A donor called. “Cancer,” he said from his post-exam waiting room.  “Will you come to talk to me for a few minutes?”, the donor asked.    I ran out of my office thinking “How should I act? What should I say?”

I have been raising money in the healthcare context for the last ten years.  The dream of helping people live out their lives to the fullest extent possible, overcoming the obstacles that disease, disability, and life throw at you…it is hard to imagine anything more tangible or more inspiring.  In my role as a fundraiser at San Francisco General Hospital Foundation, I get the opportunity to support healthcare professionals delivering care in many situations: from Trauma where life and death are on the line, to Social Medicine where homeless patients get help far beyond medical interventions, to the Birth Center where wonderful healthy babies are born HIV free to HIV positive parents thanks to the dedicated work of a vast network of social workers, case managers, and many others. [Read more…]