Q&A with Dale Eazell

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January/February 2003

By Rich Smith

Tax collectors might expropriate as much as half of the $12 trillion in income and assets Baby Boomers are expected to amass over the next 40 years, unless they can be persuaded instead to donate to worthy nonprofit rehabilitation centers, says Dale Eazell, retired chief executive officer of Casa Colina Centers for Rehabilitation in Pomona, Calif. This idea and many others are outlined in Eazell’s new book, Fund-raising for the CEO and the Board Members. Rehab Management recently talked with Eazell, now an independent consultant based in Upland, Calif, to discuss fund-raising and his experiences as the head of one of the nation’s most successful rehabilitation centers.

REHAB MANAGEMENT: What advice can you offer to rehab center operators struggling to raise funds in this current tough economic climate?

EAZELL: In my book, I spell out 20 principles of fund-raising. The most important is to believe in what you’re doing. That means you must be a financial giver to your own institution. You can’t expect people to be as generous as you would like if you aren’t demonstrating generosity too and showing them the way. Here’s another principle. Fund-raising is relationship-based. In other words, it isn’t the expensive, beautifully designed invitations to a fund-raising event that bring out the guests and fill the seats; what does it is personal contact with someone who is important to those guests.

RM: You helped bring about a number of programs and services during your tenure with Casa Colina. What were they and what resulted from their introduction?

EAZELL: As for the specific programs that were developed, I wish I could take credit for them, but I can’t. Credit goes to the staff, which was composed of some of the most talented, bright, and dynamic individuals in this field. But I think the key point here is that we all were pretty much in agreement that our disabled patients didn’t universally need the services of a rehabilitation hospital and nothing else. We came to understand that some needed to be in different settings providing stepped approaches to rehabilitation.

RM: Such as?

EAZELL: Such as a transitional living center for persons with brain injury. It was a very well-supervised environment that included a unit offering somewhat more freedom so that people could move out and experience the kinds of things they’d have to learn in order to effectively live in the community. This turned out to be one of Casa’s finest programs; it contributed very well to the institution’s financial picture, and continues to be unique in Southern California.

This program also made it plain to us that there would be some people with traumatic brain injury needing a supervised environment for a goodly length of time because of the difficulties they experience out in the community. So we introduced another program, this one providing long-term residential living in a ranch setting. We had cows and hogs and chickens and crops, which the residents were able to tend. This became another big success for us, in terms of impact both on the residents and on Casa’s bottom line.

Casa staffers also created a day-care option for stroke patients. In this, we provided a place where patients could be brought in the morning and they would have meaningful activities, therapeutic exercise, and engagement throughout the day. Another innovation: our Casa staffers started an athletic program that featured wheelchair basketball, quad rugby, and hockey. This program was particularly important because it let the community see the disabled not as unfortunate, pitiable individuals, but, rather, as capable, effective, hard-charging, highly motivated people with a powerful desire to win. Similarly, Casa staffers developed an outdoor adventure program so that people with disabilities could experience white-water rafting, dogsledding, horseback riding, and all sorts of other wilderness activities.

RM: What were the challenges you faced when you started as CEO 28 years ago?

EAZELL: When I arrived at Casa, the place was in pretty bad financial shape. We were doing about $1 million a year in business, plus receiving donations, but ending up with an annual loss of $100,000. To turn this around, the first thing I did was interview almost all of the 80 employees and obtained input from them that resulted in a cooperatively developed plan of action. Six months after it was implemented, we were out of the red. The first in a succession of 5-year strategic plans was then put together. Casa grew and grew, eventually providing $40 million worth of services throughout Southern California and serving many people in diverse ways.

RM: Looking back over the span of your career, what have been the most rewarding aspects of it all?

EAZELL: By the time I retired from Casa Colina in 1998, the corporation had assets of about $90 million. That was a big accomplishment, if you take into consideration that at the beginning of my time there the banks were on us to pay off our debt. However, that achievement pales in comparison to the number of individuals Casa Colina was able to help regain, to varying degrees, a measure of their health, productivity, and self-esteem. I played a role in that, small though my part was, and that, of course, was rewarding. But what was even more rewarding was the privilege of working with and being a support to the people who actually designed, developed, and implemented the programs that made so much difference to so many people.

Fund-raising for the CEO and the Board Members is available from Dale Eazell. Contact him at (909) 982-4885 or at dale.eazell@verizon.net or write to 855 W 25th St, Upland, CA 91784. Rich Smith is a contributing writer for Rehab Management.

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January/February 2003