Ohio Living Foundation

The Ohio Living Foundation's purpose is to partner with donors to provide charitable support for the people, projects and programs of Ohio Living. Ohio Living serves people of all income levels age 55 and up in its retirement communities, and primarily any adult through its Home Health and Hospice subsidiary. Charitable support is needed for Ohio Living to continue to serve all income levels, as well as residents receiving Life Care support who, in good faith, have run out of the funds to see them through.

Ohio Living and the Ohio Living Foundation continue to help our constituents understand the value of not-for-profit aging services in their communities and the benefits they bring to families. With these messages we reach everyone from our own residents and clients to family members, board members, employees, volunteers, partnering organizations, and the general public.

Charitable support from donors helps Ohio Living provide amenities and resources above and beyond what government and insurers deem necessary for care. These are things like chapels, chaplains and resources for spiritual programming; wellness centers and fitness classes; educational programs that stimulate the mind and satisfy the appetite for intellect; arts and cultural activities; opportunities to cultivate gardens and add to the beauty of the environment; provide alternative therapies including art, music, pets and aromatherapy; fulfill special wishes for hospice patients; supply the latest in rehab equipment for faster recovery times; and so much more.

The bottom line? Donors are one of the primary reasons that Ohio Living can provide care that's individualized, environments that are home-like, progressive services that are effective, and quality that is exceptional. Quality not-for-profit aging services have a major role in the quest for healthy families across Ohio. Ohio Living touches not only our residents and clients, but also their families who rely on us every day. Through them, donors have a direct impact on hundreds of thousands of lives each year.

First and foremost, the Ohio Living Foundation works from a DONOR-CENTERED PHILOSOPHY, that the interests of donors and prospective donors always precede the interests of the Ohio Living Foundation. It is policy that no program, agreement or commitment shall be urged upon any donor or prospective donor that will benefit our organization at the expense of the donor's interests. In addition, we prohibit the use of high-pressure techniques when dealing with donors or prospective donors. The Ohio Living Foundation adheres to the Code of Professional Conduct set forth by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). The Ohio Living Foundation also endorses the AFP Donor Bill of Rights and has developed a board-approved Stewardship Plan based on these rights for internal use and guidance. In keeping with these policies, all Ohio Living Foundation personnel are paid a salary or hourly wage; no employee of Ohio Living Foundation will receive any commission for their work.

To reach our fullest capacity we focus on PLANNED AND MAJOR GIFTS. We employ gift planning directors positioned around the state who each manage a portfolio of prospective major or planned gift donors. These directors build and cultivate relationships with these individuals on behalf of the organization. They share the vision of how gifts can improve the future of care and service, they show the impact gifts have already had on the people served by Ohio Living, and they inform about the legacies donors can create for themselves and their families through giving.

The Ohio Living Foundation also holds CAPITAL AND ENDOWMENT CAMPAIGNS for the retirement communities in our system. We work with community and executive staff to determine their needs, and establish campaigns to fund needed projects that do not produce revenue or otherwise would not be possible through the available budget.

Finally, the Ohio Living Foundation works to secure income for the future through careful INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT of its growing endowment and annuity funds, with rigorous stewardship and oversight from the Investment Committee of the Ohio Living Foundation Board of Directors.

The Ohio Living Foundation maintains an INTERNAL STRUCTURE that allows it to maximize and grow fundraising capacity. Gift planning directors are positioned around the state for face-to-face cultivation and solicitation. They are freed from administrative concerns by a robust central office providing support: The Gift and Data Management team provides all aspects of gift administration and stewardship services for all donations, including processing, deposits, acknowledgments, estate administration, reporting, and database management. The Grants team focuses on gifts from private and community foundations, corporations and government agencies. The Foundation Team builds relationships with donors not included in the gift planning directors' portfolios through direct mail appeals, donor newsletters and impact reports, online activities, campaign materials, tools and messages for fundraisers, and more.

The Ohio Living Foundation is SELF-FUNDED, meaning that no portion of Ohio Living Foundation expense is provided by Ohio Living; therefore fundraising costs are not included in resident or client rates for service, keeping them as low as possible. Expenses are instead paid from donations before they are passed on to Ohio Living for use. This funding model allows us a certain amount of flexibility to fund new initiatives and allocate expenses accordingly as needs change. The Ohio Living Foundation has an average cost of raising funds of 30% per year, for its nearly 31 years of operation.

EXTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS are critical to the success of the Ohio Living Foundation. We look for capable people outside of our retirement communities to serve on our board of directors. We regularly partner with consultants in areas of legal, management and fundraising; in fact, our relationships with our legal and management consultants span more than 30 years. We use task forces comprised of internal staff and external volunteers to move large scale efforts ahead, and we successfully recruit successful business leaders to assist with new initiatives.

Robust POLICIES AND PROCEDURES are in place to guide our programming and daily decisions. All policies are board-approved, and reviewed at a minimum of every two years. And we operate from a three-year Strategic Plan, updated annually, to keep abreast of current needs, respond to opportunities, and identify and prepare for future changes.

Since the Ohio Living Foundation was created in 1986, more than $240 million has been raised for the people, projects and programs of Ohio Living, a testament to widespread belief in our mission and the importance of our work. We've seen growth in corporate giving toward new service lines, and we have more external relationships and donors than ever before.

Despite this continued support, much remains to do. We must work to keep up with changes in reimbursement and funding for long-term care, and look for resulting charitable opportunities. We must help the public and our constituents see not-for-profit aging services as a vital part of the fabric of society, rather than an offshoot of the growing health care industry. We must respond to our donors' increasing desires to restrict their gifts and offer new projects to meet them. And we must increase and secure our donor base for a variety of services in order to prepare for decreased funding without compromising our standard of care.

The challenges are before us, yet our strengths and partners are in place to carry us forward to meet them. Please join us in our work to secure the futures of those who have spent their lives paving the way for ours.