Saint Francis Care Health System
Hartford, Connecticut
www.stFrancis Care.org 

Saint Francis Care is an integrated health care delivery system consisting of the largest Catholic hospital in New England and a broad range of clinical centers of excellence, rehabilitation services, home health and visiting nurse programs, and a host of ambulatory and community-based treatment centers. With the approach of the new millennium, Saint Francis Care, led by its visionary President and CEO, David D’Eramo, Ph.D., developed a series of far-reaching strategic initiatives designed to strengthen and expand the System’s market presence in North Central Connecticut. Key to funding these initiatives would be an expanded role for philanthropy, building upon the already productive fund raising program which had recently concluded a $17 million capital campaign.

Saint Francis’ long-time Vice President for Development, Phillip Rockwell, FAHP, realized that to tackle these challenges, St. Francis Care first needed a top-to-bottom evaluation of the System development program and a thorough assessment of the philanthropic fund raising potential available to it.

Accordingly, because of GSI’s unique experience in health system development, the firm was engaged to conduct a Comprehensive Fund Raising Planning Project consisting of a detailed audit of the Saint Francis development operation and a seven-year assessment of fund raising potential. The six-month project, led by GSI’s Principals, Peter Ghiorsi, FAHP, and Dan Sorrenti, along with Senior Executive Counsel, Arthur Collier, FAHP, focused on leaving no stone unturned in analyzing the current situation and forecasting opportunities for enhanced fund raising productivity.

This massive project included profiling the overall universe of prospects, conducting an environmental assessment and market analysis, reviewing the development enterprise, preparing a development strategic plan, and very importantly, hammering out the numbers: what could be raised, from what sources, through which programs, when and how.

The results of the planning project confirmed the opportunities that lay ahead. Detailed in GSI’s final report was the conclusion that Saint Francis Care was positioned to raise a record of $50.5 million, net of costs, through current and deferred support over a seven-year period. Doing more also carried with it the opportunity for doing it with less, that is, at a cost of just $.13 cents on the dollar raised!