Riverside Foundation Installs New Digital Donor Walls

If you have visited one of the Riverside Facilities in recent months, you may have noticed a visual change in the way in which the Riverside Foundation recognizes its donors. In keeping with technological trends and advances, digital donor walls were installed at each facility. The Foundation appreciates all donations received and currently recognises donors under 7 different monetary categories. Donations are cumulative over a donor’s lifetime, and once $1,000 in donations is reached the donor receives notification that they are eligible to be listed as a donor at one of four facilities; La Verendrye General Hospital, Rainycrest Long Term Care, Emo Health Centre or Rainy River Health Centre. As the donor progresses through the donation categories, their listing is moved up the wall.

The exploration of moving from static to digital walls began in early 2019. The donor walls located at the Emo Health Centre and the Rainy River Health Centre were quickly running out of real estate, with LVGH not too far behind. On one hand this was a really good problem for the Foundation to have, as it speaks to the generosity of donors. On the other it means that in order to keep recognising donors, a space saving solution had to be found. At the same time, the Foundation was notified that the company that manufactured the Foundation’s donor strips was moving away from this type of production due to increasing costs. So, even if the space allowed for it, name plates were no longer able to be ordered and the static walls as they were would have to be replaced with an alternative.

Various service providers and options were looked into. Ultimately, the Foundation chose to move forward with purchasing digital walls with an expected install date of April 2020. Due to the pandemic and supply chain issues, the installation of the new walls was delayed and finally completed in July 2021. The new digital walls contain the same information on them as the static walls, all donor names were transferred over to the new platform. The digital walls were installed in the same location as the static walls at Rainycrest, Emo and Rainy River. Name plates from each of those locations were removed to allow for installation.

If donors would like their name plate from the static walls as a memento or keepsake, they can contact the Foundation Office at 274-4803 to arrange for pick up or delivery. At LVGH, a wall in the main lobby was selected to install the new digital wall on. There are plans in the future to have the old static walls at LVGH taken down, opening up real estate on the walls for hospital signage.

The digital donor walls cycle through the donors in each donor category and there is no limit to the number of donors that can be added. In addition to increasing the number of donors that can be recognised in a limited space, updates to the wall can be completed in real time. Previously, name plates had to be ordered on demand, and due to the amount of time it took to add and rearrange the name plates in alphabetical order, new donors were only added to the walls twice per year. The digital platform allows Foundation staff to add to or update the walls as soon as new donor information is received from any internet enabled device, saving on staff time and resources. Additionally, if a donor would like their name edited, that can now be completed. Sometimes donor circumstances may change. For example, they may have a name change or an additional child that they wish to have added to their listing. The Foundation is now able to accommodate these types of requests. If you would like your donor listing updated, please contact the Foundation Office.

DONOR WALL AUDIT COMPLETED

The transition to digital walls allowed the opportunity to conduct a full audit on the donor wall listings. The purpose of the audit was to ensure that all eligible donors are properly recognised in the correct donor category on a wall of their choosing. This audit was completed end of March 2022. During the audit, it was discovered that there were a number of donors eligible for a listing on one of the walls, but for whatever reason, did not have one. A donor listing could be missed for a variety of reasons, be it that notification was never initially sent to the donor, the donor did not return their listing form or wished to remain anonymous, or some other unknown reason. Notification has now been sent to all these eligible donors along with a number of new donors that reached eligibility in the past two years.

WHAT HAPPENS TO DONATED FUNDS?

The Riverside Foundation for Health Care respects the Donors Bill of Rights, including the right to be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given. Riverside Foundation encourages donors to support the cause or facility that is close to their heart. Donations can be designated to LVGH, Rainycrest LTC, Emo Health Centre, Rainy River Health Centre or to a specific department within each facility. Designated funds are restricted to use for their intended designation. Monthly reports are created that track the funds available for each facility/department. Alternatively, donors may choose to support the Foundation General Fund, these undesignated funds can be used for areas/equipment identified as highest need.

Each fiscal year, the Foundation works closely with Riverside Facilities to determine how funds will be used. Riverside Facilities provides the Foundation with an approved capital equipment list. The Riverside Foundation Capital Committee which consists of the Foundation Director and at least 3 Board Members select items on the list to support, ensuring that designated funds are used as intended. Unless a special request comes in or an urgent purchase arises, the Foundation is only able to support the purchase of equipment on the approved list. This ensures that donor funds are being used to support areas identified as highest need by Riverside Facilities. Each year, a full list of equipment purchased through the support of the Foundation, along with information in regards to the monetary value of disbursements for each facility is posted to the Foundation website at www.riversidefoundation.ca. The yearly audited financial statement is also available for download or can be requested to be sent via mail.

If you would like more information about how to donate or the capital purchase procedure please contact the Foundation office.

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