Golf is a Winning Fundraising Strategy
Fore! A Good Cause
hen it comes to raising money, golf has become
a big player. No one knows that better than University of Miami President
Donna E. Shalala.
She recently told Golf Digest magazine that as chancellor of the University
of Wisconsin in 1987, the trustees recommended taking up golf if she
were going to fundraise effectively. “So I went to golf school,” Shalala
says. “Now as president of the University of Miami, we’ve
announced a $1 billion campaign. We’ve already raised half of it,
and I’ve done a lot of the fundraising on the golf course.”
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Several programs at the School of Medicine have a long tradition linking them to the links when it comes to fundraising. For example, The Buoniconti Fund, the national fundraising arm of The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, has perfected the celebrity event. Film and sports legends who took part in the Roger King Annual Celebrity Golf Tournament in Atlantic City last summer raised nearly $1 million for spinal cord injury research.
South Florida golfing legend Jack Nicklaus is doing his part to help cure paralysis. For the second year in a row, he sponsored a celebrity tournament at The Bear’s Club, his magnificent world-class home course in Jupiter, Florida. So far the event has raised more than $1 million. “Jack Nicklaus joins us in our goal of seeing millions around the world rise from their wheelchairs and walk again,” says Nick Buoniconti, co-founder of The Miami Project and member of the University’s board of trustees. “We are grateful for his friendship and his home course.”
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This year marked the eighth annual ALS Golf Classic to benefit the UM ALS Research Foundation. The tournament was started by the late Jose Perez, a patient with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s disease. He developed the golf outing as a way to increase awareness and research funds for the disease that later took his life after a ten-year battle. Since its inception, the tournament has raised close to $1 million for ALS research in the Department of Neurology.
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The Department of Pediatrics is also on the
golf circuit. This year the department held its Third Annual Children’s
Million-Dollar Celebrity Golf Classic sponsored by the Batchelor
Foundation. The two-day event
at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa featured a million-dollar hole-in-one
contest (unfortunately, no one won). In just three years, the tournament
has brought in nearly $1 million.
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Shopping for a Cause
Daniel and Leslee Shooster, owners of Festival Marketplace, got the mall merchants and other vendors to donate items such as jewelry, digital cameras, original artwork, and even vacations. The merchandise was put on the block for silent and live auctions during the anniversary celebration. When the bidding was over, more than $70,000 was raised for MS. |
n
any given day, the Festival Marketplace in Pompano Beach is crammed
with shoppers prowling its 400,000 square feet looking for the
best buys. But last November, when the owners and mall merchants
celebrated
the center’s 12th anniversary, they weren’t thinking
about themselves. Instead the celebration turned into a fundraiser
for multiple sclerosis research in the School of Medicine’s
Department of Neurology.sylvester foundation makes lead campaign gift
Conquering Cancer
he University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center has a bold
vision—to join the ranks of the best cancer centers in the world.
That vision inspired the official launch of UM/Sylvester’s $137
million campaign at the Milhous Museum in Boca Raton. The ambitious drive
is part of the University’s comprehensive fundraising initiative,
Momentum: The Campaign for the University of Miami.
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“Through the generosity and dedicated work of thousands of donors, we will be able to expand our research programs to new frontiers, recruit world-renowned physicians and scientists, enhance facilities, and most importantly, offer new hope to cancer patients and their families,” UM/Sylvester director W. Jarrard Goodwin, M.D., told donors and friends gathered at the museum.
A lead campaign gift of $11.5 million from the Harcourt M. and Virginia W. Sylvester Foundation was recognized at the event. The latest donation brings the Sylvester family’s total giving to UM to $50 million and makes them members of the newly formed Millennium Society, which honors those who have contributed $50 million or more to the University. It was the Sylvesters’ generosity that created the cancer center, which opened its doors in 1992.
Since then UM/Sylvester has become a world-class
institution, paving the way to multidisciplinary research and patient
care. Jayne Malfitano,
daughter
of Harcourt Sylvester, Jr., says, “My father feels a great connection
with all the people he comes in contact with at UM/Sylvester, and that
inspires him to do more. He has always been so understated; he just wants
to make a difference.”
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Investing in Ourselves
he University of Miami School of Medicine launched its faculty campaign during
an open house in January following groundbreaking ceremonies for the clinical
research building and wellness center. Faculty members learned that $1.8
million had been raised from senior leadership, clinical chairs, and center
directors.
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John G. Clarkson, M.D. ’68, senior vice president for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, challenged the faculty to help transform the school “from good to great.” He reminded the audience, “Fifty years ago we began the dream. Today, we are uniquely positioned to take this extraordinary leap into the forefront of medical excellence—nationally and worldwide.”
Bernard J. Fogel, M.D. ’61, dean emeritus and campaign co-chair, observed, “The medical school faculty are the most giving of any group of people, whether it be time, compassion, or empathy. The symbolic nature of a financial gift simply reinforces the behavioral pattern of this commitment to the next level.”
Michael Lewis, M.D., speaker of the Faculty Council, added, “Faculty participation is a sign of investment and faith in the University. It is an expression of the faculty’s dedication to the mission of the school and faith in the leadership to achieve its goals.”
While the campaign’s success is often
judged by attainment of the monetary goal, another critical measure
is the level of participation. The faculty campaign’s goal is
100 percent participation. Michael Foden, executive director of annual
giving and campaign liaison, says, “As we visit with philanthropists,
corporations, and foundations that we hope partner in our success,
having 100 percent faculty participation sends a very loud and positive
message.”
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sustaining bascom palmer’s
leadership
Donors with a Vision
ascom Palmer Eye Institute has long been recognized as a leader in ophthalmic education, research, and patient care. The institute continues to be rated as one of the nation’s best ophthalmic hospitals by board-certified doctors across the United States. A major reason for this international reputation is the support of Bascom Palmer donors, a few of whom are recognized here for their tremendous generosity.
