SBM’s Giving Campaign: We’re Just Getting Started

Marian Fitzgibbon, PhD; SBM Past-President and Development Committee Chair

 

For the past two years, we have been listening to what the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) members want from their professional home.  You, the members, told us that you are tired of behavioral medicine being the “best kept secret” for evidence-based decision making.  You want to see our science and our society as the “go-to-place” for solutions to today’s health challenges. 

This led to the formation of important strategic goals to expand our leadership development offerings for members at all career stages, communicate our science to the public and industry, and increase our outreach efforts to policymakers. We were excited about these ambitious goals, but knew that achieving them would require additional financial resources and a culture shift around member giving, starting with leadership. After almost a year of quietly raising almost $90,000 and achieving a 100 percent giving rate among the Board of Directors, we knew it was time to share our success and excitement with the full membership.

On April 7, 2021, SBM officially launched the Proven Science—Better Health Giving Campaign to build members’ skills and more widely disseminate our science to achieve better health for all. Since the official campaign launch, our members helped raise $14,617 contributing to the grand total of $101,289 that has been raised since April 2020. During the Giving Campaign launch, we saw our SIGs go head-to-head in a Battle of the SIGs donation competition and breathtaking photos submitted by our members who participated in the Virtual Hike. Thank you to the Physical Activity SIG who had the largest percentage of members donate during the Annual Meeting week, raising $660! Members also participated in the Planking Palooza event by posting photos of themselves planking in different environments after donating to the Science Communication Fund. Thank you to Dr. Sherry Pagoto who matched all donations up to $1,000 and to our members who raised $2,250 for the Science Communication Fund during the Annual Meeting week. And thank you to everyone who has donated so far.

The success of the Giving Campaign launch during the Annual Meeting was just the start of something so much bigger. The Battle of the SIGs competition is now a year-long event where the next winner will be announced during the 2022 Annual Meeting closing ceremony. There will be plenty of great opportunities to give throughout the year. A gift to the General Fund will keep membership dues low and allow us to respond to new opportunities. By giving to the Leadership Development Fund, you’re donating to expand the personal and professional growth of our up-and-coming members. Investing in our members means investing in the future of behavioral medicine. Giving to the Policy Advocacy Fund means that we can make public health legislative breakthroughs for wider impact. All donations to the Science Communication Fund enable SBM to help members disseminate their research findings beyond the traditional academic community. SBM can do so much more to help members combat misinformation and improve health literacy. However, we’re really going to need your help.

There are many ways that you can help support SBM’s Proven Science—Better Health Giving Campaign. You can conveniently make a donation on the SBM website, mail in a donation or pledge form, donate stock, or invest in on our many named giving opportunities. If you work in industry or are a member who wants to get more involved in fundraising, please email SBM Development Manager Eli Rehorst at erehorst@sbm.org. We would love to have you support us and achieve our ambitious goals. 

We hope you will continue to join us on this journey, as we build members’ skills and more widely disseminate our science to achieve better health for all. We look forward to continuing to join together to move behavioral medicine from the “best kept secret” to the best-known solution for today’s health challenges.