OUR MISSION: TO BUILD A LONG-TERM ENDOWMENT TO SUPPORT THE FIGHT AGAINST CANCER
Mary Bird Perkins has been a leader in the fight against cancer for over 50 years. Endowed gifts provide longterm sustainability needed to advance cancer care and provide vital resources across the continuum of care. We are committed to offering world-class oncology services, provided by a team of experts who are 100% focused on cancer. Together we triumph!
TOGETHER, WE POWER THE FUTURE OF CANCER CARE
Your visionary support of Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Foundation has allowed the Cancer Center to invest in lifesaving, state-of-the-art technologies, expand its reach among rural and underserved communities, attract top national talent, and become a hub for leading-edge national clinical research. Together, these advances are expanding the state’s largest cancer care organization’s enduring mission to improve survivorship and lessen the burden of cancer across the region.
These advancements are powered by our endowment. The strength of our endowment allows Mary Bird Perkins to create an ongoing source of income in perpetuity to fuel innovative cancer research. With your support, our endowment enhances the stability and credibility of our Cancer Center and allows for strategic growth and visionary program expansion that impacts the lives of our patients and their families. It also provides the independence and flexibility the Cancer Center needs to continue to invest in the future of cancer care.
Mary Bird Perkins continually moves its mission forward by offering the most advanced cancer care in the state. Mary Bird Perkins now offers the world’s most sophisticated form of radiation treatment available. And your support has made that level of innovative care possible. The Legacy Challenge has enabled the Cancer Canter to advance our growth and help us take cancer care to the next level. Your generosity has been vital to building an endowment that powers the future of cancer care and ensures Mary Bird Perkins provides leading-edge cancer care now and for decades to come.
Together, we create a legacy of giving that empowers us to triumph over cancer.
NATHANIEL TANNEHILL
2023-2024 Chair, Board of Directors
Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Foundation
“I
EXTEND HEARTFELT GRATITUDE TO ALL WHO SUPPORT OUR CONTINUED SIGNIFICANT MOMENTUM TO ENSURE THE FUTURE OF MARY BIRD PERKINS.”
JONAS FONTENOT, PhD, MBA President and CEO
Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center
GIVING TO OUR FOUNDATION CREATES A LASTING LEGACY OF GENEROSITY AND COMPASSION THAT FUELS OUR MISSION.”
2023-2024 FINANCIAL OVERVIEW
Throughout the past fiscal year, donor support has been the power behind the transformational endowment growth, coupled with favorable market returns and strong portfolio performance. Granting to Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center is only made possible by steadfast donor commitment to the mission and an unwavering vision to secure the future of cancer care for the health of Louisiana and the Gulf South.
MARKET VALUE AND ACTIVITY (JULY 1, 2023 – JUNE 30, 2024)
BEGINNING ENDOWMENT FUND BALANCE
The market value of Endowment Investments and Receivables as of July 1, 2023.
INCOME OR CONTRIBUTIONS AND INVESTMENT GAINS/LOSSES
GRANT TO MARY BIRD PERKINS CANCER CENTER
Supporting prevention, research, innovation, education, patient care, patient support and survivorship programs, and Cancer Services.
EXPENDITURES
ENDING ENDOWMENT FUND BALANCE
The market value of the Endowed Investments and Receivables as of June 30, 2024.
OVERALL INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE OF 15.2% (NET OF INVESTMENT FEES) $30,158,744 $4,197,264 $664,996 $196,735 $33,488,277
from Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Foundation began in 2012.
ENDOWMENT INVESTING
As of June 30, 2024, our total endowment value is $33,488,277 with a return of 15.2%. Over the past fiscal year, market returns are rebounding, and we continue to outperform our benchmark index for the year. Due to generous donor support and fiscally responsible leadership, the endowment continues to grow.
CUMULATIVE RETURNS
Since inception, the cumulative investment return is 101.41%. As a result, the endowment has grown because of stable and consistent performance of the portfolio and management of guiding investment and spending policies.
ASSET ALLOCATION
The endowment allocation –the percent exposure to each asset class is shown as of June 30, 2024. Endowment investing policies are designed to maximize long-term results at an acceptable level of investment risk. Endowed gifts are invested in Mary Bird Perkins Caner Foundation’s pooled endowment, a globally diversified portfolio of assets including publicly traded stocks, bonds and alternative investments.
