2022 Corporate Philanthropy Awards

bizjournals.com | Nov 17, 2022

Description: Children’s Flight of Hope believes distance and cost should not be barriers to care and provides flights to specialized medical for children in need.

What has been your biggest accomplishment in the past year? We are thrilled to have the impact of the pandemic on health care and air travel significantly behind us and celebrated an organizational record number of flights in July (141) and in the third quarter (361). Our staff and board invested quite a lot of time in a thoughtful and thorough assessment of tools, leadership, processes, and human resources to ensure we continue to grow at an impactful and effective pace.

What is your biggest opportunity? We are proud of our long history and impact but know there are many more families who could benefit from our program. Increased awareness to families in need is a top priority and we have several outreach strategies in place. We are particularly excited to welcome new board leadership in 2023 with the corporate experience to help us further execute an exciting growth vision.

Should nonprofits receive more government financial/tax assistance? More financial assistance is always needed by nonprofits working to deliver human services and improve our communities. However, nonprofits work well governed by their board of directors and “answering” to their donors. Tax exemption by the state for many goods and services is appreciated.

What is your biggest charity event of the year? We have committed supporters of three events and our most impactful celebration is Denim & Diamonds each November. In 2019 and 2020 the evening raised approximately $540,000 before increasing to $886,000 in 2021. The children we serve are dealing with rare and complex diagnoses that cannot be treated close to home. Access to top physicians at top-ranked hospitals is literally saving and changing the lives of the sweet children we serve. Wherever they live and wherever they need to go, we provide flights for the duration of the health care journey.