Nationwide Foundation invests historic $100 million in namesake children's hospital
The Nationwide Foundation is gifting a historic $100 million to its namesake, Nationwide Children's Hospital — the largest donation of its kind to a children's hospital in the United States, according to the hospital and the foundation.
The $100-million gift, which was to be formally announced on Wednesday, includes $30 million previously given by the foundation to the hospital.
The money will go to the newly launched "Empower the Possible" campaign, which will help fund the hospital system's five-year, $3.3-billion spending plan. The plan includes a new inpatient tower and increased investments in developing programs and research, such as fetal medicine, population health around Columbus, gene therapy and children's mental health, among many others.
More: Nationwide Children's to spend $3.3 billion on new hospital tower, more programs, research
"We are in the most aspirational strategic plan of our 132-year history," said Tim Robinson, chief executive officer of Nationwide Children's Hospital, in an interview with The Dispatch. "We're really creating this ecosystem focused on the whole child."
Nationwide Children's is an internationally recognized health care provider, Robinson said, and the goal is to keep and improve the programs that live up to that standard, whether it be serving a child from Columbus' Linden neighborhood or a child in another country.
The Nationwide Foundation, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company's nonprofit arm, will parse the millions out in $10-million allocations annually over the next seven years. It's already donated $30 million of the promised $100 million to the "Empower the Possible" campaign, starting those contributions back in 2022, during what Robinson called the campaign's "silent phase."
The campaign has already raised $270 million, and the hospital hopes to reach its $500 million goal by 2027.
The Nationwide Foundation has been contributing to the hospital since 2006, when its $50-million donation led to hospital trustees electing to name it Nationwide Children's.
Outside of the direct investment, Chad Jester, president of The Nationwide Foundation, said they hope that such a large donation will encourage individuals, businesses or other corporate entities to take a closer look at Nationwide Children's, systems like it or their surrounding communities.
"We're investing in a trusted, caring and impactful partner in Nationwide Children's Hospital," Jester said, "We know years down the road that the impact of our investments and others will do nothing but provide the best care for kids."
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Nationwide Foundation invests historic $100M in children's hospital
