Kennedy Krieger Institute
Kennedy Krieger Institute, located in Baltimore, Maryland, is an internationally recognized facility dedicated to improving the lives of children and adolescents with pediatric developmental disabilities through patient care, special education, research and professional training. Kennedy Krieger is a leader in its field and attracts top physicians and researchers from around the world to its centers, now in seven different locations across Baltimore. It has been described as “the place to go” for children with neurological disorders.
Nearly twenty years ago, the Institute—then called simply Kennedy Institute—suffered from a lack of visibility, a relatively small core of volunteer leaders and a limited budget for fundraising. Kennedy Institute was a single facility then serving a few hundred inpatients and about 7,000 children as outpatients annually. Its leaders knew that Kennedy Institute needed to expand its services to meet the escalating needs of the community and the country. But to continue to offer the most advanced treatment and sophisticated services would require renovations to the existing facility, construction of an off-site elementary school and additional investments in “centers of excellence” in certain disciplines. These improvements would carry the price tag of about $25 million.
Fitting the bill
To test the feasibility of this campaign, Kennedy Institute sought out a consulting partner with extensive experience in healthcare fundraising, the ability to quickly understand and evaluate the fundraising environment in Baltimore and services that could be tailored to the Institute’s needs. The Institute retained Campbell & Company to develop a customized plan for the Institute’s fundraising success.
After a philanthropic market study, Kennedy Institute retained the firm as campaign counsel. “Campbell & Company’s consultants have a passion for what they do and compassion for what we do,” says Senior Vice President of External Affairs Lainy LeBow-Sachs. “They have always been a good match for our needs.” Some of Campbell & Company’s recommendations to the Institute—such as how to recruit the strongest volunteer corps possible, an aggressive but focused lead gifts effort and the launch of a targeted marketing program—constituted the first, most crucial steps toward the Institute’s growth and success in fundraising and visibility.
Reaching success after success
A lead gift from Mr. Zanvyl Krieger, which renamed the Institute, was a major part of Kennedy Krieger Institute’s successful $25 million first campaign. Kennedy Krieger also successfully expanded its base of support and laid the groundwork for subsequent major gift fundraising activity. Following the completion of the first campaign, the Institute established new philanthropic priorities, including a special education high school to complement the elementary school built through the first campaign.
In its second campaign with Campbell & Company, Kennedy Krieger Institute raised $54 million ($4 million over its goal) for the special education high school and other components. LeBow-Sachs recalls, “Campbell & Company got into the trenches with us—they attended events and groundbreakings, which confirmed their commitment to our success. They partnered with me to meet with our Board members, bringing a professional edge to the Board’s role in the campaign.”
Growing to better serve
Through its partnership with Campbell & Company, Kennedy Krieger’s development program has grown in size and sophistication. Campbell & Company has provided counsel on leadership recruitment, staffing and overall fundraising strategy, serving as a sounding board for the Institute’s development staff members. “We can call Campbell & Company anytime. We always have access to the firm’s expertise, whether we call to talk strategy or simply brainstorm,” says LeBow-Sachs. With Campbell & Company’s help, Kennedy Krieger Institute has, year after year, reached new levels of success in its development program. These successes allow the Institute to better serve its patients and provide the kind of care for which the Institute is now well known.
Providing continuing support
Today, Kennedy Krieger and Campbell & Company are once again working together as the Institute lays the groundwork for its third campaign in response to the increasing numbers of children with brain disorders and the increasing demand for the Institute’s services—in 2005, the Institute handled 107,900 outpatient visits, a more than 1,500 percent increase since 1989.
