The Founders' Board
The Founders' Board supports the hospital's mission of providing the most advanced and compassionate healthcare for children and their families.
The Board, made up of 101 active members and 64 associate members, provides support through personal philanthropy, fundraising, advocacy, hospital governance and volunteerism.
Leadership Legacy
In 1892, hospital founder Julia Foster Porter recruited a board of her close associates to serve as the first Board of Lady Managers, later known as the Woman's Board. For more than a century, members have played an integral role in the hospital's growth and helped transform care for children in Chicago and beyond.
In May 2007, the board officially changed its name from the Woman's Board to the Founders' Board to reflect its leadership legacy, which dates back to the early days of the institution.
Governance
Founders' Board members are active in all hospital and foundation Board of Directors' committees and play a leading role in furthering the hospital's advocacy efforts.
Fundraising
The Founders' Board is the hospital's most enduring philanthropic partner. In the last decade alone, the Founders' Board has provided critical funds totaling more than $20 million for a number of endowed chairs for Children's staff and faculty.
The Founders' Board has a current commitment to the hospital to raise $10 million to support the Department of Family Services. Family Services offers creative and educational programs, activities, and resources to help children and their families emotionally, socially and developmentally. Some programs supported by the Founders' Board include Kohl's House and Project Open Book, and hospital facilities, including the garden court and the Brown Family Life Center.
Recently completed commitments include $2 million to establish an endowed Professorship in Pediatric, Adolescent, and Maternal HIV Infection, and a $6.5 million pledge to the Division of Neonatology to benefit the hospital's tiniest patients. The Founders' Board has also completed a $2 million commitment to the Division of Endocrinology in support of better treatments and potential cures for diabetes and other endocrine conditions affecting children.
To learn more about the Founders' Board, please contact us at 773.880.4237.
Members raise funds through personal appeals and outreach; retail operations including the White Elephant resale shop, gift shops and café; and annual fundraising events including:
Volunteerism
In addition to providing hospital leadership and fundraising expertise, Founders' Board members volunteer their time and talents to help ease the stress on patient families and to recognize the nursing staff. The president of the Founders' Board, currently Sarah Baine, serves a three-year volunteer term and works from an office in the hospital on a daily basis.