Runway to Hope's Strategic Plan: Elevating Hope 2023-2025 by runwaytohope

L E V A T I N

Our Why

Purpose

No family should fight pediatric cancer alone.

Mission

To support children & families, primarily in Central Florida, battling pediatric cancer, while seeking a cure

Vision

Through relationships with children’s hospitals, Runway to Hope fosters collaborative efforts among corporations, local businesses, and philanthropists to not only raise funds and awareness, but also bring new programs and initiatives to the pediatric cancer community, all while providing direct support and aid primarily to Central Florida children and their families impacted through the Family Assistance Program

Our Guiding Stars

A star-tegic plan for our future

2023 2023 2023 2024 2024 2024

Adopt and implement 3 Year Star-tegic Plan

The Family Assistance Program reaches $1 Million granted to Central Florida Families battling pediatric cancer

2025 2025 20

Reach the $4 6 Million Goal granted to local hospital research

2026 2026 202

Adopt and implement a 2026-2029 Star-tegic Plan complete with Capitol Campaign

Hope Strengthened Hope Strengthened

What started out as a simple dream, has blossomed into a beautiful reality In the beginning, we envisioned a way of providing direct support to the future generation in our community affected by pediatric cancer Only a small fraction of the National Cancer Institute's budget is directed towards pediatric cancer Therefore, private contributions are essential and necessary We can only hope that one day pediatric cancer is eliminated Runway to Hope has funded programs at all three of our children's hospitals and we are proud to have helped fund new treatment options, technology access, unit renovations, all while fostering an environment of cooperation and collaboration between the hospitals as they treat and care for the children with cancer in our community Runway to Hope's Family Assistance Program was created to directly provide emergency financial support, to children and their families battling. The stains, both emotional and financial, put on the families can be crushing. Often times, one parent has to quit their job to become a full time caregiver for the child who has been diagnosed. Unfortunately, the other children's needs in the home can be deferred, all while a family's finances are dramatically drained by the mounting expenses and loss of income. Runway to Hope is able to cut through the bureaucracy and red tape and provide families immediate help. Words cannot begin to express the amount of respect, gratitude, and sincere appreciation we have for everyone who has supported Runway to Hope's mission and programmatic work over the years. We remain motivated by the triumphant stories of most of the children, but, conversely, deeply saddened by the tragic and unimaginable loss of those who pass. We continue to hope for nothing more than to all hold hands, to walk together, and to find a cure for childhood cancer.

Mark & Josie NeJame Co-Founders

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oors, our goal is to be ambassadors of unity so the children and families in Central Florida know they are not battling cancer alone. While simultaneously being good stewards of the money our donors contribute, our team works each and every day to advocate for our pediatric cancer community by maintaining long term relationships with all three local children's hospital personnel, social workers, child life specialists, physicians, and most importantly, our patient families. It has been an honor to be an active part of the exponential growth Runway to Hope has experienced in the last seven years and our work is not done. In the coming years, we will fund more treatment options so families can stay in their hometown and continue to provide direct emergency financial relief as well as including a focus on the total wellness of a family battling pediatric cancer. The programs that we need in our community for the hope of a cure are endless; unfortunately the funding is not Solely funded by philanthropy, the programs Runway to Hope has supported at our local hospitals have on more than one occasion extended the life of one of our warriors and given their family more time together As we continue to cultivate community partnerships, we are able to widen our net of services by partnering with other charities in our community and avoiding the duplication of services and providing support to families who desperately need it Choosing on a daily basis to be mission driven and focused on "supporting families primarily in Central Florida fighting pediatric cancer while seeking a cure" encourages our team to be rooted in our organization and a make a difference every day

Laura Lockner Executive Director

Hope-story

Runway to Hope was founded in 2010 by Mark & Josie NeJame with a simple vision: to support children & their families battling pediatric cancer and keep dollars raised local to impact our Central Florida community. With a simple strategy, Runway to Hope established partnerships with our three local children’s hospitals that continues to encourage collaboration amongst hospital institutions, something that was not previously being done. With $1 million pledges made to expand oncology care at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, AdventHealth for Children, and Nemours Children’s Health, Mark, Josie, and Runway to Hope created what has become Central Florida’s largest charity gala, Runway to Hope’s Spring Soiree.

Our Runway to Hope’s Spring Soiree has become the organization’s signature event of the year with more than 150 children, between the ages of 2-18, who are currently battling pediatric cancer or within their five year remission mark walk the runway in an inspiring and heartwarming fashion show Modeling much more than clothing, these inspiring children walk the runway hand-in-hand with one of our national & local celebrity escorts Our Spring Soiree has grown to host approximately 2,400 guests and raise over $1 million in one night We continue to be so proud of the success of this event; but the question remains – how are we continuing to fulfill our purpose of making sure that no family battles pediatric cancer alone?

Runway to Hope’s investment in our oncology departments has created a more efficient use of funds and prevents the duplication of services and care offered locally. As a result of these efforts, the pediatric oncologists and hospital institutions now work together and in 2019, Runway to Hope established our first Scientific Advisory Board which is comprised of oncologists from our community. With a combined total of $4.3 million pledged, our hospital funding continues to create treatment and multidisciplinary care options so that our families can fight right here in their hometown.

