The mission of the Perinatal Foundation is to secure and provide resources to improve the health of babies, mothers and families from preconception to early childhood. The Foundation pursues this mission by identifying current and emerging needs across the spectrum of perinatal health concerns and working collaboratively with the Wisconsin Association for Perinatal Care to promote and implement effective perinatal practices; securing and managing the resources that make the Foundation’s work possible; and awarding grants in support of research, education and model projects. The Perinatal Foundation was established in 1985.

Perinatal Foundation Vision and Mission

The Perinatal Foundation will be the leading philanthropic organization promoting excellence in perinatal health care of women, babies, and families.

The mission of the Perinatal Foundation is to:

• Secure new resources and provide stewardship of the endowment fund
• Conduct needs assessments, evaluate opportunities to make contributions to better perinatal health outcomes, and fund selected needs
• Partner with the Wisconsin Association for Perinatal Care and other organizations who share our goal of improving perinatal health
• Support dissemination of successful programmatic and educational models to advance perinatal health in the global community.

 

Every mother has a right to a safe and enjoyable pregnancy Every baby should have the privilege of being born healthy and wanted Every family is entitled to develop to its fullest potential within our evolving society The Perinatal Foundation carries on Dr. Leonard's commitment to the highest standards of perinatal care and healthy outcomes for infants and families. Over the past eighteen years, the Foundation has awarded more than $1 million in grants to support those goals through the following annual initiatives.

Grants and Awards
Thomas A. Leonard, MD, Memorial Lecture
Myrtle Bahm Leonard Memorial Award
Support for the Wisconsin Association for Perinatal Care (WAPC)

Grants and Awards
The primary means the Perinatal Foundation employs to accomplish its mission is awarding grants for projects that promise to improve health outcomes for women, infants and families. Grants are awarded in two categories: discretionary and competitive. Discretionary grants allow the Perinatal Foundation to develop programs that focus on a specific area of need or to collaborate on projects with another organization. Competitive grants support the work of individuals conducting research, education or model projects in conjunction with health care institutions, universities and public health agencies.

Currently, the Perinatal Foundation’s discretionary grant has allowed the Foundation to be engaged in a multi-year initiative to improve the identification and treatment of women who experience prenatal or postpartum depression. This program of activities, entitled the Perinatal Mood Disorders Initiative, will continue through 2006. For more information on the Intiative, please go to the Perinatal Mood Disorders section.

The Perinatal Foundation utilizes the income generated by its endowment to fund the annual grant awards. The amount available is based on a percentage of the 12-quarter trailing average of the Foundation's assets.

Thomas A. Leonard, MD, Memorial Lecture
Each spring, the Perinatal Foundation sponsors the Thomas A. Leonard, M.D., Memorial Lecture as part of the Wisconsin Association for Perinatal Care Annual Conference. A generous honorarium from the Foundation makes it possible to bring in a nationally recognized speaker on a topic of interest to the 300 perinatal professionals in attendance.

Thomas A. Leonard, M.D., a highly respected obstetrician and professor at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, was the driving force behind the formation of the Perinatal Foundation in 1984. A generous bequest from Dr. Leonard’s estate helped establish the Foundation as a significant philanthropic institution and provided the basis for the growth of its endowment.

Myrtle Bahm Leonard Memorial Award
The Myrtle Bahm Leonard Memorial Award was established as a tribute to the wife of Thomas A. Leonard, M.D., after her death in 1987. The award is comprised of three annual scholarships totaling $10,000, which help fund child care expenses for deserving students at the following three educational institutions in Wisconsin: Madison Area Technical College, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Recipients of the scholarships are selected through an application process at each institution.

According to Mary Jo Baisch, former chair of the Perinatal Foundation’s Grants and Awards Committee, “Mrs. Leonard encouraged and respected the difficult steps that individuals must take to better their life situation . . . In today’s society, day care is a major obstacle that must be overcome by many students, particularly those who are at the threshold of taking a positive step to improve their life.” Since the first awards were granted in 1994, more than 20 students and their children have benefited from the financial support provided by the Myrtle Bahm Leonard Award and the legacy of her generous and caring spirit.

Support for the Wisconsin Association for Perinatal Care (WAPC)
Since its inception, the Perinatal Foundation has worked in partnership with the Wisconsin Association for Perinatal Care (WAPC) in pursuing related missions and goals. Some members of each organization's Board of Directors serve on the other organization's board. The Executive Director and administrative and program staff work closely to coordinate activities and advance the goals of the Foundation and WAPC. Physically, the two organizations share office space. The Foundation looks to WAPC for its expertise in identifying current and emerging health care needs, and for developing programs to meet those needs. At the same time, funding from Foundation enhances the work of WAPC.

In late 1999, a Memorandum of Understanding between the two organizations formalized this long-standing relationship and solidified the Foundation’s commitment to supporting the work of WAPC with an annual financial contribution. The annual award to WAPC represents a strong commitment on the part of both organizations to support one another in mutually beneficial ways for the betterment of perinatal health across the continuum of care.