SNRS NEWS

The Power of Philanthropy: Message From the President Cindy L. Munro

Correspondence to: Cindy L. Munro E-mail: [email protected]

Keywords: adolescence; adulthood; advance directives Research in Nursing & Health, 2015, 38, 4–6 DOI: 10.1002/nur.21639

Cindy L. Munro President, SNRS University of South Florida Tampa, Florida

Published online 19 December 2014 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com).

Members’ financial support of SNRS follows a strong tradition of personal philanthropy in American culture. Ninety percent of Americans participate in philanthropy (DellaVigna, List, & Malmendier, 2012), giving about 2% of their income to support social and charitable causes (Gottesman, Reagan, & Dodds, 2014). Prosocial giving, or “investing income in others rather than oneself” (Dunn, Aknin, & Norton, 2008, p. 1687) is widely practiced across all socioeconomic groups. Judge (2014) wrote, Dollars dropped in Salvation Army holiday pots, million dollar stock transfers, and run, walk, ride charitable event sponsorships are all a part of everyday American life. Thankfully, giving is a part of the American collective culture and has been for centuries. (p.315) SNRS has a robust research grant program. Every year, two $7500 grants are competitively awarded to support research conducted by SNRS members. An additional two PhD student dissertations are supported by competitive awards of $5000 each. Currently, SNRS grants are funded from our annual budget. The Board's goal is to increase the long term stability of funds for research and dissertation grants by establishing a foundation whose sole purpose is to provide research funding. The Development Committee has implemented several creative ideas to raise funds to build the foundation. There are opportunities for members to contribute at every level and throughout the year. Several of these opportunities occur at the annual meeting. Raffles and silent auctions generate enthusiastic participation, while “spare change” collection jars during general sessions encourage prosocial giving to the research fund on a smaller level. Our “Every Member Campaign,” now in

C

2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

its second year, will directly contribute to the foundation. Specific levels of giving are recognized through the “Circle of Scholars,” “Building a Foundation of Nursing Researchers,” and “Visionary Research Donation” programs; all funds go to support research and dissertation awards. SNRS is fortunate to partner with several exceptional organizations to provide grants. One research grant is cosponsored with Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI), and one dissertation grant is co-sponsored with the Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science (CANS). The American Nurses Foundation (ANF) also provides a research grant opportunity to SNRS members. STTI, CANS, and ANF also partner with the other regional nursing societies to provide grants. Working with our partners has enabled us to provide a higher level of support in all of our grants. We continue to cultivate new partnerships to further benefit our members. We are pleased that SNRS research and dissertation grants have contributed to the recipients' career development, and proud of the ways in which these awards have moved nursing knowledge forward. Particularly when larger sources of external funds are scarce, support to test ideas or obtain pilot data can increase the competitiveness of future grant submissions. Applications not selected for funding receive valuable feedback about strengths, weaknesses, and ways to improve the proposal While philanthropy clearly has benefits for the recipients, recently researchers have begun to explore benefits to the giver. Dunn et al. (2008) found that higher prosocial spending was associated with significantly greater happiness, while higher personal spending was not. Aknin et al. (2013), who have studied pro-social spending across cultures, suggest that happiness derived from prosocial spending is a psychological universal. Thus, doing good can make you feel good! For SNRS members, contributing to the support of

SNRS NEWS/ MUNRO

research funding may be particularly meaningful, as their support benefits both the research award recipients and the future patients who benefit from the research findings. SNRS benefits from the generosity of our members and partnering organizations, and our members experience benefit from giving. Member support in expanding the foundation is a testimony to the value they place in “paying it forward.” SNRS members willingly share money, time and talent to enable nursing research to move forward, and we are profoundly grateful.

