Giving to Mercy Hospital

Why Donate

Be Part of Our Mission of Quality, Compassionate Health Care

Established over a century ago as a not-for-profit hospital, Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital relies on contributions from individuals, families, corporations and foundations to make our mission of providing quality, compassionate, accessible and affordable care for the whole person a reality. 

The mission of the Mercy Hospital Development Foundation is to enhance the capabilities of our hospital through ethical, charitable gift planning. Your gift enables us to continuously improve our hospital’s facilities, equipment, programs and services to help keep our staff on the cutting edge of medical innovation.

Please make a tax-deductible contribution today! Your gift will make a difference.

The Mercy Hospital Foundation wants to make giving as easy as possible for you. That’s why we offer many giving options, including:

Donation Types We Accept

At Mercy Hospital’s Development Foundation, we will accept many different types of gifts. We encourage you to discuss your plans with an accountant or other professional advisor.

• Cash, Check or Credit Card Donations. By far the easiest way to make a philanthropic gift and generally fully deductible to the extent allowed by law. If you itemize, you may also lower your income taxes if you give before the end of the year. Donations sent by mail must be post-marked by December 31. Your gift is worth even more if your employer has a matching gift program. Check with your human resources department and enclose the matching gift form along with your check.    
• Gifts of Stock. A great way to make a charitable gift that offers you further savings.   You may be able to avoid paying any capital gains tax on the increase in value of the stock plus receive an income tax charitable deduction for the full-market value of the stock at the time of the gift. Or consider selling stock that has lost its value, donating the proceeds – you may be able to deduct the loss in value (cost basis less current value) and derive an income tax charitable deduction for the current market value.    
• Retirement Plans. Making gifts from your retirement plan may result in little or no tax on these funds because you report the amount withdrawn along with an offsetting charitable deduction.
• Annuity. If you are 65 or older, you can make a gift and receive guaranteed fixed payments for life – payments that may be much higher than your return on low-earning securities or CD’s – by establishing a Charitable Gift Annuity. 
• Life Insurance. If you have an insurance policy you no longer find useful, receive a charitable deduction for the cash value of the policy when donated to Mercy Medical Center through the Mercy Development Foundation.    
• Bequests. Become a Mercy Legacy Society member by establishing a bequest, charitable trust or other planned gift to keep hope and healing flourishing at Mercy Medical Center. A charitable bequest in your Will benefits the hospital while saving you tax dollars at the same time. Keep in mind the long-term tax savings that may be a result of estate planning.
• Corporate and foundation giving
• Item donations
• In-kind donations

Board of Directors

Mercy Development Foundation Board

Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital Development Foundation board members believe strongly in the mission and ministry of Mercy Hospital. They serve as active, passionate, public advocates on our behalf while developing operational guidelines and establishing specific objectives related to the foundation’s primary purpose of fundraising.

Planned Giving Committee

The Planned Giving Committee of the Mercy Development Foundation consists of local estate planning attorneys, trust officers, insurance agents and investment counselors – each offering their professional expertise to encourage responsible charitable gift planning. They help each donor reach their philanthropic goals while furthering the mission of Mercy Hospital through tax-favorable giving.

Planned Giving Committee Members

Service League

When you visit our hospital, you will likely encounter something that has been touched by the generosity of the Mercy Service League. Since 1975, Service League volunteers have dedicated their hearts and hands to impact areas throughout the hospital and make a difference in the community.

Comprised of a dedicated and diverse group of women, the Mercy Service League supports the mission of Mercy Hospital through service, outreach, education and fundraising efforts. The Service League participates in our Mission Outreach efforts and other service projects.

Mercy Service League has raised significant funds for Mercy Hospital’s Dental Services, Emergency Services and Trauma Center, Breast Care Center, Boutique and Intensive Care Unit.

To become a member, call 330.430.2750.

