The Dr. R.E.M. Lee Hospital Foundation in Terrace, British Columbia, spent more than three decades doing what small foundations in smaller communities typically do: purchasing equipment for the hospital, running modest campaigns that might take six to eight months to raise $30,000 to $50,000, and relying on a volunteer board and part-time administrative staff.

The campaign that changed everything was built around the neonatal intensive care unit at the Ksyen Regional Hospital. It was a capital project with a total target of $14.5 million. The foundation’s role was to actively raise $3.5 million, a threshold that, if met, had the potential to trigger a $7-million gift and bring the campaign within reach of its goal. For an organization that had spent decades raising $30,000 to $50,000 per campaign, the scale was unlike anything it had attempted. As Steve Raper, Northern Health’s VP of Public Affairs, puts it: « When you’re talking $3 million after historically raising around $30,000, that’s a significant leap forward with people who haven’t done that type of campaign or work. »

The board was divided. Long-standing members had reservations; newer members saw the opportunity. What broke the impasse was not reassurance from inside the room, but external validation. A feasibility study gave the skeptics something concrete to hold onto: third-party evidence that the number was achievable.

« Taking that first step, and a willingness to hire a consultant to do the feasibility study, gave some third-party confidence that yes, this is actually achievable, and that number is not unrealistic, » Steve says. « It allowed for decision points along the journey where there was an exit plan. »

The Closer to Home campaign raised $4.25 million against the $3.5 million target – results that triggered $10 million in added support over and above the anticipated $7 million – surpassing its goal and, in a single campaign, exceeding what the foundation had raised over its entire prior history.

Chris Mallett, who stepped into the foundation’s newly created CEO role after years on the volunteer board, speaks plainly about what it takes for a small foundation to make this kind of leap: “You have to spend money to make money. Those are upfront expenses coming right out of your bank account immediately, and you need to be able to wait on a return on investment. Eventually it does come. Take a risk. It’s worth it.”