The Joint Corporate Campaign

Ambitious projects require ambitious ideas, and there is no better example of this than the Joint Corporate Campaign in support of the Redevelopment projects of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM).

In 1999, during briefing sessions for the MUHC’s own capital campaign, an inspired idea emerged from several participants: what if the MUHC and the CHUM approached the corporate community together, asking for a single gift in support of the most sweeping re-vitalization of academic medicine ever undertaken in Quebec?

Shortly thereafter, a committee was set up consisting of Dr. Hugh Scott, Philip Webster, Peter O’Brien and Don Taddeo for the MUHC, and Serge Saucier, Guy Savard, Gérard Douville and Jean LeBlanc for the CHUM. Agreement was quickly reached regarding this unprecedented partnership and the committee established the basic principles on which this Joint Corporate Campaign would be based. These included identifying the top 300 corporate sponsors to be approached, with an overall target of $150 million. Reflecting the equitable spirit of the campaign, it was decided that the proceeds of the campaign would be distributed evenly between the two institutions.

In the following years, efforts were devoted to refining the details of the campaign and a formal protocol was signed in 2007. Since then, John Rae, Chairman of the Best Care for Life campaign, and Pierre Desbiens, Chairman of the CHUM Foundation, have accel-erated meetings with Quebec’s corporate leaders. Don Taddeo and Ekram Rabbat, respective presidents of the MUHC and CHUM foundations, have been supporting this process by meeting with their professional counterparts in the corporate communities.

From the outset, response to this unique joint approach has been excellent and the donation levels being considered exceed by far what the corporate sector has given in the past. This reflects the corporate community’s realization that Montreal is distinctively fortunate to be home to two internationally recognized university health centres and research institutes, and that investing in the future of these in-stitutions has social and economic benefits that will be enjoyed by the entire community for decades to come.

Bell Canada was an early campaign leader, committing $10 million towards telemedicine at the MUHC and the CHUM. This gift was followed by an $8-million commitment from Power Corporation of Canada. These precedent-setting gifts are an inspiration to both institutions, and have set the bar high in motivating other corporations to give equally generously to this landmark philanthropic part-nership.
As we head into summer, the focus of the Joint Corporate Campaign is to finalize the agreements made with companies in the finan-cial sector. Looking towards the fall, plans call for approaching the next group of companies, those in the pharmaceutical sector.

The Joint Corporate Campaign in numbers

• The Joint Corporate Campaign has a goal of $150 million.
• These funds will come from a list of 300 prospects.
• 20 of these prospects have already been approached.
• 30 more prospects will be approached between now and December 31, 2008.

Two Centres, One Commitment to Excellence
We are entering an important new era in our collective history as we look to bring patient care, teaching and research into the 21st century through our Redevelopment projects. Inspired by innovation, the benefits of this unprecedented undertaking will reach across the city, the province and the country. The new CHUM at 1000 Saint-Denis and the MUHC’s Glen and Mountain campuses will offer patients a truly healing environment while seamlessly integrating teaching and research in intelligently designed, up-to-date spaces. Ultimately, our aim is to provide our doctors, nurses, professionals and staff with facilities that properly reflect their international ex-cellence and renown.
Dr. Arthur Porter - Director General and CEO – McGill University Health Centre
Dr. Denis R. Roy - Executive Director – Centre hospitalier de l’université de Montréal

At the Forefront of Research
Dynamic and productive research institutes are at the heart of the world’s best university health centres. The research institutes of the MUHC and the CHUM are home to more than 800 scientists who are pushing the boundaries of knowledge in the most innovative and promising areas of investigation in contemporary science. The researchers of the MUHC and the CHUM have made Montreal a Cana-dian hub for biomedical and pharmaceutical industries, providing a powerful, long-term stimulus to the city’s economy.
Dr. Vassilios Papadopoulos, Director – Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre; Associate Director General for Research of the McGill Univer-sity Health Centre
Dr. Jacques Turgeon, Director General of Research – Centre hospitalier de l’université de Montréal

Our Defining Moment
Thanks to the combined efforts of the MUHC and the CHUM, Montreal has become a true centre of excellence in health care. With distinct identities and complementary strengths, our institutions have developed a standard of clinical care, medical teaching and re-search innovation of which we are most proud. The Joint Corporate Campaign marks a watershed for these established institutions and reflects our shared commitment to a goal that transcends our individual ambitions: the revitalization of our health care system for to-day and for generations to come.
John Rae, Chair – Best Care for Life campaign
Pierre Desbiens - Chairman – Fondation du Centre hospitalier de l’université de Montréal

A Shared Vision
The Joint Corporate Campaign is one element of a landmark philanthropic effort that is galvanizing individuals, private foundations and the community at large in support of the redevelopment of our health care centres. The foundations of the MUHC and the CHUM are each engaged in a $300-million capital campaign, an ambitious goal that will ensure the creation of facilities of the very highest quality furnished with first-rate programs and equipment that will allow our talented professionals to offer our community the exceptional care they so richly deserve.
Donat J. Taddeo - President and CEO – McGill University Health Centre Foundation
Ékram Antoine Rabbat - President and Director General – Fondation du Centre hospitalier de l’université de Montréal