Michelle Lawrence

Michelle Lawrence is the first President of the KVC Foundation, a subsidiary of KVC Health Systems. The vision of the KVC Health Systems family of nonprofits is to ensure every person is safe and connected to a strong family and a healthy community. To bring this vision to life, the KVC Foundation seeks strategic investments and donations from multiple funding sources – federal, state, private foundations, corporate foundations, and individuals – to support medical and behavioral healthcare, social services and educational programs and initiatives that strengthen families and communities. Philanthropy allows KVC to be agile and innovative in its approach to strengthening families, preventing child abuse and neglect, and helping people achieve mental health wellness.

Michelle Lawrence has been with KVC Health Systems for 7 years, most recently as Vice President of Development. She successfully led multiple KVC capital campaigns and program expansion initiatives, securing more than $20 million in her tenure to help open the KVC Institute for Health Systems Innovation; KVC Hospitals Wichita, a 54-bed acute children’s psychiatric treatment center; a renovated KVC Niles and more. Most recently, Wichita’s Hope Lives campaign and its generous supporters helped address the urgent shortage of children’s psychiatric treatment beds throughout Kansas at a time when youth suicide and other children’s mental health needs were climbing. In addition to capital campaigns, she oversees the foundation team that helps to secure millions through federal, state, and local grant funding, KVC’s signature fundraising events, planned giving, and stewardship.

Michelle has over 29 years of experience in healthcare, nonprofit resource development, child advocacy and community outreach. Prior to KVC, she served as Senior Director of Community Giving for the Saint Luke’s Foundation, where she created a robust foundation program for Saint Luke’s South Hospital. She also served as Senior Vice President for Community Development at Sunflower House where she helped grow revenue tenfold.

She earned her bachelor’s degree from Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) and Rockhurst University and her Certification as a Fund-Raising Executive from the University of Missouri, Kansas City, Bloch School of Business. Read more about her here.