Community Response to Historic Philanthropic Campaign Sets Records

MILWAUKEE, July 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hope to Health: The Campaign for the Medical College of Wisconsin and Froedtert Hospital, raised a record amount of philanthropic support from donors to support the campaign's broad strategic priorities, including cancer research, student scholarships, and new technologies to improve patient care and outcomes.

Contributions to the campaign, which commenced on July 1, 2015, totaled more than 50 percent of the original goal of $200 million.

"This campaign was about securing the future of healthcare for us all," said Linda Mellowes, an MCW emerita trustee, community leader and key advisor for the campaign. "I am immensely proud of what we have accomplished to build safer, healthier and more equitable communities."

John R. Raymond, Sr., MD, MCW president and CEO, launched the campaign with Cathy Jacobson, president and CEO of Froedtert Health, in 2015 to elevate access to research-based healthcare across the region, boost education programs for medical professionals, address the devastating burden of cancer and support partnerships with the community to reduce healthcare disparities.

"The leadership and generosity of our donors will benefit this community for generations," said Dr. Raymond. "These philanthropic investments bolster all of our work – from new medical discoveries that cure disease and treat injuries to addressing the health disparities that have kept our community behind economically and socially, including racial inequities that require our urgent attention."

"As the only adult academic health system in eastern Wisconsin, we already have been taking on the toughest problems in medicine and delivering care for patients and families not available anywhere else in the region," adds Jacobson. "Philanthropy sustains these efforts and demonstrates this community's strong endorsement that our work is critical to our future."

The campaign focused on four key pillars: accelerating research and advancing patient care, transforming healthcare education, leading the way in cancer research and care, and driving health and vitality for the community.

During the campaign, 48,603 gifts were received from 28,328 donors, including contributions from 17,973 new donors. MCW alumni contributed 15 percent of all gifts totaling $45 million. Gifts from MCW and Froedtert Hospital faculty and staff during the campaign totaled $9 million.

SOURCE Medical College of Wisconsin

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