COMPASSION YOUR CARE IS OUR FOCUS
THIS NEW GIFT IN HONOR OF OUR PARENTS HELPS CEMENT THAT LEGACY.”
Philanthropy and giving back to their community come naturally to the Lipsey family. For decades, the Lipsey’s have been stalwart supporters of Mary Bird Perkins. The Lipsey Legacy Society, which recognizes those who have made a contribution to the Foundation through a planned gift or an endowed fund, is named in honor of Anna B. Lipsey, whose vision helped lead to the creation of Mary Bird Perkins. Laurie Lipsey Aronson and Wendy Lipsey, along with their children Anna, Marla and Luke, are continuing their family’s long legacy of support for Mary Bird Perkins with a new gift to their family-endowed fund in honor of their parents, Susan and Richard Lipsey. The fund will support the Patient Compassion Fund, a program that provides financial assistance to patients in need when all other sources of financial assistance have been exhausted.
A cancer diagnosis can have a catastrophic financial impact on patients and their families. The Patient Compassion Fund helps provide patients with resources to reduce financial distress during treatment. Mary Bird Perkins is one of the few cancer programs that have committed the financial resources and navigation needed to ensure that no patient experiences gaps in services due to financial constraints. The Patient Compassion Fund supports over 500 patients annually, providing over $1,000,000 in direct financial support to patients.
“This gift helps keep our parents’ vision of Mary Bird Perkins alive,” says Laurie Lipsey Aronson. “Ensuring that all patients have access to the best cancer care possible regardless of ability to pay. And by sharing this experience with our children, we can ensure that the next generation continues the legacy our grandmother started over 50 years ago.”
Pictured above: The Lipsey Family
Wendy Lipsey
THE
CARE OF CANCER
SPECIFIC KINDS
FOR
PATIENTS,
ESPECIALLY
UNIQUE DIAGNOSES,
HAS CHANGED SO DRAMATICALLY IN THE LAST 10 TO 15 YEARS DUE TO CLINICAL TRIALS; TODAY’S RESEARCH IS TOMORROW’S TREATMENT.”
DR. VICTOR LIN, MD, PhD Medical Director, Genetics and Clinical Research
INNOVATION YOUR
FUTURE IS OUR FOCUS
Research is key to the future of cancer care. The Cancer Center maintains its position on tomorrow’s leading-edge treatments of cancer care. Longtime supporters of Mary Bird Perkins, Lisa and Tom Adamek recently made a commitment to advance cancer care by establishing an endowed fund to secure the future of the clinical research program.
“It is imperative that we build the leading clinical research program in the state to better serve the growing needs of cancer patients,” says Tom Adamek. “The Cancer Center is very well-positioned with Dr. Lin and his exceptional team. By investing in clinical trials, we know that we can improve patient outcomes and survival rates.”
Many patients in Louisiana and across the Gulf South do not have sufficient access to a robust array of clinical trials to enhance their treatment plan and outcomes. Thanks to the generous support from the Adameks, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center recently announced the expansion of its clinical research program to include phase 1 trials – providing a new level of care for patients right here at home. Moving forward, the Cancer Center’s phase 1 offerings will continue to grow based on the needs of our patients.
“My wife and I hope that as others in the community see the life-saving results of the clinical research program on cancer care in this region, they too are inspired to invest so that the program can continue to evolve and help usher in the next stage of cancer research,” says Adamek.
Pictured above: The Adamek Family
COMMUNITY YOUR SUPPORT IS OUR FOCUS
The only krewe of its kind, Karnival Krewe de Louisiane (KKdL) has a rich 37-year history of working to enhance cancer care in the Capital region through fundraising and raising awareness about the impact of cancer.
The Krewe raises funds to support cancer research, cancer education, underserved patients and much more in the Baton Rouge area. To date, KKdL has contributed more than $5.3 million to support Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center’s mission to improve survivorship and lessen the burden of cancer.
Originally called the Governor’s Mardi Gras Ball, Karnival Krewe de Louisiane was founded in 1987 by a group of individuals with a shared passion for the Mardi Gras tradition who cared deeply about those facing cancer.
