Summary of Achievements 2011
President's Office
- Recruited seven new Board Members from the publishing, maritime, medical, corporate legal, accounting and insurance industries.
- Established a Long-Range Planning Committee that seeks to identify new opportunities to better serve the House community, as well as the New York City community at-large.
- Balanced the 2010 budget.
- Hosted the National Executive Directors Conference of Ronald McDonald House Charities in New York City in January 2011.
Development
- In conjunction with the Board of Directors and many wonderful volunteers, the efforts of the Development Office produced a 1.2 million dollar surplus of income over the budgeted income target of $10,041,000.
- The 2011 Annual Gala, which was emceed by broadcast legend Barbara Walters, raised $3.5 million dollars; one million dollars over the targeted goal.
- Introduced “Builders of Hope,” an annual fundraising event catering to the construction industry.
- The Board of Associates was founded with the mission of formally connecting individuals with resources that will complement those of the Board of Directors.
- The position of Director of Major Gifts was reestablished to concentrate on building long-term donor relationships with individuals that are not relationships maintained through event fundraising.
- Transitioned Credit Card Merchant Accounts from Authorize.net to Cybersource allowing for the utilization of gift batching in our donor database for streamlined credit card processing and gift record entry.
- Developed improved gift processing procedures with focus on batch data entry and proper handling of cash versus pledge gifts drastically reducing duplicate data entry.
Programs
- Five RMH-NY children (patients and siblings) were invited to perform with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Alice Cooper to sing, ‘Schools Out For Summer’. The show was televised worldwide on the Fuse Channel and also made available online.
- Film and music education – Students released their first movie, Journey to Planet Wannabe in April. The movie was premiered at the theatre at the Bohemian Hall. The first hit song co-written by Cain Hartung and Maria Gentile and sung by our House Band and Choir. The song was recorded at the Magic Shop and produced by ABKO. “I WILL ALWAYS BE THERE” is currently on iTunes with 80% of the proceeds coming directly to the House.
- CAMP RONALD summer camp served 122 active participants for seven weeks. Patients and siblings from all age groups participated in indoor and outdoor activities. A total of 21 unique and exciting trips made for a truly great summer experience. In addition, four RMH teens attended two weeks of music school at SUNY Oneonta Music Festival.
- ARCHIE’S SPECIAL 70TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE – Jonathan and Penny Goldwater conceived the first and only comic book magazine publication wherein a character is stricken with cancer and comes to stay at Ronald McDonald House New York. All proceeds from this issue goes to Ronald McDonald House New York.
- Student newsletter “Press Crew” hits the newsstands worldwide. USA Today included a full page wrap to the newspaper that showcases the work of Ronald McDonald House New York’s young reporters. Released to coincide with RMHC Global Conference.
- HALLOWEEN BOO BASH – on October 31st, 168 family members, volunteers and staff dressed in Halloween garb donated by Stacey Bendet Eisner and Ira Levy were invited to the beautiful 583 Park Avenue. The Rose family had the venue, food and atmosphere well taken care of.
- December 8th marked our first “Winter Wonderland’ semi-formal. One hundred sixty two family members, volunteers and staff attended a night of dance and leisure at The Burden Mansion.
- AOL Media Center - Worked with AOL in the planning, development, creation and implementation of the Improvements in the Computer Room. The intent for the improvements to the Computer Room was to create a dedicated space that would house computers and digital electronic equipment in an aesthetically-pleasing environment designed to create happiness for, and provide accommodations to, patients and parents and especially those in wheelchairs.
Operations
- Managed the overall renovation and reconstruction of Ronald McDonald House New York Conference Room, first floor Guest bathrooms, AOL Media room and New York Ranger game room. Selected materials and finishes; creatively resolved the overall function of each space.
- Orchestrated and synchronized the delivery of substantial donations for the House: Worked with the Macy’s Furniture Buying Production Development team on selecting new furniture for the Macy’s Living Room and hosting ribbon-cutting ceremony (Macy’s and all the Vendors donated more than $75,000 in furniture and design services to the project). Seasonal Holiday decorations valued at $11,000 and artwork were also hung in various areas of the House valuing $39,000.
