Media Backgrounder

London Health Sciences Foundation (LHSF) is a registered charity with the Canadian Revenue Agency's Charities Directorate. We are committed to ethical and transparent fundraising, and have met the standards required to become a Better Business Bureau Accredited Charity and a member of Imagine Canada.

We strengthen London Health Sciences Centre's (LHSC) ability to provide the highest quality health care for patients in Southwestern Ontario and beyond, by offering donors the opportunity to support discovery and innovation at the hospital.

We have raised more than one third of a billion dollars since 1996, for health care education and training initiatives, leading-edge equipment, new technology and new facilities that enhance patient care, as well as the development of innovative treatments and research discoveries that advance health care. During that time, LHSC recorded 46 national and international medical firsts. Many of those firsts were enabled by facilities, equipment, training and research funded in whole or in part by donors.

We share the same logo with LHSC, which is based on the partial double helix DNA strand. It reflects the human and scientific elements of LHSC's mission in patient care, research and teaching excellence.

While we work closely with the hospital to support their mission we are, in fact, a separate organization. We act as a trustee on behalf of our donors and are governed by our own, independent Board of Directors, comprised of 20 volunteers who represent the community. We employ a staff of 52, combined with hundreds of volunteers who support foundation events, committees and administration.