“So many of us have been personally impacted by cancer. I first got involved when a longtime board member invited me to attend the event in 2016,” says Amy DeJean, president of KKdL’s board of directors. “But soon after, I lost my sister-in-law
to cancer, and the Krewe’s mission took on a new meaning in my life. I became passionate about honoring her legacy by helping KKdL grow and make the most significant impact possible.”
The Krewe’s work consists of fundraising events and parties that culminate in an annual Karnival Krewe de Louisiane Ball, where revelers can enjoy an evening of fun in support of Mary Bird Perkins with a full Mardi Gras parade inside the River Center. This past year’s ball raised a record-breaking $500,000 to support cancer patients and families in our community.
Recently, the Krewe established a named endowed fund to ensure their legacy will make a difference today and for future generations.
“By investing in the endowment, we are not only looking at today and how we can serve the community now, but we are making an investment in Mary Bird Perkins and the future of cancer care throughout all of the organization’s service areas,” says Katie Graves, past KKdL president.
LEGACY
A FAMILY INSPIRES OTHERS THROUGH THEIR LEGACY OF SERVICE AND COMMITMENT
Jeanne James’ parents instilled in her a deep devotion to service. Her father, Louis Curet, was a tireless ambassador for Mary Bird Perkins’ mission and served as the first chair of the Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Foundation Board of Directors. Her father’s dedication, combined with her firsthand experience of the exceptional care received by cancer patients and their families at Mary Bird Perkins, has given her a deep appreciation for the Foundation’s mission. Her mother, Jean Curet, passed away from cancer, and her late father, Louis Curet, was a cancer survivor who successfully received treatment at Mary Bird Perkins.
Jeanne proudly follows in his footsteps by continuing his legacy of service as a member of the board and a devoted advocate for cancer patients. But her family’s dedication to the Mary Bird Perkins mission doesn’t end with service. She and her husband David, along with their three children, are honored to be Lipsey Legacy Society members and made a legacy gift to the Foundation to help secure the future of cancer care. Her children are equally committed to carrying forward the mission of Mary Bird Perkins to ensure support for generations to come.
“It has been a family journey,” says Jeanne. “Mary Bird Perkins has always had a special place in all our hearts. The Cancer Center has been a gift to our family, and we are honored to help ensure that everyone in our community has access to the exceptional care Mary Bird Perkins provides.”
Jeanne and David have helped ensure that their legacy of support will live on for decades to come by naming Mary Bird Perkins as the beneficiary of their IRA. Their forwardlooking estate planning allows them to make a transformational investment in the fight against cancer. Her experiences with both parents’ treatment at Mary Bird Perkins demonstrated the value and importance of compassionate, highquality care for anyone facing a cancer diagnosis.
“The care patients receive at Mary Bird Perkins is a blessing to so many in our community,” she says. “It is my greatest hope that by sharing our family’s commitment to Mary Bird Perkins, it helps inspire others to see how easy it is to support Mary Bird Perkins, an organization that has meant so much to our family and to countless other families across our community.”
OUR COMMUNITY, OUR FAMILIES
CREATE A MEANINGFUL LEGACY
Our community has come together over generations to create a meaningful legacy that will secure the future of cancer care and help us triumph over cancer. It is because of YOU that we are building a powerful endowment that will leave a lasting legacy for everyone to receive world-class cancer care, right here at home. Today, we have reached $47.5 million in assets and planned gifts with a goal of $50 million by 2025. Thanks to the dedication and generous support of our Lipsey Legacy Society members, our endowment is providing hope and driving new ideas and discoveries that will improve cancer care for generations.
The Lipsey Legacy Society, named in honor of Anna B. Lipsey, a founding board member, honors those who have made a lasting legacy to Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Foundation through a planned gift or a named endowed fund. Every Society member is making a difference today and tomorrow, strengthening our position as the leading cancer care organization in Louisiana and across the region.
• Mr. and Mrs. Allan B. Colley
• Gina and Rex Ellison
• Ava and Cordell Haymon
• Karnival Krewe de Louisiane
• Cary and Rolfe Miller
• Robelynn H. Abadie
• Lisa and Tom Adamek & Family Fund
Lisa and Tom Adamek
• Mr. and Mrs. John W. Barton, Jr.
• Sybil A. Bateman*
• Mr. and Mrs. James M. Bernhard, Jr.
