St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - Funding - Philanthropic Aid

Philanthropic Aid

From 2000 to 2005, 83.7% of every dollar received by St. Jude went to the current or future needs of St. Jude. In 2002 to 2004, 47% of program expenses went to patient care and 41% to research. As of 2012, 81 cents of every dollar donated to St. Jude goes directly to its research and treatment.

To cover operating costs, ALSAC conducts many fund-raising events and activities. The FedEx St. Jude Classic, a PGA Tour event, is one of the most visible fund-raising events for the hospital. Other fund-raising programs include the St. Jude Math-A-Thon, Up 'til Dawn, direct mailings, radiothons and television marketing.

St. Jude also has a merchandise catalog called the Hope Catalog. The catalog contains everything from shirts to office items, and from patient art to "Give Thanks" wristbands.

One of the hospital's most recent and successful fund-raising efforts has been the Dream Home Giveaway. The giveaway allows contest entrants to reserve tickets for $100 each to qualify to win homes valued up to $720,000. The Dream Home Giveaway, one of the largest national fund-raising programs, is conducted in cities across the United States.

In November 2004, St. Jude launched its inaugural Thanks and Giving campaign which encourages consumers to help raise funds at participating retailers by adding a donation at checkout or by purchasing specialty items to benefit St. Jude. The campaign is supported by network television spots, advertisements in major publications, interactive marketing on Yahoo! and a movie trailer that runs on 20,000 screens nationwide. Corporations such as Target, Domino's Pizza, the Williams-Sonoma family of brands, CVS/pharmacy, Kmart, Kay Jewelers, New York & Company 7-Eleven, Inc., American Airlines, American Kiosk Management, AutoZone, Brooks Brothers, Busch Gardens, Casual Male XL, Catherines, Diane von Furstenberg, Dollar General, Easy Spirit, General Nutrition Centers, Gymboree, HSN, J. P. Morgan Chase, Marshall's, The Melting Pot, Memphis Grizzlies (NBA), Nine West, Rochester, Sag Harbor, Saks Fifth Avenue, SeaWorld, St. Louis Rams (NFL), West Elm, Westfield Shoppingtowns, and Yahoo! give customers a host of opportunities to support St. Jude.The ultimate goal is to increase awareness with the hope that people will come to identify Thanksgiving with St. Jude, said Joyce Aboussie, vice chairwoman of the nonprofit’s board.

At various college campuses, some student organizations, fraternities and sororities raise funds in a program called Up 'til Dawn

St. Jude is an International Philanthropic Project of Epsilon Sigma Alpha International, a co-ed service sorority. As of October 2009, ESA has raised more than $135 million for St. Jude.

In 1999, the Delta Delta Delta collegiate sorority formed a philanthropic partnership with St. Jude. Tri Delta supports St. Jude nationally and supports cancer charities at a local level. At the hospital in Memphis, the sorority donated the Teen Room for teenage patients to relax and spend time with each other. In July 2010, Tri Delta completed its "10 by 10" goal, raising over $10 million in less than four years, six years short of the original goal. Those funds were used to sponsor the Tri Delta Patient Care Floor in the Chili’s Care Center. Upon completion of the "10 by 10" campaign, the sorority announced a new fundraising goal of $15 million in 5 years to name the Specialty Clinic located in the Patient Care Center. Two short years after setting this goal, however, the ladies of Delta Delta Delta have raised over $8.5 million and are on their way to completing their fundraising goal much earlier than expected once again.

In July 2005, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. (ΚΑΨ) announced St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as its national philanthropic partner. Since that time, members across the country have joined in the fight against pediatric cancer, sickle cell disease, and other catastrophic illnesses. Kappa Alpha Psi has answered the call to service by raising more than $400,000—representing the largest contribution that Kappa Alpha Psi has donated to any charity. Members of Kappa Alpha Psi have committed to raise $500,000 in support of the hospital’s sickle cell program. St. Jude has one of the largest pediatric sickle cell research and treatment programs in the world. St. Jude is the first known hospital in the world to cure sickle cell disease through bone marrow transplantation. Today, bone marrow transplantation still offers the only cure for sickle cell disease. Members of Kappa Alpha Psi reach out to churches in their local communities to host a Sunday of Hope each January in support of St. Jude. January was selected because this is the month of Kappa’s founding. During the Sunday of Hope, churches will take up a special offering in honor of the patients and families of St. Jude. At the 2008 ALSAC/St. Jude Board and Awards Dinner, Kappa Alpha Psi received the Volunteer Group of the Year Award for their efforts in the inaugural year of the Sunday of Hope program which secured more than 130 churches to participate and raised more than $280,000.

Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) Fraternity adopted St. Jude as its philanthropy of emphasis in 2008.

Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc. serves thousands of hours each year to a variety of philanthropic causes and needs. In the effort to create a more united and bigger impact nationally, Lambda Theta Alpha selected a national philanthropy. In January 2010, LTA became an official collegiate partner to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, becoming the first individual Latino Greek organization to commit fully to the hospital's efforts. With this partnership, LTA provides our resources of community service and activism and more importantly, another direct link to the Hispanic community for St. Jude. LTA has pledged to raise awareness about childhood cancer and St. Jude in the Latin community, as well as fundraise for the hospital through a variety of events and programs.

Past events have included: sporting tournaments, charity galas, informational meetings, and much more.