Hanover
They said it’s likely due to the event’s proximity this year to the Fourth of July holiday and from last weekend’s storm damage.
But the drop-off, which is partially made up for by a larger-than-normal grant from the Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation, also comes after a lawsuit alleged that some of the funds raised for cancer research were instead being diverted for other expenses in the Dartmouth-Hitchcock system.
Still, thousands of participants are preparing to walk, cycle, row and golf this weekend to raise money for the center.
“Fingers crossed we’ll get over $3 million (in donations),” Jean Brown, executive director of the Friends of the Norris Cotton Cancer Center, said on Thursday.
That’s a decrease of roughly $100,000 from the total raised in last year’s Prouty. And about 20 percent of that $3 million also is expected to come from the Byrne Foundation, which provided $100,000 to sponsor this year’s event and up to $500,000 in matching funds.
About $900,000 of a $1 million gift the foundation provided to the Friends of the Norris Cotton Cancer Center is not counted in the $3 million figure.
Last year, the private foundation gave $300,000 in matching funds and contributed $400,000 to support research by Matthew Havrda, a neurologist at the Geisel School of Medicine specializing in Parkinson’s disease research.
Brown said she’s also expecting a slightly lower attendance at the 36th annual fundraiser.
Last weekend’s storm forced organizers to reroute several races and the event’s proximity to the Fourth of July holiday means many families who normally participate will be out of town and on vacation, she said.
More than 4,000 people have signed up for the Prouty so far, Brown estimated, about 200 fewer than last year’s reported participation.
Still, many longtime supporters say they’ve had success fundraising for the race, some even topping records from previous years.
“We give personally and we have some very generous family and friends who help us,” said David Otto, the founder of Otto and Associates, a family financial planning firm in Norwich.
Last year, Otto raised $18,164 for the Prouty, the highest for an individual cyclist.
He estimates his family’s team already has raised more than $35,000 for this year’s race and the team isn’t done yet.
“I think it’s a terrific community event,” said Otto, who is a cancer survivor himself. “You’d have to look long and hard to find someone who’s not enjoying The Prouty.”
While the community has long rallied around The Prouty, events last year shook some people’s faith in the fundraiser and Dartmouth-Hitchcock.
Mark Israel, former director of the Norris Cotton Cancer Center, filed a lawsuit in October alleging that Dartmouth-Hitchcock fired him in an act of retaliation after he objected to $6 million in funds raised for cancer research and other services being diverted to operating expenses.
The lawsuit alleges $1.6 million of that money came from the Prouty. Israel filed an amended lawsuit in late May after a Grafton County Superior Court judge ruled that a “lucrative transition agreement” prevents him from going to court to resolve the dispute.
The hospital has denied it misused any funds, but in a February letter it pledged $6 million for “cancer research, patient support services and faculty recruitment.”
Otto said the lawsuit didn’t factor into his decision to participate in The Prouty, but his family made a special effort to begin fundraising because they weren’t sure what others would think.
“My understanding is that’s all behind us,” he said. “The Friends (of the Norris Cotton Cancer Center) have recouped (the money) and it truly is behind us.”
David Bradley, director of the Stebbins Bradley law firm in Hanover, said he’s obtained 103 individual donations so far but likely won’t make his $30,000 goal. Last year, he raised $31,471.
He attributes the shortfall to donations coming in later than expected rather than the fallout from the Israel lawsuit.
“I don’t know of anybody who has said ‘because of (the lawsuit), you don’t get donations this year,’ ” he said. “No one has done that.”
Israel himself said he wants the Prouty to do well this year, and doesn’t want ongoing litigation to overshadow the work of the Norris Cotton Cancer Center.
“I’ve encouraged people to participate with the hopes that The Prouty organizers would insist on D-H making clear to the public how the money would be used,” he said on Thursday. “I don’t feel that they have.”
In February, Chris Amos, interim director of the center, and Shelly Gilbert, chairwoman of the Friends of the Norris Cotton Canter Center, co-authored an op-ed in the Valley News announcing a joint governance agreement between Dartmouth College and the hospital specifying how the center will be managed in the future.
The agreement provides incoming cancer center Director Steven Leach “the authority for making sure that donor intent is honored in the use of all philanthropic funds, including those raised by the friends,” according to the op-ed.
But Israel said the agreement hasn’t been made public and is skeptical that Dartmouth-Hitchcock will make a public commitment that Prouty funds will always go to cancer research and patient services.
Daniel Wolf, a 30-year participant in The Prouty, also said he was upset with what the lawsuit alleges, but he still decided to take part in the event. This year, he’s raised a little over $20,000.
“I believe what Hitchcock did was not in the best interest of the community,” said Wolf, who has been critical of the hospital in the past. “But raising money for cancer research, palliative care is extremely important to me.”
With Dr. Joanne Mather Conroy named as Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s new CEO, he’s hopeful the hospital will do better addressing community relations.
Karen Blum, who raised $20,177 last year walking the Prouty, also said the lawsuit and controversy was “unfortunate.” But it didn’t deter her from raising upwards of $23,000 this year.
“That to me was a bump in the road,” she said. “It just didn’t occur to me to stop raising money.”
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.