Dec. 30, 2024

This paid piece is sponsored by Avera Health.

Over the past four years, giving through the Avera Foundation has tripled, with a record $53 million raised in fiscal 2024. What made the difference?

“Philanthropy has been important to the Sisters and Avera before day one of providing care,” said Dzenan Berberovic, chief philanthropy officer of Avera Health.

Each individual Avera hospital had its own foundation that operated separately until Avera’s philanthropic and community engagement efforts were unified July 1, 2020, in connection with the health system’s strategic plan, which gave philanthropy a more central focus.

“We knew we needed to transition to a relationship-based philanthropy model to support our patients, residents, loved ones and employees the best way we could,” Berberovic said.

Today, philanthropy is a focal point of Avera, and that decision has brought about record-setting giving for the Avera Foundation. Also, for the sixth consecutive year, the Avera Foundation has been named as a High Performer by the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy. This distinction represents the top 25 percent of hospital and health system foundations in fundraising returns. Avera’s is the only health care foundation in the region to earn this honor six years in a row.

Berberovic said he is honored that Avera has been able to raise this strong support thanks to more than 20,800 benefactors in the past year.

“This wouldn’t happen without the incredible passion our supporters feel for Avera because of their lived experiences or that of their loved ones in receiving exceptional care at Avera and feeling the compassion we exude across our organization,” he said.

Philanthropy is the “difference maker” in small and large projects at Avera.

An example is the Women’s and Children’s project at Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center. “This would look much different if not for philanthropic support,” Berberovic said. “Tomorrow’s Promise: The Campaign for Women and Children has had so much interest that we’ve increased our goal from $35 million to $50 million – and every dollar will help newborns, children, women and families for generations to come.”

Some smaller projects, like a new behavioral health and addiction care unit at Avera St. Luke’s Hospital in Aberdeen, are supported significantly by generous philanthropic support.

“When we do our long-term planning as a health system, community support through philanthropy is a key aspect,” Berberovic said.

Donors can direct gifts of any size to any region, facility or project, or simply where the need is greatest. Gifts come in that are less than $20 or greater than $1 million, and all are important.

Foundation-supported projects take part in all six Avera regions, and recent examples include:

• Women’s and Children’s tower in Sioux Falls.
• Behavioral health and addiction care unit in Aberdeen.
• New location for Avera Cancer Institute in Yankton.
• Robotic surgery in Mitchell.
• Endowments and ongoing support for patients and families in Marshall, Minnesota.
• New surgical suite inside the Women’s Center in Pierre.

“We want community members to drive by and point to any of our facilities and tell their children they helped make that possible,” Berberovic said. “It’s a legacy.”

Last year, Avera colleagues donated well over $7.5 million. “Our employees are incredible philanthropists because they believe in the Avera mission,” Berberovic said.

The latest Avera Race Against Cancer – the 36th annual – raised more than $725,000, with 6,700 participants and 400 volunteers who made it all happen. “Fortunately for the patients and families we serve through the Avera Cancer Institute, the Race continues to be relevant, providing for critical resources, including the wig program, integrative medicine and just-in-time assistance and equipment that wouldn’t otherwise be possible,” Berberovic said.

For every $1 Avera invests in foundation staff and resources, there’s a return on investment of over $19.

As the Avera Foundation looks to the future, “we continue to build enduring relationships to help those in our care today and in the years ahead,” said Berberovic, who serves on the global board of directors for the Association of Fundraising Professionals. He has been elected as a member of the executive committee and will be the first South Dakotan to serve in executive leadership on the board.

“Health care helps everybody. It doesn’t matter where you were raised or educated, where you work or if you are unhoused and uninsured,” Berberovic said. “When you give to health care, you give to people’s lives. That’s what inspires our team. And so we continue to build relationships with people who are grateful and have experienced Avera’s life-changing mission.”

Learn more about the Avera Foundation.