Foundation 2016 Melonie interview

Curt Bright Author

04/04/2016 Added

173 Plays

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Interview with NU Foundation staff

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[00:00:00.691]Okay, I'm rolling.
[00:00:03.451]Melanie, can you tell us
[00:00:05.972]a little bit about the donor that you,
[00:00:09.613]the story you shared with (murmurs)?
[00:00:10.902]Sure.
[00:00:12.082]I have the privilege of working with
[00:00:13.962]one of our VIP donors,
[00:00:15.872]who's been very supportive across multiple campuses,
[00:00:20.202]across the community and state.
[00:00:23.769]And my role with her initially
[00:00:26.090]was just a little bit of stewardship
[00:00:29.590]for some of the projects she had done.
[00:00:32.690]In the course of that we found out
[00:00:35.570]more about some of her personal interests
[00:00:39.291]that we didn't know before.
[00:00:42.311]And how'd it come about?
[00:00:44.472]Okay, well she had been treated
[00:00:48.232]for a movement disorder in a private practice
[00:00:52.692]and wasn't getting the relief she needed for that.
[00:00:56.732]And so it was recommended that she go to
[00:01:00.032]the med center to see our specialist there.
[00:01:03.453]Upon calling for an appointment,
[00:01:06.453]she was somewhat aghast to find out
[00:01:08.113]there was an 18 month waiting period for new patients.
[00:01:13.753]She was adept enough with the system
[00:01:16.054]and talked to the person who had referred her
[00:01:20.234]and because she is well known in the community,
[00:01:23.684]we were able to secure an appointment at an earlier date.
[00:01:30.706]Through her involvement in that clinic,
[00:01:32.819]she had appropriate diagnosis
[00:01:35.059]and so appropriate therapy.
[00:01:39.319]And her question to us was,
[00:01:43.479]"I know that I'm privileged
[00:01:45.379]"and I was able to find this relief
[00:01:49.039]"because of other things we've done,
[00:01:50.959]"but I know a lot of families that's not the case.
[00:01:54.459]"How we can make the biggest impact
[00:01:56.259]"to change this for other people?"
[00:02:00.900]And what it led to?
[00:02:02.202]That led to a conversation with our campus partners.
[00:02:06.732]Through the process she had become
[00:02:09.324]very close with the provider.
[00:02:15.244]She's inquisitive, she asked questions on her own.
[00:02:18.126]He was very proud of the work he did.
[00:02:23.229]And I talked about what it might take
[00:02:26.509]to make a big impact.
[00:02:31.269]We kind of slowed the process down just a little bit
[00:02:33.794]because she is a VIP donor.
[00:02:36.014]We wanted to make sure we weren't stepping on any toes,
[00:02:38.594]but she was really hungry for the information.
[00:02:41.214]She knew what her capability was,
[00:02:44.415]what her interest was, and she was really passionate
[00:02:47.475]about making a difference for other people.
[00:02:51.355]So in those conversations we found out
[00:02:54.177]that one of the biggest needs was
[00:02:56.397]to train the specialists in movement disorders.
[00:03:00.518]There are actually more programs
[00:03:03.139]to train people than there are candidates,
[00:03:05.779]and at that time UNMC didn't have a program at all.
[00:03:11.439]We prepared a pro forma for her.
[00:03:14.310]And although we didn't have a long track record,
[00:03:19.290]that trust that was built in conversations with her
[00:03:24.152]was really the tipping point.
[00:03:26.483]And she decided to help start up
[00:03:29.123]a movement disorder fellowship
[00:03:31.183]by giving a three year gift, expendable dollars,
[00:03:36.363]to pay for that training.
[00:03:40.403]Each year we gave her kind of an update.
[00:03:43.464]And we were excited that the very first fellow,
[00:03:48.544]who actually participated in her care,
[00:03:51.586]signed on for faculty.
[00:03:53.386]So it was kind of a dream come true because
[00:03:57.486]to train somebody to stay here made an impact.
[00:04:01.826]In those three years we were able
[00:04:04.926]to reduce the wait time for a new patient
[00:04:08.506]from 18 months to around six months.
