Background

As the leading private philanthropy with an exclusive focus on Aging and Health, the John A. Hartford Foundation is committed to supporting efforts to improve health care for older Americans. Established in 1929, the John A. Hartford Foundation aims to create a more skilled workforce and a better designed healthcare system. Since 1996, the Foundation has invested more than $60 million in the Hartford Geriatric Nursing Initiative (HGNI) and its efforts to prepare all nurses to care for older adults. Central to the HGNI is the Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity program, which includes nine Centers of Geriatric Nursing Excellence at outstanding schools of nursing across the country.

In 2009, in response to the economic downturn and resulting reduced resources, the John A. Hartford Foundation elected to engage in opportunities to build the capacity of grantees beyond basic funding. One such effort was the hosting of two Fundraising Teleconferences for the directors of the Hartford Centers of Geriatric Nursing Excellence, their deans, and development officers. From these teleconferences, it was determined that while the Hartford Centers are of great benefit to the schools/colleges of nursing as well as the academic institutions they are housed within, the Centers face barriers with regards to fundraising and sustainability. The top two issues identified were: competing funding priorities within schools of nursing and across university campuses and donor engagement. (For a PDF file of a full report from the Fundraising Teleconferences, click here.)

As an additional step in supporting the work of grantees and providing resources to enable program sustainability, the Foundation — together with grantees and an external consultant — offers this Hartford Geriatric Nursing Initiative (HGNI) Fundraising Toolkit.

This Toolkit provides resources, links and successful strategies used by academic institutions, expert consultants, and the Hartford Centers of Geriatric Nursing Excellence. It is our hope this Toolkit will initiate, sustain, and leverage new funding to grow the field of geriatric nursing.