(UroToday.com) The 2025 GU Oncology Early Career Thought Leaders Conference featured a building successful teams in medicine session and a presentation by Dr. Neil Fleshner discussing how to raise funds in your community. For this presentation, he divided his talk into 5 rules for approaching philanthropy:
Rule #1: Know Your Community
It is important to generate a footprint in your community, which typically entails having a bit of an extroverted personality. Within the community, knowing who is successful allows you to recognize names when they may be on your patient list.
Rule #2: Passion
It is important to develop a plan for using donations and be clear when communicating this plan. One way Dr. Fleshner does this is by developing three options depending on the level of giving. Further, we should not be afraid to ask for money for a good cause, while at the same time being passionate and honest, as you do not want to let a donor down. Additionally, it is crucial to develop a new plan every year and understand that some ideas are fundable, whereas others are not.
Rule #3: Don’t “Settle” for a Small Amount
Dr. Fleshner notes that small donors can become big ones over time, and we should not be afraid to go back to donors in subsequent years. It is important to keep in contact with the donors and to stay passionate.
Rule #4: Befriend Your Donors
Successful people are genuinely interested in their genitourinary oncologist and what we do. These relationships can be cultivated by planning dinners with them and keeping them updated on how well their investment is doing.
Rule #5: Develop an Infrastructure
Dr. Fleshner notes that it is important to work with your institutional development office. He meets with his team monthly, which helps to keep momentum going. This team is integral to success, given that their skillset often includes unique aspects outside of medicine, such as knowledge of deal structure, gift of stock, and bequethment.
Presented by: Neil Fleshner, MPH, MD, FRCSC, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Written by: Zachary Klaassen, MD, MSc – Urologic Oncologist, Associate Professor of Urology, Georgia Cancer Center, Wellstar MCG Health, @zklaassen_md on Twitter during the 2025 GU Oncology Early Career Thought Leaders Conference, Philadelphia, PA, Thurs, Mar 6 – Sat, Mar 8, 2025.
