Fundraising for Accelerated Study for the PhD in Nursing: A Community Partnership

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Higher Education Administration
• Fundraising Strategy

Background:

• The demand for advanced nursing faculty is critical to address healthcare needs.
• Post-master's accelerated PhD programs offer a pathway to develop nurse scientists and educators.
• Securing sustainable funding is essential for the success and expansion of doctoral nursing programs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To outline effective fundraising strategies for a post-master's accelerated PhD program in nursing.
• To provide a model proposal and student contract for scholarship-funded doctoral education.
• To demonstrate the long-term impact of investing in doctoral nursing education.

Main Methods:

• Development and implementation of targeted fundraising campaigns.
• Creation of a scholarship program with a service repayment or reimbursement clause.
• Utilizing impact metrics to illustrate the return on investment for donors.

Main Results:

• The initial fundraising campaign secured $2.3 million for ten PhD students.
• A subsequent campaign raised an additional $1.3 million for six PhD students.
• Demonstrated a projected impact of 660 students educated and 2.4 million patients cared for over a decade.

Conclusions:

• Strategic fundraising, emphasizing long-term societal impact, can successfully support accelerated doctoral nursing programs.
• A clear scholarship and service agreement is crucial for student commitment and program sustainability.
• Investment in doctoral nursing education yields substantial returns in faculty development and patient care.