During the 1997-98 fiscal year, the MUSC Health Sciences Foundation experienced a significant increase in private donations.

“As state allocations decrease,” said executive director of development Jim Fisher, “the contributions of corporations, foundations and individuals become even more important, and this past fiscal year their unprecedented level of support once again demonstrated strong confidence in the university’s mission and its position as an academic, research and health care leader.” New gifts and pledges to the Medical University through the Health Sciences Foundation, he said, totaled nearly $14.4 million, representing a 23-percent increase over the previous year’s numbers.

Highlights of the year from the various fundraising areas include the following:

• The planned giving program reports nearly $4.2 million in revocable and irrevocable gifts, a nearly 20 percent increase over projected goals. Almost $2 million went for scholarship support and research in the College of Medicine. Other planned gifts were designated for the Hollings Cancer Center, glaucoma research in the Storm Eye Institute, scholarships and the Anne Edwards Chair in the College of Nursing, the College of Pharmacy, the College of Health Professions’ cytology program and general university unrestricted support.
• The Annual Fund reports a 14 percent increase in the number of donors to the Health Sciences Foundation, with new gifts and pledges totaling a record of more than $2.4 million and overall alumni participation increasing to 31 percent from the previous year’s 26 percent. The Reunion Giving Program was extremely successful, with the College of Dental Medicine leading with $140,000 and 69-percent participation. A total of 4,000 new donors, contributing over $127,000 in cash and pledges, were identified through the phonathon campaign. The total of funds generated by this program was more than $600,000. The College of Medicine excelled in the senior class gift program, raising more than $12,000. Overall that program generated more than $24,000, with a 62 percent participation rate. Additionally the Yearly Employee Support (YES) campaign, chaired by Rosalie K. Crouch, Ph.D., brought in $258,000, a 20 percent increase over projected goals, and identified 30 new Society of 1824 members—donations of $1,000 or more. For the first time, the Trident United Way campaign at MUSC was conducted by the Annual Fund office. Chaired by Richard W. DeChamplain, DMD, the drive raised $181,000, nearly 10 percent over goals.
• Macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and ocular trauma are among the vision disorders that will be studied in the new retina research laboratory in the Storm Eye Institute. The facility, which generated $335,000 through a matching gift program initiated by Spartanburg businessmen and former Board of Visitors member Joe Griffith and Cleveland Harley, is named in honor of Dr. Charles B. Hanna, Sr., a Spartanburg surgeon, MUSC graduate, longtime MUSC benefactor and former board of trustees member and chairman. Additionally, the SEI received major gifts from Lawrie W. And Bruce G. Pratt of Beaufort to establish an ophthalmic teaching and videography room; from the Joanna Foundation for the diagnosis and treatment of retinal diseases; and from Teddy and Stanley Feldberg, residents of Hilton Head and strong MUSC supporters, for a low-vision center.
• The Children’s Hospital Fund raised more than $1 million—a record high—during the annual Children’s Miracle Network telethon and related activities. The annual golf tournament brought in $145,000; a bed-and-breakfast tour generated $9,500; and Masterminds for Life, a partnership program between the Children’s Hospital and James B. Edwards Elementary School, raised $10,000. Other significant gifts included $45,000 from the Jane Smith Turner Foundation and two donations totaling $50,000 for pediatric leukemia research.
• The Hollings Cancer Center received gifts in excess of $3.2 million in cash and pledges, including $300,000 from the Abney Foundation, $250,000 from the Samuel Freeman Charitable Trust and $202,000 from NationsBank Corporation. In addition, a golf tournament raised more than $66,000 and the annual Race for the Cure generated $114,000.
• The MUSC College of Medicine received two gifts of $1 million or more—one from Dialysis Clinics, Inc., to establish a new endowed chair in nephrology and the other an estate gift for scleroderma research. Additionally, gifts and pledges to scholarship endowments totaled more than $1 million, and alumni support for the College of Medicine Loyalty Fund totaled $277,000.
• The College of Nursing has achieved 60 percent of the funding toward establishing the Ann Darlington Edwards Endowed Chair, the first chair in the college. That includes four leadership gifts of $100,000 each and 100 percent participation of the Dean’s Advisory Board. National fundraising costs, according to Fisher, vary from approximately 18 to 20 cents on the dollar. MUSC’s cost of fundraising last year, however, was 12 cents on the dollar.

The Health Sciences Foundation was established at MUSC in 1966. Since then, its total assets have reached nearly $152 million.

Donations received during July indicate a strong start for the new fiscal year, Fisher said, with the university’s priorities at the forefront of what promises to be a strong first quarter.