Northern Lights Health Foundation before Incite
Northern Lights Health Foundation (NLHF) serves to engage people, inspire philanthropy, and secure funds to improve health and wellness in the Wood Buffalo region. Established in 1985, NLHF coordinates capital campaigns, major events, and other fundraising initiatives to help fund equipment, programs, and services for the region. NLHF plays an important role in the community and helps to strengthen the quality of care that is available locally for residents of Wood Buffalo.
The team at NLHF sought support as they explored several opportunities to diversify, expand, and innovate their fund development efforts. Incite helped strengthen their annual and major giving programs by focusing on the corporate donors, assessing a potential expansion into a social enterprise, building a planned giving program through an endowment fund, and determining fund development opportunities associated with the opening of the Willow Square Continuing Care Facility.
Northern Lights Health Foundation with Incite
Incite was engaged by NLHF in fall 2019 to lead in exploring several opportunities to diversify, expand, and innovate its fund development efforts. Economic downturns and natural disasters have created financial challenges in Fort McMurray and the surrounding region, which has impacted corporate and philanthropic support for NLHF. The organization was looking to evaluate various fund development approaches and build a more robust strategy to guide its efforts moving forward.
Through our work with NLHF, Incite:
- Strengthened annual and major giving programs, with an emphasis on expanding support from the business community
- Assessed opportunities to pursue social enterprise solutions
- Built a plan for future gift development that will provide more planned giving options to its donors
- Mapped out the best approach to pursue the Willow Square Continuing Care Facility Campaign
- Leveraged research and stakeholder consultations to help drive strategic fund development
- Enabled NLHF to better position itself by understanding and meeting donor needs in new ways
”Northern Lights Health Foundation is a community pillar of Fort McMurray and the Wood Buffalo Region. With a strong foundation of fund development success already in place, Incite provided the strategic support NLHF needed as it looked to expand and enhance its efforts in a region that has experienced a tremendous amount of challenges and change. The result was a robust and tactical strategy that is helping to guide its vital efforts moving forward.
Jesse MeyerPartner, Incite
Outcomes
Incite’s work helped Northern Lights Health Foundation to:
- Engage effectively with donor groups to establish understanding and trust
- Move forward with a robust fund development strategy
- Create corporate donor-centric activities and initiatives
- Make an informed decision regarding social enterprise opportunities
- Determine the path forward regarding the creation of an endowment fund
”The team at Incite helped us gain a tremendous amount of information from our donors and stakeholders that shows how they perceive our organization and how they feel they can best help contribute to healthcare initiatives in our region now and in the future. Incite’s professional team kept the project moving, provided regular check points, and brought the project to a timely conclusion with great recommendations to realign our work to our mission in fresh ways. We appreciate the external viewpoint and the strategies to help ensure our continued success.
Cindy AmerongenExecutive Director, Northern Lights Health Foundation
