Tidewell Foundation Announces Change in Leadership
Debbie Mason, President, announces plans to pursue new opportunities
Delesa Hinkle Morris will assume interim leadership role effective December 1, 2022
Jonathan Fleece, President of Empath Health, President and CEO of Tidewell Hospice announced today that Debbie Mason, CFRE has resigned as President of the Tidewell Foundation, a member organization of Empath Health.
“I’ve accomplished what I committed to do to establish the Tidewell Foundation in support of Tidewell Hospice,” Mason said. “Working with a fabulous staff and board, we built an effective, strategic organization focused on brightening the lives of patients and families served by Tidewell.”
“Debbie has achieved what she set out to do for the Tidewell Foundation and feels it’s a good time to leave the well-established organization to pursue other opportunities,” said Fleece. “Under Debbie’s leadership and supported by the Tidewell Foundation Board of Directors and a solid team of philanthropy professionals, the Tidewell Foundation has significantly grown its revenue, gained new donors and expanded crucial community partnerships. We thank Debbie for her leadership over the last three years.” Fleece said.
After a national search, Delesa Hinkle Morris, CFRE, was hired by Tidewell Foundation in August 2022 to serve as Mason’s successor. She will step in as the interim leader of the Tidewell Foundation December 1, 2022.
Morris comes to the Foundation with more than 15 years of experience in strategic planning, project management, fundraising, donor relations and partnership building to drive growth for healthcare and higher education non-profits. Most recently, she was the Executive Director of Philanthropy at Cleveland Clinic, Martin Health Foundation where she spent five years building partnerships, continuously exceeding goals and supporting donors with their philanthropic objectives.
“We are so grateful for the support of the Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, DeSoto and surrounding communities in our successful launch of the Tidewell Foundation in 2020. They are all so generous in supporting the Foundation that benefits Tidewell Hospice patients, families and caregivers. I am confident that we will continue to receive that support from our board and the community moving forward and that the Foundation will continue to thrive,” said Fleece.
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About Tidewell Foundation, Inc.
The Tidewell Foundation, Inc. is an independent 501(c)(3) charitable foundation established to ensure perpetual philanthropic support to Tidewell Hospice and the other affiliates within the Empath Health not-for-profit organization serving Southwest Florida. Charitable contributions to the Tidewell Foundation sustain and grow the critically important programs and services provided. Donor-funded programs offer compassion and comfort to those who need it most in our community by caring for all, regardless of their ability to pay. It starts with generosity and is paid forward with every patient connection, family served, and life changed.
About Empath Health
Empath Health is the country’s largest not-for-profit health system delivering non-acute care and services through its skilled, medical and holistic programs to individuals with chronic, advanced and terminal illnesses and those experiencing grief. The Empath Health integrated network of care provides expert medical, counseling and support services including hospice; home health; palliative care; grief services; all-inclusive elder care; HIV/STI prevention services and support; primary care; physician services; and full-service pharmacy and durable medical equipment (DME). Empath Health is honored to have more than 22,000 people enrolled in our Full Life Care services in north central, west central and southwest Florida. We have nearly 90 combined years of experience serving individuals during some of their most vulnerable times. Our wide variety of community-based programs reflects our commitment to the preservation of our charitable mission.
