News

The path we're on: Foundation update

BY Catherine Hill, Foundation Executive Director

Fort Wayne, Indiana (June 22, 2009) — It’s been a year of “branching out” in new directions. Certainly a measure of the success of a fundraising organization is the amount of funds raised, but another important benchmark is the number of donors who contribute. Even during these difficult economic times, income to the Foundation has decreased only slightly thanks to the increased volume of gifts. Not only is this a promising sign of our long-term growth prospects, but also a testament to our passionate donors and where they place the Foundation on their list of priorities.

We continue this year with our $10 million commitment to the Indiana University Simon Cancer Center. As you’ll read in the pages of this magazine and on our verabradley.org their exciting advancements make us confident that the funds we raise are well placed. We’ve paid $8.45 million on that pledge to date. We strive each day to maximize contributions to the Foundation by keeping our operating costs to a minimum.

The stories we share in “Hope Grows Across the Country” (page 111) and “Foundation on the Road” (page 118) show that we’re making new friends every day. With each new “branch” that the Foundation grows, untold numbers of doors open and we find new partners with a shared passion for putting an end to breast cancer. Groups like: Team Vera Bradley, an 8-person cycling team led by survivors, Beth Goldsmith and Lisa Friedman, who will literally carry the message of the Foundation coast to coast in a seven day relay-style Race Across America; the Zionsville Girls’ Tennis team that wears pink uniforms at every match and raises funds for the Foundation all school year; the young skaters in Columbus, Ohio, who reach out to their community to raise funds and present an awesome skating exhibition to honor survivors; the “paint your own pottery” ceramic studios across the country which plan their own events around the Hope Grows theme; and the many Vera Bradley retail partners hosting events (page 68) are among a few of so many exciting examples of ways we are sowing the seeds of hope beyond our Northeast Indiana community.

The new friends and new donors that join us on a daily basis remind us that breast cancer’s reach is far and wide. Each donor with a passion for the cure is a seed in our garden of hope.

Number of donors in...
2003-2004: 1,356

2004-2005: 1,550

2005-2006: 1,680

2006-2007: 2,966

2008*: 3,500