Cleveland, OH, May 24, 2010 - Graham-Pelton Consulting is pleased to announce
the recipient of this year's AHP Mid-Atlantic Award of Excellence. Bridget Murphy, Senior Vice President and
Managing Director, presented the award to Lisa Hillman, Sr. Vice-President and
Chief Development Officer for Anne Arundel Health System in Annapolis, MD during a breakfast
ceremony at the AHP
Mid-Atlantic and AHP Midwest Joint Meeting with OAHP
Graham-Pelton
established the award in 2008 to recognize an individual professional in the Mid-Atlantic
region who provides exemplary service and extraordinary leadership in the field
of healthcare development. The award recipient is chosen from submitted entries
to an independent committee and is presented annually. The winning submission is below and we
congratulate Lisa Hillman on her outstanding accomplishments and dedication to
the healthcare fundraising profession.
Lisa Hillman, Sr. Vice-President and Chief
Development Officer for Anne Arundel
Health System
Each generation brings
with it certain leaders who stand out and "raise the bar", become mentors,
teachers and otherwise command respect for their abilities to reaffirm/promote/achieve
success in the profession of healthcare philanthropy. Lisa Hillman is such a person.
Lisa actually began at
Anne Arundel Medical Center working in the public relations department from
1980-1987. She returned in 1990 to spearhead
a young AAMC Foundation still in its early years (and as time has gone by, been
entrusted to oversee other areas of responsibility for the health system).
Lisa breathed life into
the program and through her passion, dedication, vision, and ability to
connect, engage and solicit and steward individuals, built a program that today
enjoys a strong reputation.
Since her start at the
foundation, she has overseen and helped raise $125 million dollars for the medical
center. Over $80 million of this has been raised thru capital campaigns. While Lisa would be the first to correctly say
this success is because of hospital personnel who care our patients, there is no denying her many talents
have been instrumental in building healthcare philanthropy.
Nearly every success the
foundation has ever experienced has been on Lisa Hillman's watch. These include, but are not limited to:
- Growth of staff from a two-person to nine-person operation
today with seven full-time fundraisers.
- Building a strong infrastructure/advocacy by "growing" a
well-connected foundation board of directors.
- Engaging hospital leadership and medical staff at the
highest levels to realize the importance of healthcare philanthropy to the
overall health system operation.
- Modernization of computer, wealth screening, research and
patient data capabilities. Implementation
of "Moves" management system, including formal tours and greater
connectivity with the whole hospital created.
- Creation of a solid annual fund program - telemarketing
and direct mail. A database of
several thousand people when Lisa started has grown to over 120,000 today. Grateful patients are fully incorporated
within the program.
- Gift planning: Lisa implemented CGPAC "Charitable Gift
Planning Advisory Committee - a group comprised of attorneys, financial
planners, accountants, real estate and insurance professionals to
strengthen this element of our fundraising operation and regular market
planned giving for the health system. This past year, the largest single
planned gift in the health system's history occurred, a $3 million dollar
+ bequest.
- Societies:
Chairman's Circle, Friends Society and Heritage Society all created
and expanded to reflect various groups of donors and types of giving at
various levels.
- Medical Staff - stronger relations built over time has helped
realize large gifts for the current campaign.
- Stewardship: revamped a system to include all donors -
of whatever amount- receiving a personalized thank you letter from staff. The board engages with staff to do
"thank a thons" twice a year to thank donors.
- Publications created through a foundation magazine to over
20,000 donors and a separate "CEO" newsletter to keep donors abreast of
developments occurring at the institution.
- Special event fundraising has more than quadrupled. The AAMC Gala is one of the premiere
events of its kind in the region.
- Formation of a Nursing Scholarship evening tied in with
Nurses' week has led to 13 scholarships being endowed and awarded each
year to nursing candidates pursuing their education.
Lisa has transformed the
way fundraising is conducted at Anne Arundel Medical Center and taught others
through her extensive involvement with AHP.
She has helped create
and push through a spirit of philanthropy, hospital-wide and in the community. As a result, transformational gifts have been
realized. Prior to her arrival, there
was no seven-figure gift to the foundation.
Through her efforts, the foundation secured three gifts of $1 million dollars
with the hospital's last campaign. In
the present "Care Like no Other"
campaign, 13 commitments (and counting) of seven-figure gifts have been made.
But perhaps equal to the
all the numbers, is the fact that this year's recipient is a caring mentor,
advisor and friend to her staff, to hospital and community leaders. Donors respect her vast abilities. As John Belcher, current AAMC Foundation
Board President and Chair of the "Care
Like no Other" Campaign says:
"Lisa represents the very best of what healthcare philanthropy is
all about. I have worked with
her for the past seven years in the quest to raise money for the hospital
and she is a tireless advocate for the hospital and goal-focused. There is no doubt that Lisa is deserving of
this award."
