The following release was sent by the Belleville General Hospital Foundation
Leadership of the Belleville General Hospital Foundation team and Board was duly acknowledged late last week as Foundation representatives announced another successful year of fundraising for the benefit of BGH – Quinte Health’s Regional Secondary Hospital.
In spite of post pandemic pressures, the Foundation committed and paid over $1.6m towards critical replacement equipment, oncology drug funding and staff healthcare education. Remaining funds were invested into the Foundation’s portfolio for the purpose of addressing important regional programs such as the incoming Nuclear Medicine Camera replacement project, which will see the replacement of 3 cameras, intended to help diagnose cancer and serious disease at Belleville. The project represents a $3m+ investment from the Foundation as an important diagnostic program for the region. Elsewhere the Foundation facilitated $1m of investment into the newly opened ICU at BGH.
‘The community put their best foot forward in a big way,’ announced BGHF Executive Director Steven Cook. ‘In many ways 2022 represented a transition year for us with the recruitment of 3 new team members for the purpose of achieving revenue growth.’ Our vision is to become a sustainable $5m+ per year organization.
Board members acknowledged a range of new and exciting initiatives hailing the results of the Foundation’s Lotto Super Draws, particularly. The quarterly draws represent a means to engage new donors and achieve Foundation capacity goals as part of an aggressive multiyear strategic plan. Looking to the future it was acknowledged that the digital platforms could bring in more than $700,000 in the current 2023 financial year, representing an incredible growth opportunity that has been 2 years in the making. ‘This paves the way for larger Super Draws across the entire catchment and Province, commented Cook with plans in place to move into the Home Lotto Super Draw Space.
Highlighted successes included BGHF’s Annual Fundraising Gala, which saw over $500,000 raised in just 30 minutes to deliver over $725,000 on the night under a ‘Havana Nights’ theme. The committee also acknowledged the pilot success of the Foundation’s regional door to door canvassing campaign, signing up over 500 monthly donors as part of a major acquisition project designed to create affinity for Quinte Health’s Dr Douglas A Macintosh Clinic at the Belleville General Hospital site. The project saw a financial forecast of $179,000 announced on a revenue line previously delivering just $40,000 per annum from monthly donors.
The Foundation’s expenses represented a fair and consistent approach, year on year, with allowances made for staff development against future growth and return on investment. Annually, the cost to raise a dollar has fluctuated from $0.20 to $0.25 year on year. Tracey Bray, BGH Foundation Board Chair thanked the community for their generous support again this year, noting that raising funds for the Belleville General Hospital site was becoming ever more important with the pressures involved in a growing population and the need to sustain regional health programs delivered at the hospital.
In closing, the Board congratulated the work of the BGH Foundation team, recognizing that core revenue lines were following a strong upwards trajectory to help meet future hospital equipment needs. Areas of prominence included direct mail growth over a 5 year period from $280,000 annually to $511,000 and third party events from $284,000 annually to over $561,000.
Peter Knudsen, Treasurer of the Foundation, reported that the Foundation’s investment portfolio remained strong in-spite of a market downturn in 2022 and had seen compounded growth of 4 ¾ % since 2019, helping to support future capital project requirements.
We thank the community for their ongoing support!