- Introduced the “Parent Pantry Program” in which to date 18 New York City schools have registered to participate. The goal of the program is to have schools within the community host paper products or dried goods drives to help parents offset the cost of staying in New York and reduce the overall House Operations budget.
- Capital Projects: Negotiated best price for new main roof, and new bulkhead roofing systems, using Kemper 20 year NDL warranty, and an entire new roof paving system as a donation with a value of $30,000. Complete replacement of the entire sidewalk with best quality materials, including replacement of existing concrete at entry area (approximately one third of sidewalk) with granite slabs. Received an $80,000 donation of a new state of the art, fully automatic Ice Melting System which eliminates all costs and labor associated with snow and ice removal.
- Solicited and obtained donations for a total of $38,254.00 donation for various House events.
- Negotiated best price and terms for mandated Local Law 11 7th Cycle inspections, and monitored bidding for work required as a result of such inspections.
- IT: Implemented the Micros Opera reservation software as well as M-Tech's HotSOS maintenance software. Programmed applications (such as the iPad registration forms app) and continued to maintain and implement features on existing software applications such as the staff scheduler.
- College and Internship Programs -- Developed programs with the St. John's college/professors that include a project for the house with the Software Engineering class and an internship program for interns to program small projects for the house.
- Installed Culligan filtered water stations in guest kitchens, dining room buffet, playroom, conference room and staff kitchen.
- Compiled paperwork and application to New York Council Members Jessica Lappin and Christine Quinn. Application submitted to request Programmatic funding from NYC Department of Youth & Community Development Program. Resulted in a $3,857 award to Ronald McDonald House New York for the 2011-2012 City Budget year.
Human Resources/Volunteer Development
- Team Ronald held its annual volunteer fundraiser event, “Our House,” which raised over $500,000. In addition to breaking a fundraising record, attendance records were broken also with more than 800 people in attendance.
- Recruited and placed 36 new volunteers for the evening and daytime teams.
- Fifty-two community organizations and corporations participated in Day of Caring and cleaning events.
- Recruited and certified four new therapy dog teams, bringing the total to 19 handlers and 21 dogs.
- Conducted 6,325 spiritual and emotional care visits, 909 of them with in-patient residents.
- Kicked off the December Holiday season with a spectacular House lighting celebration that included singing, the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes, food, and a visit from Santa. This event raised over $89,000 for RMH NY through the “Light a Light, Share A Night” Campaign.
- Through a partnership with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, we provided staff and volunteers with a four-part continuing education lecture series that included pediatric cancer overview, neuroblastoma, sarcoma and leukemia. Over 100 volunteers participated in the programs.
- Hosted 12 Women’s Integrative Wellness Night events providing 360 relaxation, wellness and beauty sessions to mom’s staying at the House.
Finance
- Hired Database Specialist Adrian Jarrett and successfully transitioned work from Milagros Baez.
- Raiser’s Edge Batch Entry – Worked with Development Department to implement batch entry to streamline data entry and reduce redundant work and unnecessary pledges. All event payments input directly into Raiser’s Edge to achieve up to date reporting.
- Raisers Edge Credit Card Payments – Worked with Development to use Raiser’s Edge Module to input credit card payments directly into the system. Eliminated redundant work by not using credit card terminal. Payments processed more quickly into bank account.
- Better Business Bureau – Achieved Better Business Charity Seal requirements and renewed Seal through May 2014.
- Annual Audit – Completed annual audit on schedule to have the draft audit report available at the April Board meeting for approval.
- Addressed all seven open Management Comments from 2010 Audit by 2011 Audit Fieldwork.
- Planned and prepared materials for eleven meetings throughout 2011: 2 Audit Committee; 5 Finance; and 4 Investment Committee.
- Prepared 2011 Budget to meet Finance Committee and Board Meeting Deadlines.
- Received second NYC grant from Council member Jessica Lappin - $4,000.
- Vendor & Airline Rewards Programs – Saved approximately $8,000 in office supplies and airline tickets through Vendor and Airline rewards programs.