I recently spoke with Sara DeTienne, Senior Director of Development at the University of Wisconsin Department of Neurological Surgery. Many of us have the goal to donate to charities or “give back” in some way locally. There are numerous areas to donate to the University of Wisconsin. Many of these programs, however, are underfunded in their research and may not get the kind of publicity as some other more well-known projects. One of the current projects underfunded is research for Epilepsy.
1 in 26 people in the United States will develop epilepsy at some point in their lifetime, and there are 3.4 million Americans who currently have epilepsy.
Over the past few years, there has been a decrease in federal funding for scientific research, which makes the need for charitable donations even more important. Most of us would like to donate but not sure how. Where do I go? Who do I reach out to? What do I donate? These are all questions we will dig into.
DOUG: If someone wants to donate to the UW medical or health cause, tell us about where the money goes and what it is used for.
SARA: If there is a particular disease or disorder that a potential donor has been impacted by, they may wish to see the money be used for scientific research, which is an expensive pursuit. The process works like this; usually physicians who see the medical condition in their patients team up with scientists, biomedical engineers, and graduate students to begin trying out ideas they think could impact and make a change. This could be a medical device, a drug or study. They collect the data and use it to publish a paper on their research findings. These are peer reviewed by individuals who reside at different institutes. However, if that data pans out positively, they apply to federal agencies, like the NIH to get a bigger grant to scale up their work. So a donation of $25,000 could be leveraged for a greater return on investment if the NIH awards a grant.
DOUG: What are some ways people can help?
SARA: There are those enjoy engaging with others through a lemonade stands, car washes, 5k runs, etc. The money that is raised is donated to the program or the doctor who works on that project. You can also donate cash, stocks, IRA’s, rollover 401k, real estate, etc.
One thing to note that most people don’t realize, is that you can make a “pledge” of a certain amount over several years. The most common is to pledge “X” amount of dollars a year for 5 years. For instance, $10,000 per year for 5 years for a $50,000 donation. This is a great way to contribute, and makes it more manageable for people.
DOUG: Interesting, I didn’t realize that either! One area that often gets missed, is the power of using life insurance to donate as well. For instance, you can buy a life insurance policy and have the beneficiary as the charity as an example, or just dedicate a portion of a larger policy to the charity of your choice. There are many ways to do that, and it is tax free!
SARA: There is an excellent local charity called Lilly’s Fund, that was started by two women whose daughters were affected by epilepsy. They wanted to raise awareness, debunk the stigma and raise money to research epilepsy with the doctors and scientists at UW-Madison. They have done a great job with communicating facts, created fun ideas of how to raise awareness and they have also raised millions for Grace’s Grant that allows researchers to work toward a cure for epilepsy, right here in our community. Currently, Epilepsy is underfunded, and making an impact through raising awareness, research, and educated the public and reduced the stigma around Epilepsy because we understand more about the condition. If you see the purple sticker on the back of helmets, on someone’s lapel, or on a car, that shows support for Epilepsy awareness.
Background:
Sara DeTienne has been a fundraising professional for the past 20 years serving the National W Club at the UW Athletic Dept., The Henry Vilas Zoological Society, and The Morgridge Institute for Research and presently the UW Foundation/Medical Advancement Team. In each of these roles, she has developed deep meaningful relationships, matching individual philanthropic goals with needs of the mission of each organization she has served. She relies on a higher purpose and allowing the power of philanthropy to accomplish the greater sum of all parts and solve common needs.
If you would like to donate or learn more please reach out directly to Sara DeTienne at sara.detienne@supportuw.org or 608-308-5366.