Mary Bird Perkins Receives Award for Innovation in Fundraising

Ethan Bush and Carter Stone honored for leadership and creativity

  (Baton Rouge, LA) Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center’s development team has been awarded the inaugural Innovator of the Year Team Award by the National Association of Cancer Center Development Officers (NACCDO) for its efforts in fundraising and philanthropy. Ethan Bush, vice president and chief development officer, accepted the award at the NACCDO annual conference in Lexington, Kentucky. The award, honored Bush and Carter Stone, director of development, for their outstanding leadership and successful transformation of Mary Bird Perkins – Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center’s fundraising efforts through the Take the Fight Forward initiative. Take the Fight Forward is a $25 million, five year, major and planned gift initiative focused on supporting the organization’s position as a destination cancer center for the Gulf South. The NACCDO Innovator of the Year Awards honors and recognizes both teams and individuals who have made significant, innovative contributions in the field of cancer fundraising. Mary Bird Perkins was one of only two NACCDO members receiving special recognition. Mary Bird Perkins was honored alongside City of Hope, a National Cancer Institute-designated facility considered one of the nation’s leading cancer centers. NACCDO membership consists of 90 cancer care organizations from throughout the United States. The National Association of Cancer Center Development Officers (NACCDO) is made up of cancer centers that are designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), or who have investigators that receive NCI grant funds or are members of the Association of American Cancer Institutes. The group was formed to share ideas and resources amongst the different development programs in order to further efforts in cancer fundraising.   Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center is a regional cancer care organization that has been fighting cancer for more than 40 years. With five centers in Baton Rouge, Covington, Hammond, Houma and Gonzales, its service area encompasses 18 parishes across southeast Louisiana. For more information, please visit www.marybird.org.