A New Philanthropic Partner for M Health Fairview

I wanted you to be among the first to know that the University of Minnesota Foundation will become the primary fundraising entity for M Health Fairview, effective November 1. With philanthropy as a catalyst, the partnership will combine the best of academic and community medicine to benefit not just our patients but people throughout Minnesota and beyond.

The University of Minnesota Foundation (UMF) offers the M Health Fairview partnership efficiencies of scale and a broader, deeper operational infrastructure to support major gift fundraising. In fact, UMF already has a strong history of generating private support for M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital, University of Minnesota Medical Center, and many other parts of our clinical enterprise. Under the new agreement, UMF will raise private funds to support M Health Fairview research, patient care programs, capital improvements, and community health and well-being.

This integrated approach to fundraising will greatly enhance the Medical School’s ability to draw faculty and students and support their learning, research, and clinical care endeavors. For example, the visibility and national reputation of our children’s hospital have helped us raise millions of dollars for pediatric research, attract topflight faculty, and build a stronger profile for the Medical School through community partnerships and private giving. We anticipate similar benefits for our academic health system as a whole. In fact, this expansion of UMF is a part of our strategy to create a nationally renowned academic health system, as stated in the goals of the definitive agreement.

Philanthropy is crucial to our work, and we are confident that this closer partnership with UMF will help us advance both the science and practice of medicine. This is how we will change healthcare; a heavy footprint and administration is an old model and we are creating a system that is forward-looking, responsive, innovative, and led by academic physicians. Thank you for all you do to support our shared mission.