enCourage Kids Foundation helps humanize healthcare for children and their families by resourcing impact-driven pediatric programs. Michele Hall-Duncan, President and CEO of enCourage Kids, is the powerhouse leader of this phenomal organization. Michele began her career at enCourage Kids as a volunteer and joined the program staff full-time in 1996. Having suffered from a serious illness as a child, Michele felt a special connection to the mission of enCourage Kids and quickly moved up the latter. We caught up with the foundation leader to see what she’s been up to since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

OurBKSocial: Congratulations on all your recent success. We missed your events last year because of the pandemic. Can you share with us how you pivoted during that time?

Michele Hall-Duncan: It’s been a really challenging year. Like so many other organizations, we had to adapt to a new “normal.” Having to cancel our three biggest fundraising events was a tremendous blow to the organization financially. On top of that, remote working forced us to reassess traditional fundraising methods and resources, as well as program delivery. Our fundraising strategy had to change, and so we pivoted our focus to foundation and corporate grants, and peer-to-peer and individual fundraising. We also tried to use social media and the virtual space to broaden our outreach and visibility as much as possible. 

I love the Healthcare Heroes Campaign. Can you tell us how you came up with it?

March 11 was exactly one year since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic and one year since we had to cancel our 35th Anniversary Gala. With restrictions still in place for large gatherings, we were unable to hold an in-person Gala this year either. Instead, we decided to forgo trying to plan a virtual gala in March and launched our Honoring Healthcare Heroes campaign with the dual purpose of highlighting the incredible work of our hospital partners on the front lines of fighting this pandemic and raising $1M to continue to provide them with what they need to treat and care for the children and families they serve. The campaign highlights stories of courage and resilience from different voices and different hospitals throughout New York City. Our featured heroes have personally and professionally been affected by COVID-19 in ways that we hope no one else will ever experience, and they have done so while putting the lives of those in their care front and center. We wanted to tell their stories.

Michele Hall-Duncan with children part of the enCourage Kids Foundation. | Photo courtesy of Michele Hall-Duncan

How did you choose those particular child life supporters?

When we were crafting the campaign, we wanted to be thoughtful about who we featured. We partner with so many amazing hospitals and individuals and we wanted to do justice to their sacrifices and hardships but also their triumphs over the many challenges they have faced. We also knew we wanted to share the stories that the public might not have heard before. The child life profession is one that often goes unnoticed and is not always a priority in hospital budgets. In fact, over the years, there are hospitals whose child life departments would not otherwise exist if not for the funding that enCourage Kids provided for pilot programs and staff. We wanted to be their voice, and we thought that each of our featured heroes offered a unique perspective and experience that needed to be heard. 

What hospitals do you support in the New York area and since COVID, what have you been doing to support the hospitalized children?

We partner with 130 hospitals in the NYC Metro area. For the past year, we have been working closely with all of our hospital partners across the country to respond to their immediate needs and preemptively prepare for what lay ahead. Ever since the pandemic hit, our focus has been to step in and help the communities that are inundated, providing the support and critical resources they uniquely need, when they need it. Our relationships with the child life community put us in a unique position to be the organization they reach out to when they need help. At the start of the pandemic, many child life specialists requested supplies and technology to help their pediatric patients cope with the extreme isolation they were experiencing, particularly in cities like New York where the COVID-19 caseload was high. We learned they were adapting items traditionally used for play to use for medical interventions and therapies instead. For example, toys like kazoos and pinwheels were being used for breathing treatments. We also learned how child life specialists were being asked to step into other roles in the hospital when pediatric wards were being converted into adult COVID units, and some of them requested things like snacks and self-care items for exhausted staff working around the clock. One way enCourage Kids responded to these needs was to create COVID-19 Coping Kits that included crayons, coloring books, model magic, colored pencils and stickers that were packaged in clear resealable plastic bags and designed for single-use to prevent the spread of infection. We also created a version of these kits that included items geared toward teens, who are often an overlooked population. We learned pretty quickly to be as adaptable and creative as the child life specialists are trained to be themselves.

We love attending and covering your events.  Share with us the event docket over the next few months?

We’re excited to be moving forward with in-person events again. We have a golf outing coming up on July 19th and we’re very excited to be planning our Serving Up Smiles tasting event scheduled for October 19th at the beautiful waterfront space, The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers, in Manhattan. 

Let’s talk about Serving Up Smiles since you did that virtually with different chefs cooking and then you hosted it virtually on-line with Justin Hartley and Ryan Field as your co-hosts.

Since we began Serving Up Smiles 6 years ago, it has grown into one of our most anticipated fundraising events. Last year, since we could not hold the event as usual, during the summer we crafted a series of virtual cooking classes called Serving Up Smiles at Home that featured the talents of nearly 20 chefs and mixologists from across the country including culinary master David Burke and John Cleveland of L.A.’s Post and Beam. Then in December, we produced a virtualServing Up Smiles event, with Revel Spirits Brand as the presenting sponsor. With Justin Hartley hosting from L.A. and WABC News Sports Anchor Ryan Field emceeing from Ben & Jack’s Steakhouse in Manhattan, the event consisted of cooking demonstrations from top chefs including our event Culinary Chair, Chef Ralph Scamardella from Tao Group, mixology demos, wine and beer tastings, live entertainment, a silent auction and special entertainment in our virtual VIP Lounge. 

