by Steve Kirk
The new year has brought new energy to City of Hope: new strategic and master plans set the institution’s future direction, and an updated visual identity, positioning and messaging has created a more cohesive brand. Fundraising efforts are building momentum, as well.
“For the first quarter of fiscal year 2007, which began on Oct. 1, fundraising results already are exceeding expectations,” said Kathleen Kane, executive vice president of development and external affairs. “And total expenses for the quarter are lower than budgeted, as well, which means we are off to a great start.”
City of Hope achieved a record fundraising year in 2006, when more than $122 million was raised — about $42 million beyond the goal.
Among the significant contributions in 2006 was a $15 million gift from an anonymous donor and a $2 million bequest from the estate of Diana Chudacoff Levin for the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center for Cancer Immunotherapeutics & Tumor Immunology, an innovative research center whose groundbreaking is set for April.
A $6 million gift from longtime Home Furnishings Industry group supporter Michael Amini, chair and chief executive officer of the Amini Innovation Corporation, will fund the Michael Amini Transfusion Medicine Center.
Also in 2006, Sheri Biller, vice chair of City of Hope’s board of directors, and her husband, Les, were inspired to create a place where patients and families can turn for help in coping with cancer diagnoses and treatment. The Sheri & Les Biller Family Foundation pledged $2 million to establish the Sheri & Les Biller Patient and Family Resource Center.
The funding of several new endowed chairs in 2006 bolstered City of Hope’s ability to attract and retain world-class faculty.
A bequest of more than $5.8 million from a Laguna Beach, Calif., couple established the Edward and Estelle Alexander Chair in Information Sciences. As the first holder of the chair, Joyce C. Niland, Ph.D., will continue leading City of Hope’s collaborations with other cancer centers to create a global information model to speed future biomedical research.
Stephen J. Forman, M.D., was named as the first holder of the Francis and Kathleen McNamara Distinguished Chair in Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, established by a $2.5 million gift from Kathleen McNamara, a patient of Forman’s, and her husband, Francis “Chip” McNamara.
And a $2.5 million gift from the family of late City of Hope patient and prominent Las Vegas builder Martin Collins established the Pauline and Martin Collins Family Chair in Urology. Timothy Wilson, M.D., chief of the Division of Urology & Urologic Oncology and director of the Prostate Cancer Program, holds the chair.
