In November 2020, SGIM launched the “Forging Our Future” program to instill a culture of giving among members who value what the organization has contributed to their careers and the mission of cultivating innovative educators, researchers, and clinicians in academic general internal medicine, leading the way to better health for everyone.1 By the end of 2021, we received a total of $480,399 in donations and pledges. Of that amount, $24,715 was designated for the Future Leaders of GIM Fund, covering complimentary memberships for fellows and scholarships for medical students and residents attending the SGIM Annual Meeting. About half of the amount given to the Future Leaders of GIM Fund was in memory of Dr. John Noble, SGIM’s 12th president. Members also designated $23,610 for expansion of the Unified Leadership Training in Diversity (UNLTD) program while the Hess Foundation generously agreed to allocate $200,000 from a previous gift to support expansion of the UNLTD program. The Forging Our Future program also benefited from a previous gift of $50,000 from the Sergei Zlinkoff Fund for Medical Research and Education that helped lay the groundwork for expanding our organizational capacity for growth.
SGIM’s Council set a great example by achieving 100% participation in the Forging Our Future Program in 2020 and again in 2021. The Program ultimately succeeded in engaging 404 members, including more than 70% of the past presidents of SGIM or ACLGIM, more than 60% of the chairs of SGIM’s committees and commissions, and 100% of the Philanthropy Committee members. We greatly appreciate the generous support of all members who contributed to the program as well as those who joined the Legacy Circle for bequests and planned giving, as listed in the following table on page 5 (see SGIM’s web site for the full list).2 By creating a new pillar of support, you have enhanced our ability to address the mission that is more important than ever.