A Fundraiser's Dream



Michael Douglas


The foundation at Jewish General Hospital in Montreal definitely has something to celebrate. They are holding a gala that has Michael Douglas as a keynote guest and speaker.  How many hospitals will be able to tout this epic tale?  I can just imagine the awe in the air in the halls of Jewish General Hospital. Douglas will be attending with his star struck wife Catherine Zeta-Jones. 

Douglas is so grateful to the Montreal hospital staff for detecting his throat cancer and he wants to give back by volunteering to be a headliner at their upcoming gala.  Douglas has agreed to also participate in a pre-gala meet and greet that will give donors an opportunity to rub shoulder to shoulder with the Hollywood couple.

I will be waiting to hear how much money is raised through this high profile event.  One of the auction items up for bid - a round of golf with Douglas and Zeta-Jones at a club near their vacation home in Montreal. 

Having Douglas and Zeta-Jones attend this event is a blessing and Jewish General Hospital is very fortunate. Opportunities like this are rare and almost never come free.  This is truly a fundraiser's dream and I'm sure will be a hot topic in the health care community in Montreal for a long time to come.

Kudos to the staff of Jewish General Hospital for diligently detecting the cancer in Douglas' throat that many health care professionals had previously missed and to Douglas and Zeta-Jones for giving back. 

I wish I could attend this prestigious event. Or better yet, be able to add this event to my event management list on my resume.

Sick Kids 'superstar' fundraiser under a spotlight

This blog is in reference to the following article:

Volunteers and Smoozeneers

After reading this article, I finish week 3 of my tenure as volunteer campaign coordinator for the organization I work for, heading up their internal charity campaign. I can't help but feel deflated in my efforts because it is stories like this that ruin it for the rest of us. The work I am doing is not compensated monetarily, but rather by fulfillment because of a deed from the goodness of my heart. All of the money raised through our campaign will go directly to charity. This does not seem the case for this donor generating giant.

Michael O'Mahoney recently resigned as head of Toronto's Sick Children Foundation. Since 2003, he has earned in most years $620K (U.S.) annually. This is more than your average specialist. Last year his annual income was slightly lower, only making $574K. The best part of this story is that O'Mahoney resigned and was given $2.4M as a severance. While O'Mahoney was in power at the foundation, expenses increased 31 per cent annually and donations increased 18 per cent. This does not sit well with your average volunteer or donor. O'Mahoney boasts raising $489M for the foundation while at the helm. The truth is that he did not do that alone. He oversaw a huge staff that executed large fundraising programs. It would be impossible for any one person to raise that kind of money alone.

A Lack of Transparency

The trust may well be broken for the people who support Sick Kids. This is mainly because these claims are coming out after a significant amount of money is spent on administrative costs. Charitable organizations strive for transparency. It is obvious this particular one has a deficit in that area.

It's not to say that a person working in the not for profit sector should not be paid for their hard work, but perhaps a more reasonable annual salary is in order. One can not go around asking people to donate their time and money and then pocket a substantial amount of the donations.

This is likely a wake up call for many organizations who are competing for charitable donations. It is typically thought that spending 20 percent of the donations is a reasonable amount, but depending on the circumstances, could be hard to achieve. An organization is lucky if they have a large 3rd party fundraising group that raises a ton of money for them and expecting very little in return. Sick Kids definitely would have opportunity to cultivate that with a donor database of 300,000.

Giving money to the right cause, used in the right way, is a very vital part of communities. Let us not get discouraged, let us learn from this.