[00:04:12.486]Which is, we still have room to go,
[00:04:14.946]but that is a huge thing.
[00:04:18.307]This donor's comment about that was,
[00:04:21.767]"We've given much more significant gifts,"
[00:04:25.667]this was $70,000 a year for three years,
[00:04:30.867]"And we've given much greater gifts,
[00:04:35.348]"and sometimes it felt like
[00:04:37.288]"that was just put in a bigger pool of money."
[00:04:39.988]And she said this gift, although significant
[00:04:43.568]in some other fronts was relatively modest,
[00:04:47.648]and she was overwhelmed by the impact that it made,
[00:04:51.808]not only for herself but the other people.
[00:04:55.408]They subsequently renewed their commitment.
[00:04:59.038]Our fellowship program has grown in movement disorders
[00:05:03.169]from one fellow a year to four,
[00:05:05.969]it's somewhat unprecedented
[00:05:07.929]to match that many individuals,
[00:05:10.509]and we think it's also attracted other faculty members
[00:05:14.209]because they know there's a training program.
[00:05:16.429]So the layers of impact,
[00:05:20.369]direct patient care, excitement for our donor,
[00:05:25.069]and a sense of fulfillment,
[00:05:26.849]but it also has elevated UNMC in the neurological sciences,
[00:05:32.169]so that it was very fulfilling,
[00:05:35.090]not only for this donor but for myself
[00:05:37.210]it was a great project to be a partner with.
[00:05:44.033]In relation to this gift that you worked on,
[00:05:46.474]can you talk a little bit about
[00:05:51.914]the process or the tipping point of when
[00:05:56.634]that passion for what you want to contribute to
[00:06:00.274]happens and how that happens a little bit.
[00:06:02.454]And the results you've seen from that.
[00:06:05.114]Well, I'm definitely a relationship kind of gal.
[00:06:09.294]And I think we hear that
[00:06:14.964]as part of this organization, as part of this state,
[00:06:17.794]who Nebraskans are,
[00:06:19.194]but it truly is something that those gifts
[00:06:22.474]that seem to have a huge impact,
[00:06:26.874]both as a partner in that process,
[00:06:30.714]as well as for those donors seems to be
[00:06:33.514]when you've had those conversations,
[00:06:36.694]you've built that trust,
[00:06:38.834]and then for me working at the med center
[00:06:41.494]having sometimes coaching,
[00:06:44.854]but working with those individuals there
[00:06:47.554]because in many cases that donor,
[00:06:50.254]whether it be a grateful patient or alumnus,
[00:06:52.534]has a past relationship or a current relationship
[00:06:56.534]and transferring that to something
[00:06:59.764]that is gonna make a big impact or a legacy for them.
[00:07:04.934]A lot of people don't,
[00:07:07.494]I think there have been numerous times
[00:07:09.454]when people have come in with a thought
[00:07:11.554]about what they might want to do.
[00:07:13.674]I want to do a scholarship, which is important,
[00:07:16.774]but how can we make that scholarship
[00:07:19.584]even more individualized for them,
[00:07:24.134]not to make it difficult to give out,
[00:07:27.974]but to really make them feel
[00:07:31.024]like they've been rewarded for the hard work
[00:07:34.274]and the paying it forward.
[00:07:36.074]And so that means work past the gift also I think,
[00:07:40.014]that stewardship if as a team,
[00:07:45.684]again donor, yourself, and campus partners,
[00:07:49.754]if you've done your homework, if you've done a good job,
[00:07:53.154]that stewardship is really easy because
[00:07:55.534]that gift does what you intended it to.
[00:08:00.494]Sometimes it allows you to tweak it a little bit,
[00:08:03.894]we've tried it, we see that there's a greater need here,
[00:08:10.154]but I think to see the enjoyment they have
[00:08:13.254]is really fulfilling whether it's a gift
[00:08:16.554]that is much more on the modest range
[00:08:20.854]or when we're fortunate enough
[00:08:23.144]to work on a much more significant gift,
[00:08:26.314]that impact really trumps it all.

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Foundation 2016 Melonie interview

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