Rainbow Babies & Children’s Foundation

Our Story

Our Mission

Our mission as the Rainbow Babies & Children’s Foundation is to support, promote and enhance University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital in achievement of its mission of delivering the highest quality healthcare to children.

Our Vision

Our vision for Rainbow Babies & Children’s Foundation is to be a highly visible volunteer organization of committed, creative and entrepreneurial women who generate financial, political, corporate and community support for the mission of UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital through collaboration and partnerships, advocacy (internal and external), fundraising, social entrepreneurship, financial stewardship and venture funding.

Our roles are as:

• Advocates
  • For the needs of UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital at the local, state and national levels
  • For resources for UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital within University Hospitals

• Guardians
  • We are Guardians of the quality of care provided to children by UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital and the unique experience they receive there.

• Collaborators
  • With community organizations who share elements of purpose with UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital – the healthcare needs of children of northeast Ohio
  • With the leadership of UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital and UH to ensure that the investments made by Rainbow Babies & Children’s Foundation are effective

• Ambassadors
  • For UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital to parents, educators, children and others who can benefit from Rainbow’s services in the community
  • Promoting UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital in the business community

• Financial Supporters
  • Raising funds in areas which contribute to UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital’s ability to deliver the highest quality of care
  • Making financial contributions to be “leaders by example”
  • Serving as stewards of the Rainbow Babies & Children’s Foundation endowment through our investments in and for UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital
  • Entrepreneurs for Rainbow, identifying, investing in and nurturing the programs, services, and people who will help UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital maintain its position as the best of the best children’s hospitals

Our Purpose

Helping All of Cleveland’s Children

There is no one more vulnerable and deserving of generosity than a child. For generations, Rainbow Babies & Children’s Foundation Board of Trustees advocate and raise financial support for the benefit of the children who live right here in Northeast Ohio and beyond.

Rainbow Babies & Children’s Foundation is a supporting organization of the not-for-profit University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s. The excellence of Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital is crucial to Cleveland being a thriving community with a high quality of life. It is a key element in attracting and retaining people to the area and plays a major role in the social and economic vitality of the entire Northeast Ohio region. Private, community-driven philanthropy is required to maintain that excellence.

What in time became today’s Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, started in 1887 as an effort of nine young women from wealthy Cleveland families who sought to create a place for needy, sick children to convalesce. The women raised money from charity balls, small donations, benevolent benefactors and public subscriptions.

As patient populations grew, diseases became more prevalent, diagnoses more complex, and medical treatments more sophisticated, it became apparent that donations alone would no longer be enough. This is when public appropriations and insurance payments started to account for a greater percentage of the hospital’s financing. 

However, annual service revenue, along with private and public insurance reimbursement, falls short of providing the funds required to build, maintain and innovate a world-class children’s hospital system. Donations are essential for everything from the recruitment of brilliant and dedicated surgeons to the procurement of state-of-the-art equipment.

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Community of Caring

Annually, thirty-eight women volunteer their time on the Board of Trustees of Rainbow Babies & Children’s Foundation.  These amazing women are dynamic, steadfast and compassionate stewards of the Rainbow Foundation’s endowment. Each woman brings diverse professional and personal experiences and are united by their dedication to building upon the legacy of those original Cleveland philanthropists.

The Trustees’ personal and collaborative efforts; donations from friends; grateful patients; community leaders; national corporations and local businesses; foundations; fundraising events; and annual solicitations have had a profound beneficial effect on children and families, as well as the Cleveland community in which we live. Rainbow Foundation has donated more than $128 Million to UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital since 1999.

The fundraising efficiency and stewardship of the Rainbow Foundation, along with the operational leadership and strong governance of UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, ensures that every dollar donated is an investment in the health and well-being of our children and our community.