FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For More Information: Glenn Vallach (201-307-1970)
ST. VINCENT’S MEDICAL CENTER AWARDED
$1 MILLION KRESGE FOUNDATION CHALLENGE GRANT
Grant is Ghiorsi & Sorrenti’s Seventh Kresge Award Secured for Clients
in Last Five Years
St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport, CT has been awarded the prestigious Kresge Foundation Challenge Grant in the amount of $1 million toward Building on a Tradition of Trust: The Campaign for St. Vincent’s Medical Center.
The award was the only one granted by the Kresge Foundation in Connecticut in the first quarter of 2009, and one of only 11 seven-figure awards (of 75 total) granted nationally during that time. The St. Vincent’s grant is one of seven secured by Ghiorsi & Sorrenti, Inc. (GSI) clients over the last five years.
The Kresge Foundation is a $3.1 billion private foundation that supports communities in the United States and around the world by strengthening the nonprofit organizations that serve them. This challenge grant will help St. Vincent’s Medical Center complete its historic capital campaign, which currently stands at $40.5 million, just $5 million short of goal. As the result of a very generous response from the Medical Center’s friends and supporters in the community, the original campaign goal was increased from $42 million to $45.5 million. Once reached, it will prevail as the most successful fundraising effort in the history of the 106-year old institution. Highlights include a lead gift of $5 million, 10 gifts of $1 million or more, $3 million from employees, $3 million from governance and $1.7 million from physicians.
In order to receive the $1 million from The Kresge Foundation, St. Vincent’s must complete its $45.5 million capital campaign by raising the additional $5 million by September 30, 2010. Building on a Tradition of Trust was publicly launched last summer.
“This grant is a wonderful validation of the fund raising efforts generated by so many dedicated St. Vincent’s volunteers, including two outstanding leaders on our Foundation Board, Chuck Mattes and Jim Stapleton, who co-chair the campaign,” stated Ron Bianchi, Corporate Sr. Vice President and President of the St. Vincent’s Medical Center Foundation. “We are so grateful for the generosity of our many friends who have helped us get to this point. Ultimately, the true beneficiaries will be the people of Bridgeport and beyond who will have access to our enhanced facilities.”
The Medical Center embarked on a $145 million project to build a four-story, comprehensive, interdisciplinary cancer center that will also include part of an expanded Emergency Department, which will triple in size. It replaces cramped and outdated facilities at St. Vincent’s and opens the door for renovating and reconfiguring the Medical Center’s main floor, which, in turn permits the clustering of cardiovascular and ambulatory surgery services as destinations unto themselves. A new Ambulatory Surgery Center, which is part of the project, opened last month. The project is being managed by Gilbane, Inc., headquartered in Providence, RI. Gilbane Building Company is a leading construction management firm, providing a full slate of facilities-related services for clients in the healthcare, education, government, convention/cultural, mission-critical, corporate, sports/recreation, life sciences, transportation, and criminal justice markets.
Faced with the enormous challenge of funding the project, the St. Vincent’s Foundation engaged GSI in 2006 to conduct a campaign planning study and to provide campaign direction for Building on a Tradition of Trust: The Campaign for St. Vincent’s Medical Center.
“We consider it an honor to partner with St. Vincent’s in this outstanding campaign, and want to thank the Kresge Foundation for seeing the value of the project, believing in the vision of the Medical Center, and responding to their fund raising efforts,” said Peter Ghiorsi, Chairman and CEO of Ghiorsi & Sorrenti, Inc.
Historically, Ghiorsi & Sorrenti clients have enjoyed significant success in approaching the Kresge Foundation for challenge grants as part of their campaigns. Over the past five years, GSI has assisted seven clients in securing challenge grants, and nine in the last decade, including: Children's Specialized Hospital in Mountainside, NJ ($1 million); Morton Plant Mease Foundation, Clearwater, FL ($1.5 million); Jersey City Medical Center in Jersey City, NJ ($650,000); the Visiting Nurse Association of Somerset Hills, Bernardsville, NJ ($300,000); Vassar Brothers Hospital Foundation, Poughkeepsie, NY ($600,000); Kent Hospital, Warwick, RI ($500,000); SAGE , Summit, NJ ($400,000), and St. Thomas Aquinas College, Sparkill, NY ($350,000).
“The Kresge Foundation has rigorous standards and a challenging application process,” said John Modzelewski, Vice President of GSI. “We are diligent in pursuing their involvement and ensuring our clients are prepared. A challenge grant from the Kresge Foundation is an enormous benefit to a campaign, leveraging other donors to come forward generously. The Foundation is a wonderful partner in helping provide nonprofit organizations with resources and capabilities to serve their communities.”
St. Vincent's Medical Center is a major, 397-bed acute care hospital, and a member of Ascension Health, the nation’s largest Catholic healthcare system. St. Vincent’s provides care in a faith-based setting which reflects the needs and beliefs of all patients. The Medical Center has an active medical staff of 450 physicians representing a comprehensive range of more than 50 specialty and subspecialty medical and surgical disciplines.
Headquartered in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, GSI is a leading fund raising and public relations firm, specializing in planning and conducting capital campaigns for the full spectrum of non-profit organizations. Since 1989, Ghiorsi & Sorrenti, Inc. has partnered with hundreds of organizations in raising more than $6 billion with an additional $6 million in progress.
