Aside from the altered financial landscape, people responsible for raising money face another pandemic-related challenge – spending the kind of time needed to cultivate personal relationships with potential donors.
“My job is to invite as many people as possible to join us,” says Lauren Z. Moore, who leads the $100 million capital campaign for the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University, scheduled to open in 2023.
That’s a fourth of the budget, with the rest coming from VCU Health System. It’s pressure, Moore says, but also opportunity.
Moore’s father served in the U.S. Navy, so she had a transient childhood. The upsides of moving around, she says: “It develops skills that make you adaptable.”
After the University of Tennessee, Moore fell in love with fundraising at the Masonic Children’s Hospital. She came to Richmond 10 years ago and started as a major gift officer at the MCV Foundation.
Leading the Children’s Hospital Foundation since March 2019, she’s doubled the size of its staff to 15 employees.
A key to success will be donors who give $1 million, $5 million, $10 million gifts, she says, which requires reaching as many people as possible. It’s important to “encourage a culture of philanthropy across generations,” she says.
