SINCE 1962

your foundation

for health

Leading initiatives to create a region of the healthiest people.
Building the fundraising success of charities.
Investing in new ideas that create widespread health improvement.

• TRAINING • SUPPORT & RESOURCES • PARTNERSHIPS • meeting space •
for health-related entities & charities

It all begins with you.

We can be your foundation.

We know the power of the human spirit.
We get to witness it often.
It begins with someone like you.

You know you can help. You refuse to accept the status quo of health or surrender to helplessness in making life better for others.

Want to leave a legacy? Transform money into meaning? Plant your pain or loss into a promise of health and hope?

Since 1962, Dakota Medical Foundation has been connecting people and their life experiences to opportunities that improve the health of others. Let us guide you, so you can do the good you dream of and rescue lives held hostage by un-health or circumstance.

We can be your foundation.

Dakota Medical Foundation

Since 1962, Dakota Medical Foundation has been connecting people and their life experiences
to opportunities that improve the health of others.

How we help you

Click the arrow-down circles to read more.

Heard of Giving Hearts Day?
Want to know more?

Giving Hearts Day ♥ February 10, 2022

Each year, Giving Hearts Day is the second Thursday of February and is the longest-running giving day in the United States.

Since 2008, $112 million has been raised for nearly 500 charities in the region on this exciting give-a-thon day!

Any day or night of the year, generous individuals and groups can use GivingHeartsDay.org to connect with a charity to donate or volunteer.

Click Giving Hearts Day if you’d like to donate to a charity with your time or money.

Interested in a high impact training platform for your charity?

Want to fundraise better?
Recruit and retain effective board members?

The Impact Institute provides high impact training for charities in the areas of fundraising and effective boards.

Click GET STARTED to access a contact form. Indicate your interest in high impact training and submit your contact information.

Desire to leave a legacy through a
grass roots or family foundation?

If you’ve ever thought about establishing a foundation or charity, but the hassle of paperwork, accounting details, and tax reporting stopped you in your tracks, you may be interested in a charitable fund through Dakota Medical Foundation.

We establish charitable funds, often called family foundations or endowment funds, for individuals, families, businesses, and community groups working to impact health and quality of life in our region.

Click DONOR FULFILLMENT to visit our DONOR FUNDS page and find out more and how to get started.

Many kids have vision problems and nobody knows. Want to help them see?

Did you know?

80% of a child’s learning ability relies on vision.
1 in 4 kids starting Kindergarten have vision problems.
Vision problems affect 70% of juvenile delinquents.

The problem is, many kids don’t have the opportunity to get an eye exam. With your support, we can increase these opportunities, get their vision problems diagnosed and treated, and improve their futures.

Click Optometric Foundation of North Dakota to visit the foundation’s website.

Want to host a fundraiser for a family in medical crisis? Or support one?

Lend A Hand Up was created in 2007:

offering unique tools and funding to increase the help for local families in medical crisis
to help caring community members raise financial help for friends and neighbors in medical crisis
to inspire and enhance the success of volunteer-led fundraisers for families in medical crisis.

Click Lend A Hand Up to find out more.

Listen to a family who was helped through a fundraiser supported by Lend A Hand Up.

Need a meeting space
to gather and do great things?

Opened in 2013, the Dakota Medical Foundation building is a gift to the community.

It is a place to gather and do great things.

DMF offers free or low-cost meeting space to health organizations and nonprofits for:
meetings | conferences | training
classes | retreats | events

We don’t want a where to hold back the progress of your what, why and how of doing good.

Click MEETING SPACE for more information.

Find out how you can have constructive conversations about mental health.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for teens in the US. Preventing suicide starts with creating environments where mental health is a topic seen as equally pivotal to a person’s development as the other topics we discuss with children more freely.

The Kids Mental Health initiative provides caring adults with the resources needed to set the precedent of prioritizing mental health.

These resources include:

The Robbie’s Hope Handbook, a guide for mental health conversations written by kids for parents
“Break the Silence,” a short film
Survey results and discussion on a state-wide assessment of the state of children’s health

Click here to learn more.

Half of North Dakota children-in-need don't own a toothbrush. Want to help?

The North Dakota Dental Foundation began with the belief that dentists are well-positioned to address issues that prevent people from getting dental care, and is deeply committed to helping those who can’t afford care.

Through dentist charitable outreach programs, such as Mission of Mercy, Dental Rental, and the Kids Without Cavities, people have access to low-cost dental care and improve their oral health.

Bright Futures in Dentistry addresses the shortage of dental assistants in North Dakota by promoting the position and offering incentives for training. This initiative increased the applications to NDSCS dental assisting program by 55% from 2018-2019.

Our Process

STEP 1

contact us

Click the GET STARTED button to complete and submit the form appearing on your screen or call us at 701-271-0263.

STEP 2

connect with dmf staff

Upon receiving your call or message, a DMF staff member will connect with you via phone or email message.

STEP 3

get a personalized plan

Work alongside a DMF staff member or partner and establish a plan based on your desire to do good and improve lives.

We support charities and we support you.

Think you’re not ready? Contact us anyway.
Often the hardest thing about getting started is getting started.

Let us guide you.
We can be your foundation.

“When you start or support a charity,
you are telling someone they matter.
You are easing pain. You are inspiring dreams.
Sometimes you are saving lives.”

- J. Patrick traynor, executive director of Dakota medical foundation

Investing in new ideas

that create widespread health improvement

Rachel’s life and death inspired our family to raise awareness about the rise of colorectal cancer among young adults. We established a DMF fund called "Live Like Rach" so others don’t suffer the same fate. Rachel wasn’t just a person, she was a force. There are ways to beat this, and we’re going to get there.

In 2010, as a first-time executive director, I was encouraged to meet with DMF and the Impact Institute for training and support. If they told us to do something, we did it AND it worked! I still turn to Impact for guidance and support. They help us continue to grow and get better. I am always learning through them.

Dakota Medical Foundation believed in the need for Lend A Hand Up and its potential as a valuable health initiative in this area. Since 2008, alongside community members, we have raised $18 million for 540 families in medical crisis. This is such a testament to the generosity of this community.

Partners

Partners leading and supporting initiatives to improve health and quality of life in North Dakota and northwest Minnesota.

Working with and through people like you, Dakota Medical Foundation leads community-centered initiatives and programs, builds the fundraising success of charities, and invests in new ideas that create widespread health improvement.

Since 1996, DMF has invested over $100 million to operate initiatives and expand the impact of nearly 500 organizations in North Dakota and northwest Minnesota.

In 2004, Dakota Medical Foundation and the Alex Stern Family Foundation formed the Impact Foundation, to help charities become exceptional fundraisers and ensure their long-term sustainability. The Impact Institute builds the capacity of nonprofits through an annual pathway of resources, trainings, and tools.

Together with Impact Foundation and the Alex Stern Family Foundation, DMF hosts the annual 24-hour Giving Hearts Day that has raised $112 million for charities since 2008.

Together, we do great things.
Thank you.