It’s been 10 years since Jeff Norris assumed the position of president and CEO at the Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation (RCHF), a charitable organization established in 1978 that raises millions of dollars annually to fund health-care needs at the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster.
With over 30 years of experience in non-profit organizations ranging from health care to education, Norris started his career as a university student looking for a summer job.
After some work experience in areas such as retail, he developed skills in sales and working with people, but aspired for an industry with a more significant impact.
Norris landed a four-month appointment with the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s “Big Bike Tour” in Saskatchewan, a fundraising event where a 30-person bike would be driven across small towns to collect donations.
After the success of that campaign, Norris went on to work for the foundation for the next three and a half years until 1998, when he decided to dedicate his career to fundraising.
A short hop to the National Kidney Foundation led him to a position at the St. Paul’s Foundation, where he says he really found his footing in this line of work.
“I love doing fundraising, but I really love doing fundraising around institutions where I can be hands on and see much more closely where the impact is going,” he said. “Raising money and being able to walk down the hallway and actually see where it went, or meet the people directly that had been impacted by it.”
Norris’ career took him into the education sector for a few years before taking him back to health care with the RCHF in 2014.
A major milestone in his career was reached in late 2022, when business magnate Jim Pattison made a $30 million donation to support the work of the foundation.
“The pride that you saw around the hospital and the people that worked here, to see such a significant contribution towards the work that they’re doing,” said Norris. “Everyone was like, ‘Yes, it’s our time to be recognized. We’re not the underdogs anymore. We are an organization that’s worthy of this level of support.’”
“That was a moment in time where people were able to come around the circle and understand that we’ve made it as an organization.”
Despite Norris’ successful track record, his biggest challenge on a daily basis is matching the overwhelming demand for the foundation’s support, with what seems like constant insufficient financial resources.
Five years ago, he joined physicians in one of the RCH’s operating rooms to take a look at a newly purchased piece of equipment. They thanked the foundation and donors, saying it had significantly improved patient outcomes. However, something dawned on Norris.
“When I left, I knew there were like three or four other pieces of equipment that would have been as impactful, that we didn’t fund because we hadn’t been able to raise as much money,” he said. “We’ve been wildly successful in terms of the amount of money that we’ve been able to raise, but there’s still more need all the time.”
In addition to supporting the Royal Columbian Hospital, the foundation also serves the Queen’s Park Care Centre, and has the ability to fund broader community health initiatives connected to the work undertaken at the hospital.
The foundation also supports research and innovation, such as helping to patent and commercialize health-care devices developed by the professionals working at the hospital.
