Jessica Preiss Lunken, the Director of Development in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins provided an overview of the Hopkins Development philosophy. Ms. Preiss Lunken was originally hired to provide Development oversight for both the departments of Psychiatry and Neurology because the prevailing thought was that there would not be enough funding available from grateful patients in Psychiatry only. Ms. Priess Lunken has clearly proven that this is not the case as she has raised an astounding $13 million dollars in philanthropic donations to Psychiatry for the current year.
Ms Preiss Lunken outlined the “Rules of Engagement” to consider when developing a successful philanthropy program. Among the many critical factors described is the importance of the physician-patient relationship and understanding where the patient is in the course of their disease. Physicians need to be aware of patients that may have means and an interest in giving. Learning to be aware of the questions that patients or their families ask is important to the development process. Grateful patients may be interested in giving if they have had a good experience or successful treatment but Ms. Preiss Lunken reminded us that some patients and families are motivated to give if they have not had the best outcome and are looking to use the opportunity to help others. In addition to being able to identify potential donors, it is just as important to understand what a department has to offer a potential donor in order to match programs needing funding to donors with an interest in those programs or diseases.
In an effort to continue to develop a philanthropicallyminded culture, Hopkins has used videos and posters to remind both patients and staff of giving opportunities. Many times, staff may be the first to hear patients express interest in giving.
Ms. Priess Lunken also highlighted the importance of taking a long-term approach towards development and the stewardship of donations. Building trust and rapport with potential donors is paramount as is ongoing involvement of Department and University leadership. As more donations are being directed toward specific projects, the Hopkins development team provides donors with details on outcomes from the research or programs that their donations support. In addition to sending annual reports, the Hopkins Development team will often visit donors yearly and schedule periodic communication.
(Article by Shiyoko Cothrin. Shiyoko is the Operations Director of the Penn State U Department of Psychiatry).
