Support the SHSMD Connections Scholarship Fund
Your support can help remove the financial barriers that keep talented health care strategy professionals from experiencing SHSMD Connections.
The SHSMD Connections Scholarship Fund provides financial assistance to SHSMD members whose budget limitations may otherwise prevent them from participating in the SHSMD Connections conference. Your contribution can help another member access the learning, relationships and professional growth that happen when the SHSMD community comes together.
Scholarship Recipient Story
See what access to Connections can make possible
“The connections, inspiration and ideas that you'll bring back with you are so worth it.”
Nikki Foster, MA
Marketing Strategy Partner
Avera Health
Nikki describes her scholarship-supported Connections experience as re-energizing. The conference gave her the opportunity to learn from experienced leaders, see work being done across the country and connect with health care professionals facing similar challenges.
Why your support matters
The scholarship supports the professional development of SHSMD members working across health care strategy, marketing, communications, planning, public relations and business development.
Access
Help reduce financial barriers that may otherwise prevent a SHSMD member from participating in Connections.
Connection
Give members an opportunity to exchange ideas with peers who understand the challenges facing health care strategy professionals.
Professional growth
Help members develop new skills, perspectives and strategies they can bring back to their organizations.
What a scholarship can set in motion
Past recipients share how the opportunity to participate in SHSMD Connections continued to make an impact after the conference ended.
“That one singular conference has opened so many doors for my career.”
Khrista attended her first SHSMD Connections conference through a scholarship in 2023. After that experience, her organization recognized the value of sending her and has been able to support her attendance each year since. She credits Connections with helping her bring relevant trends and information back to her small team and, most importantly, with helping her “find her people.”
Khrista Boster
Chief Marketing Officer
Woodlawn Health
“The pre-conference workshops were a game-changer for me.”
Cynthia valued both the networking and the opportunity to exchange ideas with professionals facing similar challenges. She found the small rural group discussion especially meaningful and returned from the pre-conference workshops with new strategic planning tactics she was excited to incorporate into her work.
Cynthia Amanda Tena, MBA
Vice President of Strategy & Support Services
Cibola General Hospital, Cibola Family Health Center and Cibola Specialty Associates
“The content proved immediately valuable.”
Kathleen learned about Connections after her organization's budget had already been finalized. A scholarship gave her virtual access to conference materials that supported current projects and deepened her understanding of health care-specific marketing strategies. The experience also strengthened her business case for attending the conference in person the following year.
Kathleen Montgomery
Marketing Specialist
Samaritan Medical Center
Help someone else get in the room
Your contribution can help another SHSMD member overcome a financial barrier and experience the ideas, connections and professional development that make Connections valuable.
How scholarship recipients are considered
The scholarship is designed to support the professional development of SHSMD members working in health care strategy across marketing, communications, planning, public relations and business development.
Preference is given to:
- Members demonstrating a clear financial need for scholarship assistance.
- Members with active involvement with SHSMD and a commitment to continued participation.
- Members whose goals align with conference content and who seek to enhance their skills in these areas.
Important donation information
Tax information
Scholarship fund donations made by individuals and organizations are not tax-deductible as charitable contributions, given that SHSMD operates as a 501(c)(6) organization. For donations over $5,000, SHSMD must report the donor's information to the IRS. Please check with your tax advisor for more information.
How donated funds are used
SHSMD will make every effort to use donated funds for the intended purpose in the year they are received. Any funds not used in the year they are received will be held for use in the following year. Should the scholarship program be discontinued for any reason, any remaining funds will be used to support education for SHSMD members.
By continuing with your donation, you agree and understand the information stated above.
Paying by check? Please email shsmd@aha.org.
Amounts donated will not be listed on the web page.