Funding Request

Oneida Health Foundation Funding Request Procedure

The Oneida Health Foundation serves as the philanthropic arm of the Oneida Health System to build awareness, educate, develop, and sustain funding that supports growth, innovation, and needs related to healthy outcomes for needs that fall outside of the scope of billable medical services and/or insurance coverage.

About the STEP Fund

The STEP Fund was born through the Foundation’s fundraising efforts and has served as the vehicle for decades of growth and opportunity in many ways, including the purchase or upgrade of new equipment or technology, employee or community/high school educational scholarships, ongoing and needs-based community education, capital campaigns, opportunities for new jobs/positions and community programs such as the YMCA’s Fit Kids to combat childhood obesity.

The STEP Fund has been sustained through various internal and third-party fundraising events and campaigns, ongoing community engagement, planned giving, ongoing stewardship, major and memorial gifts, corporate sponsorship, and grant development.

As this work continues, the Foundation’s vision is to create a long-term, generational impact on the health outcomes of Oneida Health patients, their families and caregivers, our employees, and the communities we serve.

When Request Can Be Submitted

One amazing and exciting part of working in healthcare is that every day is different and offers the opportunity to work critically and creatively problem solve or bring new ideas to the healthcare sector for our community. But, what comes with any new challenge is unexpected or unplanned obstacles. The Foundation strives to support each department as these needs arise and would like the opportunity to assist, if possible.

At the end of every year, each department sends budget requests to the Oneida Health Finance Office for review and potential inclusion in the overall budget for the upcoming year. We, at the Foundation, understand that unforeseen needs or opportunities may arise after the annual Budget is determined.

The following process will allow departments to submit requests for financial support from the Foundation, outside of the normal year-end budget process. These awards will be prioritized based on specific criteria and funding will be available until it is exhausted and/or a new fiscal year begins. The Foundation’s fiscal year runs from January 1 to December 31, each year.

The Foundation Board of Directors meets quarterly and will discuss each funding request at the next meeting to determine if the requests will be funded. The requests will be evaluated by the Board of Directors as well as the hospital leadership team.

Point Value of Criteria Used for Determination/Award

  1. Does this request directly affect patient care? Yes or No (Yes = 10 points)
  2. Does this request directly affect employee(s)? Yes or No (Yes = 10 points)
  3. Does this request directly affect a grant program? Yes or No (Yes = 10 points)
  4. Does this request relate to patient or employee safety? Yes or No (Yes = 10 points)
  5. Does this request expand a current service line? Yes or No (Yes = 10 points)
  6. Does this request impact a billable service? Yes or No (Yes = 10 points)
  7. Is this request urgent or emergent? Yes or No (Yes = 10 points)
  8. Will this request have a fiscal impact? Positive or Negative (Both = 10 points)
  9. What is the amount of the fiscal request?
  10. How much funding is available for the remainder of the fiscal year.
  11. Has this been requested before?
  12. Is the hospital willing to contribute a portion? Yes or No (Yes = 10 points) If so, what amount?
  13. Did a provider endorse this request?
  14. Has this department been awarded funding through the Foundation already this year? Yes or No If so, what amount?

Other Criteria

  • Provider and Leadership Endorsement = 10 points
  • Previous Department Award = Taken into consideration
  • Amount of Funding Request vs. Amount of Funding Remaining = Taken into consideration

Total potential points per application = 100 points

The Committee will review the application and determine the outcome of the request based on the following:

  1. The score will be determined by % of points/100 points
  2. Amount of funding requested/Total Funding Available
  3. Hospital Contribution/If so,% of the match (if applicable)
  4. Previous Department Award in the Same Fiscal Year

Please complete the following steps to help us streamline the process, receive, prioritize and track your requests, and respond efficiently and promptly. It is our goal to create requests and outcomes for your requests, so you can create a plan for this need in a timely manner. The Oneida Health Foundation and its Board of Directors are proud to support such a unique and caring healthcare system!

Steps to Request Support from the Oneida Health Foundation

Step 1: Fill out the electronic funding request form below. Printable PDFs are available by emailing [email protected].

Step 2: Once received, your request will be forwarded to your direct Supervisor/Manager/Senior Leader for review, comment, edits, and approval or denial.

  1. If denied, a description of why the denial occurred will be placed in the note field for the Foundation to track and document.
  2. The approved request will be submitted to Senior Leadership for approval to move the request to Board of Director review.
  3. If approved, the request will be placed on the list for review by the designated review panel as determined by the Foundation Board/Finance Committee.

Step 3: Requests will be reviewed by the Foundation and awarded quarterly, as applicable. If a request is more urgent, it will be forwarded to the CEO and CFO to discuss, review and determine the next steps, along with the Foundation’s involvement.

Step 4: The Foundation will notify the supervising entity and CC: the initial requesting party and provider endorsing the request of every request determination (award or denial), via e-mail along with a description of the next steps. The outcome will also be documented in the Foundation Request Archives.

  1. If approval is allocated for the purchase of equipment, supplies, etc., the request will need to follow the steps required to get quotes and obtain vendor relationships, per Oneida Health System policy and procedures.
  2. Once the purchase is completed, purchase order and/or reimbursement request will need to be sent to the Foundation for a check to be cut. The check and PO will be filed for archive and financial records.
  3. Once the request is completed, Oneida Health Foundation would like a follow-up email from the requesting department describing how the item(s) have assisted the employee, patient, system, etc. This impact statement will provide information to donors and the Foundation Board regarding the outcome of the request.

The Foundation will then track the completion of the request and document the outcomes for future funding opportunities. These requests will also be listed in the Foundation Newsletter, social media, and/or Annual Report to build awareness of the impact that the STEP Fund contributions have on the health system, the patients we serve, and the community at large.

Thank you for helping the Foundation streamline our process and ensure that all requests, no matter how large or how small, are heard and documented!