• Dr. and Mrs. Frederic Billings III Fund
Susan and Frederic Billings
• The Ben Blanchard Memorial Endowment Fund*
Susan, Mark and Chris Blanchard
• Kim A. Boudreaux
• Mrs. Jane Thibaut Boyce*
• Mr. and Mrs. John C. Boyce Family Fund
Melanie and John Boyce
• Kate and Tee Brown
• Renee Hebert Bryant Memorial Fund
• Joan* and Herbert H. Butt
• Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Campbell, Jr.
• Shirley A. Carey*
• Robert R. Casey*
• The Ella Chance Family
• Pat Cheramie*
• The Coates Family Fund
Beverly and Dudley* Coates
• Jess Willard Cockerham*
• The Colley Family Endowment Fund
Mr. and Mrs. Allan B. Colley
• Charles Newsam Conner*
• Theresa Frey Cooper*
• Violet T. Crum*
• Jean H. and Louis D. Curet Family Fund
Jean H. and Louis D. Curet*
• Mr. D. Cecil Delaune*
• Ms. Elaine T. Delaune*
• Leonard Boyd Delaune*
• Wilbon “W. T.” Doughty*
• The Gina and Rex Ellison Endowment Fund
Gina and Rex Ellison
• Hazel Ewing*
• Isiah J. Ewing*
• The Favre Family Fund for Innovation
Art E. Favre
• William A. Ferguson*
• Dr. Robert Fields Patient Care Fund
• The Raymond and Mary Gettier Fund
• Charlie V. Giambelluca*
• Devera and Jerry Goss Research Fund Devera and Jerry Goss
• Isaac and Florence Gregorie*
• Mr.* and Mrs. G. Lee Griffin
• Davis A. Gueymard*
• David S. Hanson, MD and Jolene K. Johnson, MD
• Mrs. Cecile B. Harrell*
• Ava and Cordell Haymon Fund Ava and Cordell Haymon
• Heart of a Hero Fund
• Dat C. Hoang in honor of Lai Cao* & Thinh Hoang*
• The D. Jensen Holliday Family Fund Estelle and Jensen* Holliday
• Holly Hollis Stars Endowment Fund
• Jerry Dale O’Donovan Hornsby* in loving memory of Frank Gore
• Jeanne C. and David M. James
• Dr. and Mrs. Sheldon A. Johnson
• Donna and J. Gerard Jolly
• Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Jones
• Karnival Krewe de Louisiane Endowment Fund
• Esther Kent*
• The Shirley C. and J. Barker Killgore Research Fund
• Wojciech Antoni Krotoski*
• Mr. and Mrs. Anthony S. Kurlas Family Fund
Ginger and Tony Kurlas
• L. Perrie Lambert Memorial Fund*
• Hillary Lanaux Endowment Fund*
Mr. Hilaire Dubertrand* and Mrs. Ethel Langenstein Lanaux
• Mary Alicia and Bettye Lauret*
• Marianne and R. Upton Lea, Jr. Memorial Fund
• Clifton J. LeBlanc*
• Richard A. Lipsey and Susan Haspel Lipsey Family Fund in memory of Anna B. Lipsey
Susan and Richard Lipsey
Laurie Lipsey Aronson
Wendy Lipsey
• Pat and Don* Lyle
• Wilbur Marvin Endowment Fund in honor of Donna M. Saurage
• Mauti Cancer Fund
• Kathy and Frank McArthur Endowed Fund
Kathy* and Frank McArthur
• Lady Katharine McLaurin*
• Tracey and Ty McMains
• The McMains Family Foundation Endowed Fund
The McMains Family
• Anne and Tom Meek Endowed Fund
Anne and Tom Meek
• The Miller Family Fund
Cary and Rolfe Miller
• Marguerite H. Mills*
• T.J. Moran Fund
Mr. Thomas J. Moran*
• Suzanne Motion*
• Rosalie Moyse*
• Stephen R. Musso*
• Rebecca and Dyke Nelson & Family Fund
Rebecca and Dyke Nelson
• Ron and Corinne Helm Ness
• Mrs. Eleanor P. Newman*
• Virginia B. and John Noland
• Evelyn and Paul Nowacki
• Cindy and Craig Nuckolls
• The Lauren Savoy Olinde Endowment Fund
• Robins-O’Quin Endowed Family Fund
Gail and Bill O’Quin
• The Phillips Family Fund
Claudia and Gary Phillips
• The David C.* and Jeannie Price Fund
• President’s Endowment Fund in honor of Todd Stevens
• Barbara Virginia Rathbone
• The Rathbone Family Fund
Barbara Rathbone
Randee and Jack Rathbone IV