Runway to Hope strives to cultivate a community of hope for our families battling and assist them with basic necessities so they can focus on saving their child’s life. Runway to Hope’s Family Assistance Program was created in 2014 to help a little girl with a brain tumor have a comfy bed to rest in at home when she was not admitted in the hospital for treatment. This program has grown from serving four families in the first year to totaling over 560 individual families since the program’s inception. In 2022, we surpassed over $800,000 in direct emergency financial assistance granted to the children & families in our Central Florida community who are battling pediatric cancer Often, one parent has to quit work to care for their child and as a result, their other children’s needs are often deferred, all while the family’s finances are dramatically drained Runway to Hope’s Family Assistance Program provides immediate help with our two largest service categories being rent/mortgage and unfortunately, assistance with funeral and end of life arrangements The needs for our pediatric cancer families are endless and solely funded by philanthropy No child or family should ever feel alone throughout their pediatric cancer journey

Let's hold hands. Let's walk together. Let's end childhood cancer.

A few of our milestones through the years:

2011 2011 2011

Bloomingdale's Orlando joined in our united mission by sponsoring our children's outfits for the runway

Hosted our first Sparkle & Shine 5k

The Family Assistance Program was created after we learned that one of our models, Chloe, needed a bed at home to heal in

2020 2020 2020

Through the COVID pandemic, we strengthened our relationships and partnerships in the community to continue serving our families

Brenda Lounsberry hosted our first Spring Fashion Soiree at The Mall at Millenia

in Lake Baldwin Park

We completed our first $3 million pledges to all three local children's hospitals 2012 2012 2012 2017 2017 2017

The first $1 million dollar hospital pledges were made

2021 2021 2021

Our Emerging Leaders Board, comprised of Central Florida young Professionals, was formed

Our Spring Fashion Soiree was hosted at The Rosen Shingle Creek for the first time, thanks to Frank Santos & Harris Rosen

Our Scientific Advisory Board was formed with representatives from each one of our hospitals

September was proclaimed Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month by the Orange County Commissioners Office while recognizing all the good Runway to Hope has done in our Community

Hope Grows

DEVELOP, IMPLEMENT, & FOLLOW AN ORGANIZATION SUSTAINABILITY & GROWTH PLAN

Ensure the long term success of Runway to Hope through extensive and detailed goal setting, performance measuring, data tracking, and step by step follow through

Development of our Board of Directors & Emerging Leaders Board

Implement & follow annual operation plans and budgets that align with our strategic goals, including endowment growth

Implement a major gifts strategy & establish an acquisition plan

Reduce revenue dependence on our Spring Soiree down from 88% each year

INCREASE OUR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE REACH & IMPACT IN OUR COMMUNITY

Reduce financial hardship for parents of children battling pediatric cancer through direct emergency expense relief

Continue to provide much needed expense relief to families

Launch the Hope Portal and continue to invest in its capabilities for our families

Establish recurring revenue to support this program

Implement annual internal & external reviews of our assistance threshold

PROVIDE TOTAL WELLNESS TO CHILDREN & FAMILIES BATTLING PEDIATRIC CANCER

Improve the total wellness of families battling pediatric cancer through investing in the development & provision of our six health initiatives

Continue to develop the Total Wellness Initiatives by establishing community partnerships

Create & distribute marketing collateral Research & prepare for a capital campaign

CONTINUE FUNDING LOCAL TREATMENT OPTIONS FOR THE PATIENTS OF CENTRAL FLORIDA

Invest in leading edge research & multidisciplinary care for pediatric cancer patients through partnerships at our local children’s hospitals

Complete our open pledges by 2024

Request presentations for new hospital investment to grant $500,000 to each hospital in five year increments

Implement a more specific gift agreement with a focus on impact management & return

Logic Model - Impact Measurement Model

PROGRAMS

Financial Assistance

Hospital Funding

Families battling pediatric cancer who demonstrate a financial need in Central FL

Reduce financial hardship for parents of children battling pediatric cancer through direct emergency expense relief

At least 100 individual families will receive direct emergency expense relief totaling over $100,000 by the end of 2023

Wellness Support

Hospitals, research programs, clinical trials, doctors, medical staff, patients in & out of our region

Families battling pediatric cancer in Central FL

Invest in leading edge research & multidisciplinary care for pediatric cancer patients through partnerships at our local children’s hospitals

Continuing to fund our children's hospitals pediatric cancer initiatives on a five year cycle with $100,000 per year

Documents Continuous

Improve the total wellness of families battling pediatric cancer through investing in the development & provision of our six health initiatives

50 families will benefit from one or more of our six health initiatives in the first six months of establishing support in all categories

Case Studies Interviews Documents Quarterly

Observation

Documents

Focus Groups Continuous

Hope Outlined

Let's talk about TOTAL WELLNESS SUPPORT

Livelihood Livelihood

Nourishment Nourishment

House & House & Home Home

Fiscal Fiscal

Sustainability Sustainability

Mental Mental Resilience Resilience

Physical Physical

Rehabilitation Rehabilitation

Runway to Hope will create a thread of support and fill the gaps in services that are not currently available in our community by expanding our Family Assistance Program to include a family’s total wellness, in addition to growing our direct emergency financial assistance services. By expanding services currently offered and growing to better care for the families we serve, Runway to Hope will provide our families with more all-inclusive care and a community of support. Our six health initiatives will be the driving force of our Total Wellness Program and through community partnerships, Runway to Hope will be honored to hold our families hands every step of their pediatric cancer journey.

Now let's dream BIG for a second...

Runway to Hope dreams of having our very own space A place we can call our own to expand our total wellness services, provide a home away from home and hospitals to our families, and to continue innovating new ways to help our constituents in need fight this insidious, relentless disease

Over the next few years, we will research and prepare for a capital campaign to build ourselves a home This building will be the ultimate uniting factor for the Runway to Hope community It is an integral piece of the puzzle, one that we can't wait to place.