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Leverage resources and skills, as well as financial support
As part of its strategy, the Medtronic Foundation is also combining employee volunteerism opportunities with these strategic financing approaches to partnership, in a bid to create more sustainable investments and maximize impact.
The Medtronic Foundation engages Medtronic employees to offer their time and talent through a variety of volunteer projects, including traditional hands-on activities such as packing meals for a food bank or building homes. The skills-based Global Innovation Fellows volunteering program also places Medtronic employees with one of the Medtronic Foundation’s global health partners to help deliver consulting-style services to solve a key issue on scale and sustainability.
From multidisciplinary experts in health care to business strategists, fellows in the program are typically deployed on three-week intensive projects or connect on behind-the-desk opportunities to provide seasoned technical insight. Whether it is educating the public about disease prevention or improving health clinic records management, fellowship participants offer their unique expertise to advance the mission and sustainability of the nonprofit.
In India, seven Medtronic employees volunteered to help HeartRescue, an acute care initiative improving the speed of delivery of care and emergency medical services systems. For HeartRescue, fellowship teams developed a pathway to scale across parts of the country, and with Noora Health — a nonprofit in India that trains patients and their families with high-impact health skills — the teams helped expand its impact and reach more families.
Andrie Leday
Andrie Leday became a volunteer with HeartRescue India to deepen his perspective as a leader and because of the impact cardiovascular disease has had on his family. According to Leday, the Global Innovation Fellows program demonstrates the Medtronic Foundation’s commitment to the long-term success of the nonprofits it partners with. “Not only are we equipping them with resources, but we're also equipping them with additional tools to aid in their success,” says Leday.
Director of Robotic Therapies, USA
Kye Kim
Kye Kim decided to volunteer as a Global Innovation Fellow with HeartRescue India in order to challenge herself and make a contribution to society. She feels that one of the key strengths of the program is the fresh perspective skills-based volunteers bring, which helps nonprofits come up with innovative solutions to some of the challenges they may be facing.
Commercial Excellence Director, Switzerland
Anil Mankodi
Born in India, Anil Mankodi experienced the challenges of the country’s health care system firsthand. Taking part in the Global Innovation Fellows program with HeartRescue was a way for him to fulfill a long-standing desire to go back and contribute to his home country. Mankodi feels that one of the unique aspects of the program is that volunteers come from all over the world, showing that innovation can also flow from lower-income countries to higher-income countries.
Program Director, USA
“We want to pair the best of our investments — our Medtronic employees' talent and time, as well as our financial investments, to deliver better health,” Bhatt said.
In 2018, several Medtronic employees from places including Brazil, India, and Minnesota also joined HealthFinders for a project. Mandile said his staff members were able to learn a lot from them, including technical knowledge and skills, “These accomplished professionals from around the world sitting knee to knee with our front-line clinical staff … was an incredibly uplifting experience,” he said.
