Sharing a story of impact from our community of support
This time of year, I’m always filled with immense gratitude – for family, good health, and so much more. As I look back on this year at Nurse-Family Partnership, I’m especially grateful for our community of support who makes our work possible.
Earlier this month, I caught up with one of our supporters – Nick, a community leader and champion for NFP in Chicago – who recently made a leadership gift to Nurse-Family Partnership. Nick’s commitment to our mission even went beyond financial support, creating a pathway for NFP to expand our services to the Chicago area through a new partnership with Metropolitan Family Services.
Speaking to Nick about his story and his motivations for supporting our mission and movement – and hearing his steadfast dedication to the Chicago community – was inspiring. I hope you enjoy hearing his story.
Frank Daidone: What inspires your personal philanthropic giving? What do you look for in organizations and causes that you support?
Donor: I think a sense of responsibility is what largely inspires my philanthropic giving. I’m in a fortunate position because of previous generations in my family and their successes. I wouldn’t be in this position to give if it wasn’t for them.
I look for organizations that have a constructive mission, along with all the elements of a good business – good management, quality services, and how they treat their employees.
F: That’s great. So you’re looking for organizations you know are set up to be successful. You’re looking beyond just the mission and looking at the entire organization holistically.
So, tell me how you first learned about Nurse-Family Partnership. What drew you to our work and mission?
D: I became very interested in early interventions – organizations that intervene with children at the earliest possible time, and a long-time advisor and friend told me about Nurse-Family Partnership. I read a report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, from about 12 years ago, that told the story of David Olds and how he developed and tested the Nurse-Family Partnership model —that really sold me. David Olds’ story was extremely compelling to me. Beyond the early intervention, I was drawn to NFP’s evidence base.
FD: What motivated your most recent gift to NFP?
D: I wanted to promote the program in my home community of Chicago and to also connect Metropolitan Family Services – which is an outstanding social service organization in Chicago. They have a strong Board of community and business leaders who are committed to the community and the mission, and their CEO, Ric Estrada, is an outstanding individual. They do excellent work so connecting them with Nurse-Family Partnership was another motivation.
FD: What do you hope to see our organization accomplish in the future as a result of your giving?
D: I hope to see the organization continue its good work, to expand where possible and reach as many eligible families as possible – in Chicago and beyond.
FD: What do you wish other people knew about NFP?
D: Most people don’t know Nurse-Family Partnership – so when you say what do you wish other people knew about NFP? In a way I’d have to start with just knowing that the program exists. I think the thing that distinguishes it is its evidence base— I’ve seen studies that rate home visitation programs and Nurse-Family Partnership ranks right up there at the top as a recommended program.
FD: You mentioned you were drawn to our evidence. Do you think about return on investment as well?
D: Absolutely. That’s something I always mention to others – that there is about $5.70 in benefit to society for every $1 invested in NFP.
Also, shortly after I became aware of Nurse-Family Partnership, I found out that there was a Nurse-Family Partnership program in New Orleans, where my daughter was attending college. I called them up and asked if I could come visit. They very nicely hosted me for a visit with several of their nurses, who talked very vividly about their cases and experiences. It’s always good to hear from the people doing the work, who are in the trenches so to speak – and that’s an opportunity I would want for others.
FD: You’re absolutely correct, and I couldn’t agree with you more. Those visits really connect all the dots and you can really see the power of the program.
Thank you for taking the time – we are so grateful for everything you and your wife have done for Nurse-Family Partnership and families in the program.
D: And I have to say thank you for the work that you do – I appreciate the hard work that everyone at Nurse-Family Partnership does and the fact that this program exists.
“I think everything about NFP is special, and I’m very proud and privileged to be a part of it and support it.”
Philanthropic support like Nick’s is critical to our ability to expand our footprint and reach first-time families across the country with our transformative, evidence-based solution. Thanks to our dedicated community of support, we’ve been able to reach more than 300,000 families so far – and we’re just getting started.
Every donor and every gift, no matter the size, makes a tremendous impact in moving Nurse-Family Partnership’s mission forward, getting us one step closer to our goal of doubling the number of families we serve each year. Together, we can create real, lasting change in our communities.