Success Stories

Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) Foundation – Fairfax, Virginia
www.sirfoundation.org

The SIR Foundation is dedicated to fostering research in interventional radiology for the purposes of advancing scientific knowledge, increasing the number of skilled investigators, and developing innovative therapies that lead to improved patient care and quality of life.

The Foundation, comprised of nearly 4,000 interventional radiology professionals, is committed to developing, evaluating, and enhancing innovative, minimally invasive, image-guided therapies from inception to mature clinical application and to conducting educational programs in the service of its mission.

In 2006, SIR Foundation engaged The Sheridan Group to conduct a Campaign Readiness Assessment and a 45-interview Feasibility Study on behalf of a $21 million case for support for current program and endowment funding for Research Grants, Educational Initiatives and Clinical Trial Development.

The Assessment and Study Reports pointed out that while SIR had reached a state of readiness through the momentum of its ongoing development program and relationships with current members, it was not yet ready to proceed with a campaign approach to its key industry partners. The Sheridan Group accordingly recommended that separate, sequenced campaigns be launched:

A Membership Campaign (with an internally focused Leadership Gifts Phase, followed by a Public Phase to the entire membership), followed by

An Industry Campaign (deferred until 2008, will initiate a Leadership Gifts Phase concurrent with the launch of a revitalized SIR corporate advisory council, followed by a Public Phase)

With ongoing counsel and support from the SIR Foundation has nearly completed the Leadership Gifts Phase of The Discovery Campaign, through which a team of dedicated campaign co-chairs and leadership gifts committee members have secured more than $1 million from the first 60 donors. This represents a monumental achievement for the SIR Foundation, as its previous campaign, which ended in 2000, raised a total of $650,000 from the entire SIR membership. The Membership Campaign will ‘go public’ at the SIR Annual Scientific Meeting in the spring, 2008 and conclude one year later.