Paulette Mulry, Vice President, Development at Children’s Medical Center Foundation Shares How a Few Shifts Helped Bring on More Full Time Employees 

“Team” is my love language. I love being part of a team, building teams, and resourcing them for success. In my five years at Children’s Health, we have seen tremendous growth across many of our teams, most notably in Corporate Partnerships. When I arrived, we had two FTEs on the corporate team and, separately, one program director for CMN Hospitals, managing nearly 40 corporate partners and programs.

Three years ago, we merged portfolios and job responsibilities and now have a team of seven FTEs with dual responsibilities both for local relationships and national CMN Hospitals partnerships. This shift has afforded us a 32% ROI increase with our CMN Hospitals partnerships in 2022. And in the year prior, we saw a 62% increase with our Play Yellow program’s receipt of a $1 million commitment.

Of course, these results would not be possible without our foundation leadership’s belief and vision as to what could be possible with additional staff. But just adding FTEs will not get you there. Developing a team made of individuals willing to prioritize the goals of the team rather than just their own interests is critical. I believe the best way to achieve personal success is to help the entire team succeed. Our corporate team is comprised of loyal, flexible, and reliable professionals who prioritize their peers, partners, and the group over themselves, meaning they’re willing to make personal sacrifices if it leads to a better outcome for everyone. We’ve all heard there is no is no “I” in team – but there is in ROI!