References Aknin, L. B., Barrington-Leigh, C. P., Dunn, E. W., Helliwell, J. F., Burns, J., Biswas-Diener, R., & Norton, M. I. (2013). Prosocial

5

spending and well-being: Cross-cultural evidence for a psychological universal. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104, 635–652. doi: 10.1037/a0031578. DellaVigna, S., List, J. A., & Malmendier, U. (2012). Testing for altruism and social pressure in charitable giving. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 127, 1–56. Dunn, E. W., Aknin, L. B., & Norton, M. I. (2008). Spending money on others promotes happiness. Science, 319, 1687–1688. doi: 10.1126/science.1150952. Gottesman, W. L., Reagan, A. J., & Dodds, P. S. (2014). Collective philanthropy: Describing and modeling the ecology of giving. PLoS ONE, 9, e98876. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0098876. Judge, K. (2014). What’s changed and what’s stayed the same: A case study in nursing and philanthropy. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 38, 312–316. doi: 10.1097/NAQ.0000000000000057.

Affirming and Investing in Our Intellectual Community Eric A. Hodges

Correspondence to: Eric A. Hodges E-mail: [email protected] Eric A. Hodges SNRS Director of Development University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Do you recall what led you to research? A deep sense of curiosity paired with profound caring about the health and well-being of others? Were you persuaded that you could make a difference on a larger scale, touching more lives through research than you ever could in your day-to-day patient interactions? Who helped you along the way? Who were your mentors, both formal and informal? Those you saw regularly? Those you only met through their writing? It is not news that there is a national nursing faculty shortage, and many of you will be familiar with the data regarding the average age of doctorally-prepared faculty (51.4, 57.6, and 61.6 years for assistant, associate, and full professors, respectively; Fang, Li, Arietti, & Bednash, 2014a). The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health had among its goals doubling the number of doctorally-prepared nurses by 2020 (Institute of Medicine

Research in Nursing & Health

(US) Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing, 2011). Yet, we also know that due to the faculty shortage, among other factors, 78,089 qualified baccalaureate and graduate nursing program applicants were turned away in 2013 (Fang, Li, Arietti, & Bednash, 2014b). These numbers represent a significant loss of potential nurse scientists, which in turn represents a loss to patients, families, and communities who benefit from our scholarship. While we can continue to work at what must be multifaceted solutions to address factors limiting the student pool, it is incumbent upon us to invest in the success of our students, the next generation of scholars. A question for us all to consider is: how will we nurture those who come after us and honor those who helped us along the way? Is there a way we can do both?

6

RESEARCH IN NURSING & HEALTH

Our SNRS meetings are an annual opportunity to nurture these valued connections and allow for renewal, inspiration, and collaboration. There is no question that our research and our support of the development of our students demand our time and talent. We perform this work daily in our home institutions and collaborating sites. The SNRS Board's attention to the development of talent includes awareness that the needs of nurse scientists differ at various points along their research trajectories. To meet the diverse needs of SNRS members, our nursing society is considering multiple ways for SNRS members to participate, not only at our annual conference but throughout the year. Beyond members' investments of time, talent, we need an investment of treasure. There are many competing demands for our dollars, many of us are very careful about the investments we make, no matter the amount. As Director of Development for the Southern Nursing Research Society, I respect that care, I acknowledge that in our community the capacity to donate varies widely. For me, no donation is too small. Having personally experienced the power of micro-donations, or micro-giving, in my fundraising efforts on children's behalf, I know that what is important is maximizing the number who give, even if it's just a few dollars. Those dollars add up. We must look beyond our members for such donations. By sharing our stories about the impact of our

Research in Nursing & Health

scholarly work in the lives of our communities, we can showcase the powerful impact of the research conducted by nurses. Like our patients and students, foundations and corporations are community citizens who often are looking for ways to invest in worthy causes. Tell your stories! Everyone loves a good story. Through our investments in our nursing research society, we affirm one another's different interests, talents, and expertise and nurture our intellectual community, which ultimately benefits the larger community we serve.

Reference Fang, D., Li, Y., Arietti, R. & Bednash, G. D. (2014a). 2013-2014 salaries of instructional and administrative nursing faculty in baccalaureate and graduate programs in nursing. Washington, DC: American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Fang, D., Li, Y., Arietti, R., & Bednash, G. D. (2014b). 2013-2014 enrollment and graduations in baccalaureate and graduate programs in nursing. Washington, DC: American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing. (2011). The future of nursing: Leading change, advancing health. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

The power of philanthropy: message from the president.

The power of philanthropy: message from the president. - PDF Download Free
159KB Sizes 2 Downloads 6 Views