Many of these conversations tend to start with a question: “Laurie, how can I help?” I always answer that question with a few questions of my own: What are you passionate about? Why are you interested in helping us? What are you hoping to accomplish with your philanthropy?
The answers always vary—but they never fail to inspire me. Donors share deeply personal stories of loved ones they’ve lost or who were saved through medical intervention at Providence. Maybe someone lost a father to heart disease or has a sister who is winning her battle with breast cancer. Perhaps someone has a child who benefitted from life-saving care or a best friend whose memory they want to honor.
I’m always touched when people choose to share these profound and often very private experiences with me. The Sisters at St. Joseph have a name for these kinds of interactions—the sacred encounter. It’s about the moment when we as caregivers find deeper meaning in our daily work and share our core values of trust, compassion and respect. I think it’s a beautiful concept, and it’s what drives me to guide our donors to the match that will best serve their needs.”
A tailored approach
Once I have an idea of where a donor’s general interests lie, then it’s time to get specific. Let’s say they’re interested in supporting maternal health. There are so many options to give within that realm, from research to community outreach to funding new equipment or even helping build something like a new NICU. I’ll lay out all the different possibilities, and from there, they can decide how they’d like to designate a gift.
Of course, it could be they just really want to give to the area of greatest need—and that’s wonderful, too. Philanthropy can be instrumental in many high-impact ways to better serve a community, for instance it can help build a new emergency department, fund critical services or help create progress toward something of great importance like health equity.
During COVID, I received calls from people who just want to do something—anything—to support their communities. They’d say, “I’m feeling so helpless over here. What can I do?”
There’s always a need. In this case, we were able to purchase more ventilators and PPE to provide to our front-line workers. Those sorts of undesignated gifts are always welcome and allow us to do a lot of good behind the scenes.
The best gift is the one that matters the most personally
Whether you as a donor are interested in supporting Providence or the arts or education or some other worthy organization, my best advice is to make sure it’s something that truly resonates with you, because those are the kinds of gifts that will bring you the greatest satisfaction and fulfillment.
If you’re not sure where to start, I suggest you take some time to really think about the causes you’re most passionate about and understand the work that’s being done around them. The Providence Foundations website does a great job of showcasing different areas where philanthropy can make an impact. Each of our 40+ Foundation sites contain lots of information about different projects and initiatives that will become a reality with donor support—feel to reach out to us to learn more.
Above all, I want you and all my wonderful donors, to know that I’m always here to listen. Because the more I understand what motivates you, the better I can help you give back and create incredible impact.
Want to chat? I’m all ears. Laurie.Kelley@Providence.org
