Somerset Medical Center Foundation
Somerville, New Jersey
www.somersetmedicalcenter.com
  

Where there’s a will there’s a way! This is how Somerset Medical Center viewed the largest and most ambitious capital campaign in Somerset’s 105-year history. Faced with an extraordinary $100 million facilities expansion project, the message was clear about the Medical Center’s bold fund raising challenge from the start: To make our building program a reality we must, we will, raise $20 million. Undaunted by the fact that $20 million would represent five times what the Medical Center and its Foundation had ever raised, many came together to will this campaign on to success.

In late 2002, the Somerset Medical Center Foundation led by its President, David Flood, and long-time Board Chair, John von Stade, engaged Ghiorsi & Sorrenti, Inc. to conduct a comprehensive planning study in preparation for the Medical Center's capital campaign. GSI concluded from the in-depth study that the $20 million campaign objective would be a considerable stretch and require unprecedented levels of giving that would break new ground in the organization’s history.

On May 13, 2003, “Breaking New Ground: The Campaign for Somerset Medical Center” was officially launched with $13 million raised towards its goal of, yes, $20 million. GSI had been engaged for on-site direction of the campaign and at the time of the public announcement, the firm’s Campaign Director, Howard Siegel, reported that over 22 gifts of $100,000+ had been pledged, anchored by a $5 million lead gift from an anonymous source who was present at the kick off.

Would there be potential drop-off following completion of the lead gift phase and the campaign kick-off? Well, clearly the will was far too strong for this to happen. To this point, the Medical Center employees stepped up with $750,000 in pledges, physician giving surpassed $2.2 million with considerable support still in the pipeline, the Johnson & Johnson family of Somerset County companies pledged a combined $1.65 million, and the Blaustein Foundation of Baltimore, Maryland, made a $500,000 grant.

Then, not to be outdone, just 10 months following the public announcement, Aventis Pharmaceuticals further “broke new ground” by pledging $2 million to the Somerset campaign. This commitment, announced at a special ceremony by Gerald P. Belle, president of North America Pharmaceuticals for Aventis, marked the largest single corporate gift in the history of Somerset Medical Center and brought the campaign total to over $18 million.

When all was said and done at the campaign’s conclusion, the will prevailed. Somerset Medical Center Foundation raised a record $21.6 million and went on to complete Phase II in order to build a new Cancer Center for a grand total raised of $30 million.