Transcription:

Scott Webb: When many of us hear the word philanthropy, we probably picture folks like Melinda Gates, But philanthropy comes in many sizes and shapes, and my guest today would like us to know that the traditional blueprint for the giving of time and money has changed. I'm pleased to be joined today by Jeff Wardwell. He's the Chief Philanthropy Officer for SVMHS. This is Ask the Experts from Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System. I'm Scott Webb.

Jeff, it's great to have you on today. I've been hosting these for a while and have to say this is a new topic for me, so I'm excited to learn more about philanthropy and especially what it means in sort of today's terms. So let's start there. What does philanthropy mean in today's terms?

Jeff Wardwell: It's interesting you ask that question because to be honest, it's getting harder and harder to answer because it's becoming more and more complex of a topic. For many, many generations in most of human history, philanthropy's always just been known as kind of the act of voluntary giving, whether it was monetary, whether it was goods or even people's time to promote a common good. And that very much still resonates, but it's become a more complex conversation around where specific needs are in any given community across the world really.

But also how it could be leveraged to really be a catalyst for growth in any community to attack those social issues, those root issues, those equity issues to ensure as the population grows, as some of even our rural centers, like where we are grow, , that we're well equipped to meet that demand. So philanthropy's really just kind of been in a constant state of transition where now you're seeing so many creative, partnerships, public private partnerships, corporate funding collaborative s that are even being organized as a high level of state and federal government through initiatives.

There's just been a lot of really interesting developments over the last few decades, even outside of market turbulence and pandemics and things of that nature. If anything, it's really caused a growth trend for those types of folks as well as individual philanthropy with the baby boomer generation. So it's really a neat time and very exciting for communities that are really in desperate needs.

Scott Webb: Yeah, it does seem, as you say, I'm in my fifties, so my sort of understanding of what philanthropy was when I was younger versus where it is today seems like there's so much growth, so much creativity in all these different ways, different angles, different partnerships, and sort of throwing the blueprint out the window for what it was at one time. So I'm wondering how does philanthropy contribute to the health and wellness of a community or specifically of the SVMH community?

Jeff Wardwell: Where philanthropy really provides that kind of bedrock element of a thriving community is that it allows anyone at any level of the community. So an example, again, we've talked about Monterey County and the diversity that's here, not only from a cultural standpoint, but also from an economic spectrum standpoint. We've got the, wealthiest 1% in our county down to migrant farm worker populations that are just trying to do everything they can to get by.

But there's still no shortage within this community, across the board for people wanting to be engaged in their community, whether, again, it's through volunteerism, whether it's through a donation. And again, we have a huge element of that lower social economic spectrum that are donors to many of the nonprofits in our region. And it's just a testament to how a culture of philanthropy can really drive the growth of the community and we're seeing it here.

With regards to your question on healthcare, I would say, my time, which now is I think approaching around 15 years, being involved with SVMH. What I've seen, especially in the last 10, is a real commitment to getting out into these corners of our community, letting them know resources are available. Bridging the gap in access and how we've been able to do some of those big lists is through a substantial commitment, philanthropic commitment from not only our corporate sector agriculture, but also individual donors.

And volunteers through our patient experience, our service league people who are volunteering within the walls of the hospital to augment the staffing that is available to take care of the population. We've just seen a tremendous transformation in our ability to meet the need of the community because of that philanthropic effort.

Scott Webb: Yeah. And it really does just seem like sort of all hands on deck. Wondering if you can give us some idea, like if folks want to get involved, if they want to donate their time, money, form, partnerships, whatever it might be, how can they do that?

Jeff Wardwell: Sure. Well, first and foremost, absolutely will always tell people to visi t many of the nonprofit websites that, are around in our community. Our hospital, our healthcare system,, at svmh.com. There are opportunities to volunteer both in the hospital and out of the hospital to support the community wellness. You can also click on the foundation link and go to the foundation, learn about the many programs that are supported through philanthropic contributions. And there's opportunities there. The other piece is never be afraid to ask questions.

That's the one thing that I've learned in my career in philanthropy and through my volunteerism, has just been that sometimes it's what you don't know that gets you to the next piece. Trying to connect to, a passion that. Moves you into a space where you feel like you're making a difference in your little corner of the world. Sometimes it's just asking and , I think that's one of the greatest things that we can do to get involved.

Scott Webb: Yeah, I think you're so right. I think that perhaps, some of us think, well, I'm not a giant corporation. I don't have huge deep pockets, but I care about my community, I care about others. I want to get involved. And there's so much we don't know, right? It's a great opportunity if folks hear this today and they think, you know what? Jeff's convinced me because he's a very convincing guy. I want to get involved, I want to do what little or what the most that I can, whatever it is. Hopefully you've inspired folks. I think that's probably a big part of your job, right? Inspiring folks to be creative and dig down deep and to really think of themselves, as a member of a community and sort of that, tide raising all boats.

Jeff Wardwell: Yeah, I, you couldn't have said it better. People get into this line of work because they truly wanna make a difference. And I think, my team and I, as well as many of my colleagues in the region that work in the nonprofit sector are strongly committed to seeing this thing through. And you have the benefit of going to work every day knowing that you are doing something that you're passionate about. It doesn't become work at that point becomes, your life.

Scott Webb: Yeah, it definitely does. And hopefully we've inspired folks today. You've inspired me. Great to have your time. I'm sure we'll have you back again, but thanks so much. You stay well.

Jeff Wardwell: Absolutely. Thank you, Scott, for having me.

Scott Webb: And for more information on the foundation or to get involved, go to svmh.com. And if you found this podcast to be helpful, please be sure to tell a friend, neighbor or family member and subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and check out the entire podcast library for additional topics of interest. This is Ask the Experts from Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System. I'm Scott Webb. Stay well, and we'll talk again next time.