A New Blessing

Hello friends of the Szott Foundation,

It has been quite a busy summer, and it all began in late April. The Szott Foundation was notified that it would be the fortunate recipient of the 2011 UnitedHealth Group Golf Event. The golf event committee identifies a different charity each year through an internal vote, and 100% of the sponsorship funds go to the targeted charity. Vendors of UHG provide the donations, and the sponsor levels range from $3500 to $15,000. We are deeply honored and grateful. The event will take place on September 22 at Majestic Oaks Golf Club in Ham Lake, MN.

As a result, we will be giving more than our predetermined number of Gifts of Time in 2011 and 2012. The Gift of Time allows for one parent to stay home from work full-time to manage the physical, emotional and medical needs of a child with life-threatening cancer. We plan to present one Gift at the UHG Golf event and at least one more Gift at the Abby Invite Gymnastics Tournament in the winter.

On behalf of the Szott Foundation’s Board of Directors, I’d like to thank UnitedHealth Group and the many businesses that have allowed us to take the Foundation to a new level. The donors will be identified individually on our website as the date of the event draws nearer.

Sincerely,
Kathryn Szott, President

Spring 2011

April 12, 2011

Hello Szott Foundation Friends,

We are so excited, as we are getting ready to mail out our first annual appeal letter. Our data base is in need of some “spring cleaning,” so we are taking care of that before the letters go out. Please be looking for our letter in the near future.

Once again, the Abby Invite held in mid December, was a lot of fun and financially successful. Sixty-eight hundred dollars were raised! This was the first year that all the high schools in District 196 pooled their resources to hold one of the most prestigious meets in the state of MN. This comes as a welcomed change for the Eastview High School gymnasts, parents, and coaches, as they have hosted it alone since 2004. In the coming years the meet will be organized by District196 high schools on a rotating basis. We want to thank all the parents, coaches, students, and other volunteers that help to make this annual event a success, and we look forward to next year’s meet at Rosemount High School.

We want to remind all of you that the Andrew and Abby Szott Foundation continues to prosper. We have a dynamic board of people with an abundance of energy, creativity, and business knowledge. Since we made the decision during the summer of 2010 to scale back our large fundraising efforts until my retirement from teaching in 2014, we will continue to give at least one Gift of Time each year. With your help from our first annual appeal, that number will likely rise.

On behalf of the Szott Foundation board of directors, we wish you well, and we thank you in advance for your continued support that allows one parent to stay home from work full-time to meet the emotional, physical, and medical needs of a child with life threatening cancer. There is no more important Gift than this.

Blessings!

Kathryn

Tournament for Time

Webmeister Janet here.  Today is the Tournament for Time at the Monticello Country Club!  Thanks to all who are playing or dining with us!  You will make such a difference in the life of families going through a painful and difficult time by providing them with the Gift of Time.  In memory of and in honor of the strength and courage of Andrew and Abby Szott, may many other families be blessed with the healing of our Lord and the unity of their families through our Gift of Time.

Janet Malz

Deadline for Applications May 14, 2009

The application deadline for the next Gift of Time grant is May 14. See your social worker for an application. See our FAQ for Frequently Asked Questions about the application process.

New Branding and Communication Approach

Our goal for 2008 was to enhance our organization beyond the grassroots level. We want to be an organization that can help families outside the Twin Cities, first regionally and then nationally. Every day, the Andrew and Abby Szott Foundation receives emails from hospital and clinic social workers, oncology nurses, and families asking for help from us. We regularly hear that we are unique and that there are no other foundations of this kind nationwide. That gives us hope and motivation to work hard to give many more families the Gift of Time.

To fund our nationwide expansion, we need to increase fundraising and awareness, as well as plan for the future financially. In order to accomplish this, we must raise more capital from corporate sponsors and private donors and learn more about investment strategies to create an endowment.

New Branding to Support Nationwide Expansion through Brand Equity

In order to propel the Foundation towards nationwide expansion, we recognized a need to develop professional, cohesive communications. To develop these communication tools the Szott Foundation turned to a group of students from the University of Minnesota – Carlson School of Management. These students helped us to develop a well-defined brand and integrated communications approach.

Video Promotion

Another tool the Foundation created to facilitate our expansion was a promotional video for outreach and fundraising. We were blessed by the generosity of my brother, John, who is a television producer in Jacksonville, FL. He is producing the video pro bono. To help him is KARE 11 photographer, Ron Stover. He gave us a significant discount for his photography and editing expertise. We are so grateful to have people in our lives to help us realize our goals.