The KVC Foundation has named its first President, Michelle Lawrence, and is relaunching to align and advance the work of KVC Health Systems and its local subsidiaries across the U.S.

KVC Health Systems is a national leader in child welfare and mental health services. Its services strengthen families, prevent child abuse and neglect, and help both children and adults achieve mental health wellness. As KVC has grown from a volunteer effort to help children in Kansas City, Kansas, to a national leader with 35 locations in the U.S. and best practice training and consultation that stretches around the world, KVC’s presence in its home region of Kansas and Missouri has expanded.

The KVC Health Systems family of nonprofits including the KVC Foundation share the same vision: ensuring every person is safe and connected to a strong family and a healthy community. KVC Health Systems is the parent organization that provides centralized administrative support to the subsidiaries including KVC Hospitals, KVC Kansas, KVC Kentucky, KVC Missouri/KVC Niles, KVC Nebraska, KVC West Virginia and the KVC Foundation.

To bring this vision to life, the KVC Foundation seeks strategic investments and donations from multiple funding sources – federal, state, private foundations, corporate foundations, and individuals – to support medical and behavioral healthcare, social services and educational programs and initiatives that strengthen families and communities. Philanthropy allows KVC to be agile and innovative in its approach and to implement solutions and enhancements in real-time.

The KVC Foundation’s new alignment with the subsidiaries will enhance philanthropic accountability and communication. With help from the KVC Foundation Board of Directors and Regional Boards, Michelle and her team bridge the connection between donors and the children, adults and families served by KVC who learn, play, live and work in their communities.

Jason Hooper

“Michelle’s passion for child welfare and wellness is an asset not only to KVC, but also to children and families in crisis who need this life-saving care,” said Jason Hooper, President and CEO of KVC Health Systems. “She builds long-lasting relationships and raises funds on behalf of the children we serve and the amazing professionals and foster/adoptive families caring for them. By creating a culture of philanthropy, she helps everyone find their unique way of helping others.”

A Wealth of Expertise on Donor-Centered Philanthropy

Michelle Lawrence has been with KVC Health Systems for 7 years, most recently as Vice President of Development. She successfully led multiple KVC capital campaigns and program expansion initiatives, securing more than $20 million in her tenure to help open the KVC Institute for Health Systems Innovation; KVC Hospitals Wichita, a 54-bed acute children’s psychiatric treatment center; a renovated KVC Niles and more. Most recently, Wichita’s Hope Lives campaign and its generous supporters helped address the urgent shortage of children’s psychiatric treatment beds throughout Kansas at a time when youth suicide and other children’s mental health needs were climbing. In addition to capital campaigns, she oversees the foundation team that helps to secure millions through federal, state, and local grant funding, KVC’s signature fundraising events, planned giving, and stewardship.

Michelle has over 29 years of experience in healthcare, nonprofit resource development, child advocacy and community outreach. Prior to KVC, she served as Senior Director of Community Giving for the Saint Luke’s Foundation, where she created a robust foundation program for Saint Luke’s South Hospital. She also served as Senior Vice President for Community Development at Sunflower House where she helped grow revenue tenfold.

She earned her bachelor’s degree from Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) and Rockhurst University and her Certification as a Fund-Raising Executive from the University of Missouri, Kansas City, Bloch School of Business.

About KVC Health Systems

KVC Health Systems is a family of private, nonprofit organizations and a national leader in providing innovative, effective, and compassionate care. KVC’s services include in-home family support, foster care, adoption, behavioral healthcare, and children’s psychiatric hospitals. KVC is accredited by the Joint Commission, the gold standard in healthcare, a member of the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities, and a consultant to health and human service agencies around the world. The organization has nearly 1,500 professionals working from 35 locations across the U.S. Over the last 50 years, KVC has made a positive difference in the lives of over 300,000 children and adults. Learn more at www.kvc.org.