There is much research to support innovation and excellence in nursing care provision, but most people are not aware that nursing is a discipline with strong academic and research components. Examples of research funded through the National Institute of Nursing Research can help inform the key constituents and potential donors. Nurse “edge-runners” identified by the American Academy of Nursing for their cutting-edge nursing contributions can be profiled, especially edge-runners who live and work in your community. They can be invited to speak at nursing Grand Rounds and at other institution-wide events. 8. Know where the nurses are in your organization’s community of influence. My experience is that most individuals have at least one close connection to a nurse. If there is a nurse on the Board of Trustees, befriend that nurse. This nurse can be your greatest supporter. If there is not a nurse on the board, lobby to have a nurse appointed. Find out if there are nurses who are mothers, sisters, brothers, spouses/significant others, daughters, or sons of CEOs and other prominent members of your organizations’ community. One of my best connections to a corporate CEO occurred when I was referred to him
Copyright © 2014 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
LWW/NAQ
298
NAQ-D-14-00040
September 4, 2014
16:49
NURSING ADMINISTRATION QUARTERLY/OCTOBER–DECEMBER 2014
by a high school friend, who was another nurse editor I met at a national nursing meeting. 9. Attend to the image of nursing within your institution. Professionalism is important in how we look and what we do and say. Polished verbal and nonverbal communications are important. 10. Make certain that you are an active member of the community in which you live and work. Become involved in work other than your job. Join a board of a nonprofit organization, for example, a school, a church group, a local foundation, or a social service agency. You will learn about board governance and the expectations of board members. You will learn to share your work, wisdom, and wealth. In summary, there are 2 key tenets to successful fund-raising. First, it matters what
you know. Competence in care delivery and knowledge development are critical to garnering support. Donors want to invest in stellar programs that will be successful in achieving the goals set forth by the nurse leader. Second, it matters who you know. People give to people, not to mission statements or to strategic plans. Donors and potential donors want to meet the leader and want to trust that the leader knows how to achieve the goals identified. The relationship that you build with individuals will last and will benefit the nursing program and the profession in years to come. Small and large gifts to nursing are meaningful and, once publicized, raise the awareness of what we collectively do. Large gifts serve as beacons to others who might be considering a gift. There is great potential for future development of nursing philanthropy, and nurse leaders can pave the way.
REFERENCES 1. Modic MB, Siedlecki SL, Quinn Griffin MT, Fitzpatrick JJ. Caring behaviors: perceptions of acute care nurses and hospitalized patients with diabetes. J Patient Exp. 2014;1(1):28-32. 2. Fitzpatrick JJ, Deller SS. Fundraising for Health Care Executives. New York, NY: Springer Publishing; 2000. 3. Fitzpatrick JJ, Fitzpatrick ML, Dressler MB. Endowed chairs and professorships in schools of
nursing: a 2004 update. J Prof Nurs. 2005;21:244252. 4. Judge K. Philanthropy and nursing leadership. In:Glazer G, Fitzpatrick JJ, eds. Nursing Leadership From the Outside In. New York, NY: Springer Publishing; 2013:125-132. 5. Nickitas DM. The gift of giving: nurse philanthropy. Nurs Econ. 2011;29(6):297, 316.
Copyright © 2014 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
