A Gift for the Givers: the 2019 Breakthrough Impact Awards

Nonprofit organizations provide vital services and support for people in need across the globe. In areas including healthcare, social advocacy, and community programs, these organizations—driven by selfless volunteers, staff, and charitable supporters—help change our lives for the better.

It can be challenging for nonprofit organizations to develop and support new programs and services even in the best of times. In recognition and appreciation of the nonprofit community, Breakthrough Healthcare is announcing the Breakthrough Impact Awards program. In this program, a select group of nonprofit organizations are awarded pro bono services from Breakthrough to support the development of innovative programs and services that will effect positive change, and strengthen the reach and influence of the recipient organizations.

Breakthrough is proud to announce the winners of the 2019 Breakthrough Impact Awards: the Ethan Lindberg Foundation, and the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN).

Ethan Lindberg Foundation

The Ethan Lindberg Foundation was founded to practically support individuals with congenital heart disease (CHD) and their families. The Foundation aims to ensure that families can access the best care for their loved ones, improve communication between families and doctors, advocate for shared medical decision-making, and support innovation to improve surgical techniques and outcomes. The Foundation issues grants to families traveling to Boston Children’s Hospital for cardiac care, and provides apartments in Boston for families with long-term or frequent visits.

Using their Breakthrough Impact Award, the Foundation will develop and launch a research study in 2019 that will assess the financial challenges faced by the families of children with CHD. Partnering with an academic research institution, the Foundation will develop a study protocol and survey instrument, field the survey nationally, and analyze and publish the results. The findings from this study will inform policies and services that can assist families with CHD in managing their complex financial challenges.

"While we understand the medical impact and research needs of the CHD community, we need to better quantify the social, emotional, and financial impact CHD has on patients and families,” said Jessica Lindberg, Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Ethan Lindberg Foundation. “We are grateful to be recipients of this award and look forward to leading this research initiative with our partners at Breakthrough.”

Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network

RAINN is the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization. RAINN created and operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline in partnership with more than 1,000 local sexual assault service providers across the country and operates the DoD Safe Helpline for the Department of Defense. RAINN also carries out programs to prevent sexual violence, help survivors, and ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice.

RAINN’s consulting services team works with clients across public, private, and nonprofit sectors to develop and strengthen their sexual misconduct prevention and response programs through a number of service offerings: consulting, program assessment, training, and hotline services. To support the continued growth of these services, RAINN will use its Breakthrough Impact Award to determine optimum strategies for managing program growth and discovering new opportunities to expand the organization’s reach and impact to further facilitate healing and the promotion of safe and healthy communities.

"We look forward to continuing our work helping clients examine their sexual violence policies and practices, " said Clara Kim, Vice President of Consulting Services for RAINN. "As more companies and organizations look to RAINN to assist them with program assessments and prevention efforts, it is important to work together to strengthen our collective efforts."