Cedars-Sinai Fundraising Campaign Marks $1 Billion Milestone
Initiative That Launched Six Years Ago Catapults the Medical Center to Fundraising Achievement
Cedars-Sinai has exceeded a $1 billion benchmark in a fundraising campaign anchored by three impactful gifts that directly support innovation in medical research, clinical care and academic leadership. The campaign, launched in 2018, is an essential part of the medical center’s patient-focused mission to provide the highest-quality care while training future generations of medical professionals and pioneering scientific breakthroughs.
“This is a transformative time for Cedars-Sinai as an academic medical institution,” said Arthur J. Ochoa, JD, senior vice president of Advancement and chief advancement officer for Cedars-Sinai. “Every dollar raised through this fundraising campaign solidifies our legacy and mission of healing and uplifting our patients and the community.”
Cedars-Sinai received three major donations in as many years—each totaling $100 million or more. These major gifts reinforce the medical center’s status as a global leader among academic medical institutions. The campaign continues to be bolstered by the generosity of donors of all levels and from all over the world.
In August 2022, a $100 million gift from the Shapell Guerin Family Foundation established Cedars-Sinai’s Guerin Children’s, a major initiative in children’s health that provides a continuum of advanced care, from newborn to adolescent ages to adulthood. Physicians and scientists at Guerin Children’s deliver highly specialized multidisciplinary care, conduct pioneering research and oversee education and training programs across Cedars-Sinai’s network of hospitals and affiliates throughout the region.
A $143 million planned gift, from the estate of Susanne and Ervin Bard, became the largest in Cedars-Sinai history, in March 2023. In honor of the Bards’ generosity, Cedars-Sinai renamed the former Advanced Health Sciences Pavilion as the Susanne and Ervin Bard Pavilion—home to internationally renowned institutes, centers and research facilities, including Smidt Heart Institute and the Samuel Oschin Cancer Center.
In June, a $100 million gift from philanthropists Jim and Eleanor Randall established the Jim and Eleanor Randall Department of Surgery. The impactful gift will propel advances in surgical care, training and research. Cedars-Sinai is internationally known for its leading-edge surgical innovation across many disciplines, with surgeons performing more than 32,000 operations annually. These include lifesaving cancer, gastrointestinal, transplant, vascular, chest, trauma, otolaryngology (ENT) and reconstructive plastic surgeries.
Cedars-Sinai tied for #1 in California two years in a row and has been named to the Honor Roll for the ninth consecutive year in U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Hospitals 2024-25” rankings.
President and CEO Thomas M. Priselac charted the course for this success. After 30 years at the helm, Priselac is retiring in October from the role he helped define.
“My tenure has been dedicated to making a difference in the lives of the millions of people we are privileged to care for and to making a difference in the lives of the physicians and staff of Cedars-Sinai,” said Priselac, the Warschaw Law Chair in Healthcare Leadership. “It’s deeply and personally profound to appreciate what this historic, billion-dollar campaign has achieved and will continue to achieve for our exceptional institution.”
James Lippman, fundraising campaign chair and immediate past chair of Cedars-Sinai’s board of directors, agreed. “Cedars-Sinai is making an indelible impact in the healthcare space on a local and global scale, and this is greatly attributed to our dedicated staff and community leadership,” said Lippman. “Part of this enduring legacy is our fundraising campaign, which has seen four record-breaking years that will benefit the collective health of our treasured Los Angeles community.”
Read more on the Newsroom: Cedars-Sinai Secures Global Healthcare Accreditation