Lorheta (Lou) Higgins was an exceptional woman with an extraordinary dream—that others not suffer from eye disease or vision disorders. The Fort Lauderdale resident fulfilled that dream by leaving $3.3 million to Bascom Palmer in her will. As a result of her generosity, The Lou Higgins Endowed Chair was established.
Born in 1911, her career as an investor led her to support a number of education and medical charities. As a longtime friend of Bascom Palmer, she was grateful for the quality of ophthalmic care and service she received. Her exemplary gift ensures that the treatment and research at Bascom Palmer will be available to others and serve as an everlasting tribute to Lou Higgins’s dream.
Dora Bak was a well-known West Palm Beach philanthropist and painter who left a legacy of generosity when she died last December at 88. Following a lifetime of giving to numerous charities, including Bascom Palmer, Bak increased her donations during the last months of her life. Her wish was to enjoy seeing the fruits of her philanthropy. Through her estate, she provided a $500,000 gift to support vision research.
And to further the groundbreaking work done
by physicians and scientists at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, broadcasting
industry leader Milton
Maltz and his wife, Tamar, have created the Maltz Family Endowment
for Glaucoma
Research through their generous $500,000 gift. The donation will
support the initiatives of David Greenfield, M.D., who conducts research
in
optic disc and retinal nerve fiber imaging, normal-tension glaucoma,
and complex
glaucoma filtration surgery.
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Jack Sanders Makes a Career of Rural Medicine Graceville (population 2,400) is trying to expand its economic base and attract new business. According to Sanders, medical care provides an important foundation for community expansion. “Business is attracted to areas that can provide certain amenities such as schools and hospitals,” he says. “Having a hospital, nursing home, and associated businesses such as drugstores is a major plus in developing the area and providing jobs.” From an early age it was
apparent that Sanders loved a challenge. “I
always believed that if somebody else could deliver a baby, repair
a hernia, take out a gallbladder, or perform an appendectomy, then
so could I,” he says. “I think that philosophy has helped
shape my career. After all, we didn’t have the luxury of
having specialists close by.” |
f you travel to the town of Graceville
in the Florida panhandle, chances are you’ll meet someone who knows Jack Sanders, M.D. ’57.
After all, “Dr. Jack” delivered 1,500 babies in the
small rural community. Unfortunately, the rising cost of malpractice
insurance
forced him to give up that part of his practice in 1986.
Today Sanders is actively involved in his general medical practice,
not only helping people but also meeting the challenges of providing
health care in a rural area. 
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RANDS CONTRIBUTE $1 MILLION FOR DIABETES RESEARCH
Commitment to a Cure
abies
cry all the time.” That’s what several pediatricians
told Deborah and William J. Rand, M.D., about their one-year-old son David.
But despite the pediatrician’s reassurance, they knew something
was definitely wrong with David. They insisted on a blood test, and
the resulting
glucose reading of 325 confirmed the baby had type 1 diabetes.
Seeking to find answers to David’s situation, the family became actively involved with the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation. The foundation’s sole mission is to support the Diabetes Research Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine. “Here was a group of people who loved their children and didn’t just sit back and feel sorry for themselves,” recalls Deborah Rand. “Everyone we met was totally committed to the DRI’s mission and would stop at nothing to find a cure for this disease.”
Leading by example, the Rand family recently donated $1 million to the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation. William Rand, founder of the Rand Eye Institute in Pompano Beach, Florida, directed their gift to support islet cell transplantation research, the procedure that has already freed more than 100 patients of insulin injections.
William Rand has served on the foundation’s board of directors since 1990 and is now chairman of the Florida regional board and vice chairman of the national board. He is passionate in his belief that with increased financial support, the DRI will be able to cure his son and millions of other people who suffer from diabetes. “Debbie and I hope that by supporting the DRI, we will inspire others to do the same. It is no longer a matter of time, only dollars. We can cut in half the time that it will take to make diabetes a disease of the past,” he says.
“For the past 17 years we have had a wonderful relationship with the DRI,” adds Deborah Rand. “They have become such a large part of our lives, and we’re so grateful to be a part of such a great endeavor.”
Today, David Rand is completing his first year of the accelerated six-year combined medical program at the University of Miami. His sister, Allison, is finishing her fourth year of the six-year program.
“The University of Miami is like our family,” Deborah
Rand says. “We
know that great medical progress and ultimately the cure
for diabetes will come from here.”
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Steingers Support Research to Cure Paralysis
The Steingers’ gift will support the scientific research of Vance Lemmon, Ph.D., and John Bixby, Ph.D. Lemmon’s research focuses on how molecules influence the way axons are guided across long distances to their proper targets. Bixby’s research centers on gaining a better understanding of how axons grow and affect the formation and maintenance of specific nerve connections. This is critical in developing a more complete understanding of nerve cell regeneration after injury. In recognition of the Steingers’ philanthropy, the fourth floor
of the Lois Pope LIFE Center will be named the Diana and Joel Steinger
Fourth Floor for Scientific Research. |
iana and Joel Steinger have always believed in the adage that the
value of a person is in what they give, not in what they receive.
The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis has received an extraordinary
gift from the well-known South Florida philanthropists.
According to the Steingers, “After the problem hit close to
home, we educated ourselves about spinal cord injury research and
found The Miami Project at the University of Miami. We are proud
to support Dr. Barth Green’s research team, and we strongly
believe in contributing to a cause that will help people worldwide
who currently suffer from paralysis. That would truly be an extraordinary
gift to receive.” |
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| Photography: Photography Pyramid Photographics (Rand), Nicklaus photo by Jim Mandeville |
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