Pat Traynor is the Director of the Dakota Medical Foundation.

 

Pat started out his message by conducting a drawing for Giving Hearts Day, which will be February 13, 2020. The drawing consisted of a member picking a random birthday. Dan Jacobson picked a birthday of May 20; Rebecca Knudson's was the closest on May 19th, so Pat gave Rebecca a voucher from Dakota Medical Foundation in the amount of $100. Rebecca could pick the charity of her choice, and she selected Unseen. The next birthday selected was June 10th. Jill Gustafson was the closest to that date, with a birth date of June 6th. Jill gave her $100 donation to TNT.  

 

Pat works with charities every day, and those charities are geared to service. What Pat does - as well as the charities that he works with - is friend raising. He said we should view it as friend raising rather than fundraising. Building relationships with others is what makes individuals inclined to give; it has a greater impact. And as Pat stated, the lack of money is a barrier to the impact we can make on the communities that we serve; and that need our support.

 

Pat then went on to briefly discuss the charities that fall under the Dakota Medical Foundation, such as Giving Hearts Day, Lend a Hand Up, the Mayors' Blue Ribbon Commission on Addiction, and several others. 

 

Pat stated that the Foundation not only assists organizations/individuals that are in need, but it also teaches organizations how to raise funds through the Impact Foundation. More successful fundraising leads to higher matching through the Foundation, so it is a win-win. 

 

Amber Dekrey is also part of Dakota Medical Foundation, and is the Director of Giving Hearts Day. 

 

Many of us are familiar with Giving Hearts Day. This event was created and started back in 2008, by the creative mind of Jeana Peinovich, director of Dakota Medical Foundation's Lend A Hand Up program. That year, the program raised $1,500. Last year they raised $13.1 million. $55 million has been raised since its inception. Amber believes they have just scraped the surface, though. 

 

This next year, they will be launching a year-round Giving Hearts Day website.