THE LEAGUE’S 2020-2021 OFFICERS INCLUDE President Gail Moore, Vice President Audra Milbrandt, Treasurer Erin Shea, Assistant Treasurer Ruth Settle, Recording Secretary Sally Home, and Corresponding Secretary Janice Sweitzer.

Service League Goals

• To develop and retain a diverse and committed membership.
• To support and enhance the mission and ministry of Mercy Medical Center and the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine within the medical center and the community.
• To assure that Mercy Service League’s membership and the community are aware of and knowledgeable about the activities and accomplishments of the medical center and the Mercy Service League.

Hearts and Hands to Serve

Mercy Service League has a rich, colorful history with deep connections to the histories of both the Sisters of Charity of Saint Augustine and Mercy Medical Center. The hospital archives recognize several groups of volunteers that were formed in the early 1900’s to sew bandages and mark linens. Later, the Circle of Mercy was established as a group of charitable community women that raised funds and collected supplies to meet the needs of the hospital. They met weekly, volunteered many hours, marked linens, and raised funds for designated needs of the hospital.

Fast forward to January, 1975 when Nancy Levitin, Mercy’s Director of Public Relations, and Lu Wabschall, Director of Volunteer Services, organized a group of community women to establish a new hospital women’s auxiliary called Mercy Service League. The first meeting of this group was on January 26, 1976, under the leadership of President Jane Schirack. The women proposed their formal structure, wrote a constitution, and established short and long term goals. They adopted a mission that continues to be championed today: “to support the ideals and philosophies of Mercy Medical Center and the ministry of the Sisters of St. Augustine through service, outreach, education and fundraising.”

Over the years, the Mercy Service League has evolved to be a diverse group of community volunteers that are recognized and heralded as an organization of hardworking individuals, dynamic leaders, and creative fundraisers. They continue to be a major donor to the hospital. In 2004, the organization was established as an independent nonprofit 501.c.3 that functions as a standing committee of the Mercy Development Foundation.

The history of the Mercy Service League would not be complete without recognizing Sister Mary Patricia Barrett, CSA who was a guiding force to the organization. As her order of sisters was getting older and fewer in number, she dubbed the Mercy Service League members as extension of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine and the Keepers of the Mission.

Foundation Campaigns

Continuing a Legacy of Giving

For more than 160 years, the words In Omnibus Caritas — in all thing’s charity — have inspired the work of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine. It was for this purpose that they opened the doors of Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital in 1908 to care for the people of Canton, Ohio, and surrounding communities, regardless of ability to pay. With the help of many devoted community members — together with hospital employees, staff and administration — we are able to continue the legacy of giving started by the Sisters of Charity.

Current Foundation Campaigns

Today the Mercy Hospital Development Foundation helps to continue their work through the following campaigns:

Our Development Foundation is holding its 2020 Campaign of Caring, our annual employee drive, which supports uncompensated care and community benefit, capital project development, and mission-based programs.

Memorials, Tributes & Honor a Caregiver

Generous donations to Mercy Hospital, Mercy Hospice or Mercy Home Care are a beautiful way to celebrate a life, to remember a loved one or to honor a caregiver who met the needs of a patient and his or her family members in a special way.

Deferred Charitable Giving

• Wills and bequests
• Charitable gift annuities
• Charitable remainder trusts
• Charitable lead trusts
• Life insurance
• Retirement benefits
• Real estate

Endowments

This type of financial asset donation is given for a specified purpose at the bequest of a donor.

Naming Opportunities

For individuals and organizations that have contributed to Mercy’s advancement in significant ways, Mercy Hospital offers the opportunity to leave a lasting legacy through philanthropic naming. Many naming opportunities are still available through the hospital’s 2nd Century Campaign.

Volunteering

Those who donate their gifts of time, talent and treasure help us reach farther – to help, heal and comfort. Through the wellspring of generosity from volunteers who believe in Mercy Hospital’s mission, it brings that ministry to life within the walls of our facilities, as well as the communities we serve. Apply to be part of our volunteer team or Mercy Service League today!