Fundraisers exceed goal by plenty

Members of the Caring for Generations fundraising campaign cabinet display how much they raised over the last 18 months.
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Barb Minogue says the Caring for Generations campaign would never have reached its goal without the generosity of North Bay residents and corporate citizens.

Minogue announced at Churchill’s today that the campaign had not only reached its $15 million goal but exceeded it by $3 million.

In all $18.2 million was raised over the last 18 months.

The additional money will go towards a Magnetic Resonance Imaging machine and other advanced medical equipment.

“I have always been so impressed with the generosity of the people of this community,” Minogue said.

“We all pull together and that’s what makes the community so strong. I’m not surprised we achieved our goal because of that, but I am surprised we raised that much more.”

Significant lead gifts
What really kick-started the campaign, Minogue said, were corporate “lead” donations.

Tembec Inc., for example, Minogue said, contributed $4 million while Grant Forest Products donated $4 million.

“It’s nice having those significant lead gifts so when a corporation asks what others have given we can say ‘we have a $4 million gift,’ and that’s huge,” Minogue said, “because that’s raised the level of giving.”

Pains being taken
With the community portion raised, it’s now up to city council to deliver its share of around $24 million.

Hospital President and CAO Mark Hurst said great pains are being taken to make sure there won’t be any cost overruns.

“We’re tracking our project in a way that is second to none, and we have project management and financial management, so we’re tracking well on target in terms of normal escalation and market escalation,” Hurst said.

“Obviously the only price that counts is the one that comes in on tender day. And we’re saying to the government ‘you want a project that’s a leading edge project for delivery on time and on budget, we think we’re the one.’”