While the virtual event was a success, I’m very glad to be planning an in-person event this year. I think it will really be a wonderful opportunity for our community to not just support the work of enCourage Kids Foundation, but also to celebrate being together again while featuring food from some of the best chefs and restaurants the city has to offer. We’re also going to have some excellent wineries represented and handcrafted cocktails, as well as live music and a silent auction offering amazing items and experiences, something to whet everyone’s appetite!

Do you think the shift in fundraising has helped or hurt nonprofits?

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There’s no doubt that the overall impact has been damaging to nonprofits but to varying degrees. Many nonprofits, like enCourage Kids, have not been able to fundraise at the same level, due to a mixture of cancelled or scaled back events, or donations being directed or redirected to pandemic- and disaster-related causes. A study conducted by Candid said that more than 30% of U.S. nonprofits are in jeopardy of closing within two years because of the financial harm inflicted by the pandemic. That is a very concerning statistic. 

What will you do as a leader to keep amplifying your message?

It’s important for my team and I to remain focused on reminding people that we are a vital organization that still provides a necessary service. As a nonprofit headquartered in New York City, we continue to find ourselves in a highly competitive fundraising environment. That is why we feel it’s so important for people to know what enCourage Kids does, that in providing resources and support to the child life community, we are supporting a relatively hidden population of medical workers who are on the front lines delivering critical care. I think we are successfully relaying that message with our Honoring Healthcare Heroes campaign, and we are determined to continue to be their voice and tell their stories

Do you see nonprofits making a big comeback in raising funds now that events are opening up?

Yes, as long as the trajectory of COVID-19 cases and transmission continues to go down and restrictions on gatherings remain lifted. Fundraising events are a huge revenue source for so many nonprofits. I don’t know if it will be enough to keep some nonprofits from closing entirely but it’s definitely a step in the right direction for many of us.

Any campaigns coming up that you can share with us?

Right now, we are focused on our Honoring Healthcare Heroes campaign which we plan to run throughout the entire year. In September, we will also launch our Send a Smile, Send a Bear campaign on National Teddy Bear Day to raise money to send teddy bears to pediatric patients across the country. 

Do you think the younger generation is much more aware about being philanthropic than when we were growing up?

I think there’s a certain extra level of awareness with this generation that comes from having information on a global scale at your fingertips. When I was a kid, we had a small black and white television and our news came twice a day, at 5 o’clock and 11 o’clock. We listened to the radio and to what the adults around us would discuss seeing on the news or reading in the paper. All of that has changed. So I think people are exposed to societal issues at a much younger age simply because they are bombarded with it in 24-hour news cycles and social media outlets. The younger generation can’t help but be more aware. But I also think the attitude toward philanthropy has changed. The younger generation seems to care more about supporting a cause that fits within their personal values, which I think is different from 30 or even 20 years ago. And they are looking to support organizations that have real impact. We’ve seen that change with fundraising events versus program support. Over the last 10 years, many of our donors have moved away from sponsoring events to sponsoring specific programs. The prestige of having your name associated with an event has taken a back seat to providing direct support to a program, project or activity where you can see the tangible results. More and more, people are interested in seeing that their contributions are making a real difference.

How would you like to see the younger generation get involved in philanthropy? 

Our younger generation is amazing and so incredibly focused on improving the world by highlighting health related charities, social justice reform, and climate change to name a few. They are a very powerful force when they are mobilized in large numbers as we have seen in the political arena over the last several years. I think it’s important for people to look for a charity that speaks to their hearts, and then jump in! People are more likely to remain committed if they believe in the mission and aren’t just following the latest trending cause. Also, not all philanthropy needs to be monetary. Volunteering is an excellent way of giving back to the community, or they can look for organizations that have a Young Professionals group they can join. We have an incredible Young Professionals Board that creates events throughout the year to support the mission of enCourage Kids. They just hosted a really fun and successful virtual Wine Tasting for Valentine’s Day that raised over $10,000, and a springtime virtual Fitness Class series. 

Are you planning Starry Nights this year and how can we get the young professionals involved?

We are hoping to hold our annual Starry Night cocktail party in September, but haven’t finalized plans yet so be on the lookout on our social media for updates! The event usually takes place at the beautiful rooftop restaurant, 230 Fifth, and is hosted by our Young Professionals Board. We are always looking for bright, talented young professionals to join the YPB. Anyone interested should contact our Communications Manager, Mallory Humphries, at mhumphries@encourage-kids.org. 

Thank you for sitting down with us and we look forward to seeing you at the upcoming events.

It is my pleasure and we look forward to seeing you there as well.

To follow and support the great work of the enCourage Kids Foundation and to attend their events, please visit encourage-kids.org