Michael Morsberger is vice president of development and alumni affairs at Duke Medicine. In this position, he leads a development and alumni team of 75 responsible for raising more than $100 million in philanthropic support each year.

Previously, he served as associate vice president of development and executive director of the University of Virginia Health System and the UVa Health Foundation. Morsberger also has held positions in development at Johns Hopkins Medicine and Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital Foundation. He is a graduate of Radford University and has a master's degree from Saint Mary's University of Minnesota. He can be reached at michael.morsberger@duke.edu.

Two years ago, you and your team developed a program to steward and increase giving among patients at Duke Medicine. You recently discussed its success during a CASE Online Speaker Series conference. Are programs targeting patient engagement growing?
The webinar was a first for me-I could hardly believe that 75 sites in two countries and nearly 400 people were listening.

In the world of academic medicine, the reality is (in most cases) that more than 50 percent and up to 90 percent of private philanthropy is being driven by grateful patients and their family members. HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, a 1996 U.S. federal law that provides rights and protections for participants and beneficiaries in group health plans) certainly complicated the rules associated with this effort. Yet, amidst the "confusion," the work goes on-we simply need to be more careful.

And at Duke, I feel as though we have created a model initiative-one in which doctors and nurses can feel secure with regards to the handling of personal health information, and patients and families can express their gratitude via giving. Together, we're becoming true philanthropic partners in advanced clinical care, novel research and new ways of teaching.

What are some of the challenges associated with patient fundraising?
For the modern academic medical complex, the challenges are great: clinical income and collections are being tested because of the economy; support from the National Institutes of Health has leveled off and gone down in real dollars; medical and nursing school tuition doesn't begin to cover the true cost of education; borrowing power is diminished and income from endowments is down. Philanthropy has become the last influencable line of income available.

We have a team of about 75 in our shop raising money for the school of medicine, school of nursing and medical center-this includes our world-class cancer, children's and heart centers. Stacked up against our peers, it is not enough people to get the job done, although I suspect everyone says that. I believe we leave money on the table every day because we are not able to proactively or reactively follow every lead.

I always say that fundraising is a contact sport. What I mean by that is the more contacts we make, the more money we raise. I remain convinced that patients, in the best and worst of times, want to give back and want to better the situation for others. Thomas Jefferson said, "Without health, there is no happiness." We are trying to ensure this essential need, but it requires a partnership.

We need to make our case to alumni, patients, neighbors, faculty and friends. This is the investment of a lifetime, and the dividends are both far-reaching and personal-you want our medical center to be the very best if you're in an ambulance on your way to the emergency room. The translational research we are conducting in our labs and clinics may save millions one day, and the healthcare professionals we are training are the future of modern medicine.

Is there a close working relationship between your alumni and development staff members?
We have an extraordinary team at Duke Med. I could not be more proud of their passion and hard work. We've all been touched by some disease or ailment or loss in our lives, and I think our development and alumni affairs team channels that sadness and frustration into results. The more money we can put into the hands of our clinicians, researchers and educators, the better we all feel.

Duke was created through the benevolence of a single family-the Dukes-and today, we depend on the generosity of many more individuals and organizations to realize our full potential.

What is one of your major accomplishments in your development career?
Certainly, my greatest professional achievement and experience was being part of the team at Johns Hopkins that convinced Sidney Kimmel, a businessman and philanthropist, to donate $150 million in 2001 to Johns Hopkins Medicine for cancer research. What a singular moment and remarkable act of altruism by Mr. Kimmel.

Beyond the "big gifts" though, my greatest sense of professional achievement has come by way of mentoring young professionals to enter the advancement field.

Where do your ideas come from?
Where do I get my ideas? Periodicals, conferences and peer conversation are the easy answer. Most of my ideas are borne of the deep desire to help patients and faculty. Spend some time with an enthusiastic young medical student who wants to change the world or meet a scientist in his lab and let him explain his dreams. Or imagine watching a surgeon perform a Whipple procedure on a pancreatic cancer patient, witnessing a nurse holding a scarred patient's hand all night or a family weeping at the loss of a loved one. All of these experiences make me work harder-and I guess new ideas come from these interactions.

How has CASE membership influenced your career?
I have been a member of CASE for nearly 20 years. Its conferences, materials, ethical standards and principles of practice are the cornerstones of our profession.

This article is from the July 2009 issue of BriefCASE.
Please share your questions and comments with Pam Russell via e-mail at russell@case.org or by telephone at +1-202-478-5680.