Participation

The Demand
The Supply
We make no bones about it
Health & Health Care
Disasters
The Resources Exist
We Need Your Help
Our Impact and Fiscal Responsibility is on the Record
Bottom Line! Bottom Line!

The Demand

A recent study conducted by Mercy Medical Airlift revealed the actual need for our type of service is fast approaching the 190,000 mark, and public benefit flying organizations are meeting only 10% of that need. What’s more, due to recent breakthroughs in medical science, the demand is expected to drastically increase, in some cases, even triple in the next five years.

The Supply

You know about the principle of Supply and Demand. We do, too. That’s why Mercy Flight™ Southeast is bracing for rapid financial growth with the creation a new Fund Development Program. The MFSE™ Financial Solution — the many ways to give.

We Make No Bones About It

We need your time, or your money, or both. And as you consider how to make the best charitable contribution, it may be helpful to recognize that MFSE™ does not focus on just one disease, or one ethnic or age group. Our services are multi-purpose. Wherever there is a need, that’s where we go.

Health and health care

We assist patients battling cancer, rare diseases, chronic and terminal illnesses, as well as those with heart, lung and liver problems who are fighting time when they need to get to a distant medical facility where a matching organ has been found.

Disasters

Our pilots have also been there during natural disasters, like Hurricanes Andrew, Hugo and Floyd. And, of course, national tragedies, including 911. Recently, we’ve been involved in doing our part for Homeland Security.

The Resources Exist

With thousands of registered pilots in the United States and all the vacant seats on commercial and corporate flights, the resources already exist. The challenge is to bring them all together.

Mercy Flight™ Southeast has been doing exactly that for over 15 years with a “tried and true” system that has done the job efficiently and effectively up to now! However, as the demand increases, so must the supply.

Why We Need Your Help

There is no doubt we could not accomplish our mission without the generous in-kind donation of our pilot members. However, there are services and products that must be bought that are never free. Pilots and planes need airports, coordination and full-time administration — all of which takes time and money.

Remember, too, that Mercy Flight™ Southeast serves a five state region (AL, GA, LA, MS, SC) with a estimated population of 29.6 million residents, incurring significant expenses.

Mission Operations — This is the purest form of our service delivery – linking up a patient in need with a pilot willing to donate their time and aircraft. It is primarily people, computers and communication systems that make it happen. That takes money.

Rainy-Day Fund — We occasionally must purchase commercial airline tickets (always at a discounted rate) due to bad weather and other logistical problems, or to cover lodging expenses for a stranded patient when we are unable to return them home as scheduled. That takes money.

National Computer Database — MFSE™ participates in the nationwide network known as Air Charity Network™. A national web-based mission coordination database is being developed which will greatly improve efficiencies and substantially reduce costs. While this is a national effort, we must fund our share. That takes money.

Pilots — In order to ensure that no patient is denied our service due to lack of an available pilot, and to keep up with growing demand, we must continually increase our pilot membership base within Florida, our service area. That takes time.

Earth Angels — We could not accomplish our mission without the dedication and support of our ground support volunteers, “Earth Angels.” They assist with our toll-free hotlines, public speaking, staffing the operations center, working special events, mission coordination and computer input.

The largest expenses associated with this program are advertising and promotion, training programs, communications and volunteer recognition. All of that takes time . . . and money.

Public Education — A great amount of our resources focus on increasing awareness of our unique form of community service. This program covers costs associated with marketing and public relations, including printing materials and brochures, direct mailing, and a campaign of TV and Radio Public Service Announcements. That takes money.

Wing Development — In order to reach people in their local communities, we need a local presence. We have embarked on a program that develops local Wings to focus on increasing awareness, developing membership and raising funds on a local basis. Headquarters will continue to provide mission coordination, administration and training from a centralized location. Again . . . time and money!

Our Impact and Fiscal Responsibility is on the Record

Mercy Flight™ is a non-profit, 501c3 organization that is proud of its record of service and prudent financial management. It has been extremely successful in leveraging resources to provide the maximum service to the residents of our five-state area of responsibility.

For every dollar of direct public support received, MFSE returns $5.00 of service back to the community (based on the value of pilots in-kind donations).

Less than 9% of our resources are spent on administration and fund raising costs combined. Please contact us for copies of MFSE™’s audited financial statements and tax returns.

To get an even better idea of the value of our unique form of service, we encourage you to visit our operations center in Leesburg, Florida. We also allow interested individuals to fly along on missions on a space available basis. There is no better way to see the impact we make than to ride along and watch it in action.

Bottom Line! Bottom Line!

The concept here is continuous improvement in all areas: to expand our operating systems to the efficiency level needed by utilizing modern technology; to raise awareness so that everyone who has a need and qualifies for our service, knows it exists; to increase the number of volunteers at every level; and to get our urgent support message to everyone who might become a new sponsor, or give us substantial support in the form of donations.