Michele and Richard* Rathbone
Shawnee and Steve McCord
• Dr. and Mrs. M. J. Rathbone, Jr.*
• Michele and Richard* Rathbone
• The Dee Dee and Kevin P. Reilly, Sr. Endowment Fund
• The Sarah Madison Romero Endowment Fund
• Jan and Sanford Roy Family Endowed Fund
Jan and Sanford* Roy
• Allison and Blanchard Sanchez
• Marjorie H. Sanders*
• H. N. Saurage IV Family Fund
Laurie and Hank Saurage
• The Saurage Family Fund
Donna M. Saurage
• The Melissa Margaret Mary Savoie Endowment Fund
• Ellen Chadwick Sessions Endowed Fund
Ellen C. Sessions
• Ms. Ruth C. Sessions*
• The Simmons Family Fund
Betty Jean Simmons*
• Beverly Carson Smiley
• Dr. Charles M. Smith Medical Physics Fund
Dr. Charles M. Smith*
• Smith-Gwatney Endowed Fund in honor of Scotty Gwatney
Jon S. Gwatney
• Bernice and Edward Spiess*
• Kelli and Todd Stevens
• Emily C. Stich
• The Tillman Stogner Endowment Fund
Tillman Stogner
• Mr. Robert M. Stuart, Sr.
• Corry and Nathaniel Tannehill
• Dr. and Mrs.* O. M. Thompson, Jr.
• Pam and Mike Wall
• The Jean and Will Wilcox Fund
Jean and Will Wilcox
• Ann Wilkinson
• Drs. Charles and Brooke Wood
• Anonymous (7)
* Fondly Remembered
HISTORY OF THE FOUNDATION
Established on January 1, 2005, the Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Foundation was created by a dedicated group of community members to manage and oversee the successful growth of endowment assets to support Mary Bird Perkins’ mission of improving survivorship and lessening the burden of cancer. The Foundation’s purpose is to build a long-term endowment fund to secure the future of cancer care today, tomorrow and for future generations.
2023-2024 MARY BIRD PERKINS CANCER FOUNDATION
BOARD
OF DIRECTORS
NATHANIEL TANNEHILL Chair
ROLFE MILLER Vice Chair
DAVID PERRY Secretary/Treasurer
ROSE HUDSON Immediate Past Chair
JONAS FONTENOT President and CEO
SUSAN BLANCHARD
JONATHAN BRUSER
ART FAVRE
BRETT FURR
KIM GINN
KATIE GRAVES
JEANNE JAMES
BEAU OLINDE
SHELIA STERLING
EMERITUS BOARD OF DIRECTORS
JOHN BARTON, JR.
AZA BOWLIN
TEE BROWN
JAY CAMPBELL
LOUIS CURET *
JERRY GOSS
G. LEE GRIFFIN *
JERRY JOLLY
RICHARD LIPSEY
MICK MAULDIN
JIM MCILWAIN
STEVEN MOORE
REBECCA NELSON
GAIL O’QUIN
BILL PETERS
BLANCHARD SANCHEZ
DONNA SAURAGE
PAUL THOMPSON
TRIUMPHING OVER CANCER, TOGETHER
The Legacy Challenge Continues
With great resolve, we remain focused on the Legacy Challenge to reach our goal of $50 million by 2025
Through community support, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Foundation has secured more than $47.5 million in assets. By including the Foundation in your estate plans or by establishing a named endowed fund, donors passionate about the mission of the Foundation have made a visionary investment in the future of cancer care.
Our vision is ambitious, as we support the growth and expansion of Mary Bird Perkins for all across Louisiana and the Gulf South. The health of our communities demands we do more. Cancer demands we do more. And, through your generous support, the endowment will continue to provide vital resources to accelerate clinical excellence in Louisiana through precision medicine, innovation and research and contribute to cancer treatment worldwide.
Your support not only creates a meaningful legacy; it creates a brighter future for our community and helps us triumph over cancer. It is our hope that we will surpass $50 million and have a greater impact on more people and places throughout the Gulf South.
