Winnie Johnson, our foundation’s first chief philanthropy officer, helped make giving back part of our community’s DNA

When Winnie Johnson joined Mission Hospital in
1995 as the founding chief philanthropy officer of Mission Hospital Foundation, philanthropy was not yet woven into the life of the organization as it is today. What followed over the next 18 years was not simply the growth of fundraising, but the birth of a culture rooted in generosity.

For Winnie, it was more than a job. It was, in her words, “the best decision of my career.” That sense of alignment mattered deeply to her. Winnie had long known what she needed in her work: strong ethics, a sense of purpose, autonomy, vision and values. At Mission Hospital, she found a hospital with an excellent reputation, a growing community and an opportunity to lead transformational change.

Winnie helped lay the foundation for what philanthropy at Mission would become. It was already an outstanding hospital in a community that cared deeply about it. Winnie helped create the structure, language and relationships that allowed generosity to flourish.

“The reason this was done so well,” she says, “is because it was a great hospital and a great community.” That belief continues to shape her giving today.

Giving with pride
Over the years, Winnie and her late husband, John Bolger, made their own philanthropic commitments to Mission.

“When we made our first gift in honor of nurses,” muses Winnie, “I remember thinking that a major gift isn’t defined by the amount, it’s defined by whether you feel proud of it. While philanthropy helps fund buildings and equipment, it’s really about the lives those things touch.”

For Winnie, making a planned gift was a natural extension of a lifetime of connection to the hospital and to the mission it serves.
“There’s a reward in thinking that what you’ve done in your life is going to continue on and make a difference,” she says. “Making an estate gift is a great way to do it.”

Even in retirement, Winnie has remained engaged with Providence Mission Hospital in thoughtful and generous ways. She’s a donor, an advocate and a trusted voice who still believes deeply in the hospital’s role in the community.

“ Winnie led with intention, humility and heart, and that same spirit continues to define the way she gives today. I’m proud to carry her work forward. Her legacy lives on not only in the foundation she helped build, but in the culture of generosity that continues to shape Mission.”
— Nicole Balsamo, chief philanthropy officer