What would be considered a cash cow for St. Jude's Children's Hospital?

To preface this complex question, the unique operating structure of St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital must first be addressed.  Unlike other hospitals and medical centers, St. Jude’s receives the majority of its financial support through public donations.  Indeed, an estimated 75% of contributions stem from private parties, with an estimated 12% coming from insurance companies, and another 10% coming from federal and association research grants.  With a budgeted daily operating cost of $2.2 million dollars, St. Jude relies heavily upon external contributions, as patients of St. Jude’s never receive a bill for treatments, travel, housing or food.  This means that St. Jude’s does not have the steady revenue stream of most research hospitals with charge-back policies.   

By definition, a “cash cow” is an entity that generates reliable revenue for a business or institution that exceeds the total amount of funds required to maintain daily operations.  The key word in the definition is reliable.  Public donations are often intermittent, varying in amounts and times, making it difficult for St. Jude’s to rely on fixed quarterly amounts.  Thus, two potential “cash cow” solutions are listed below.

1. 
   National Institutes of Health (NIH) Pediatric Research Grants.  Although St. Jude’s only receives 10% of funding from grants, if this percentage were to increase, St. Jude’s would have a more reliable budget for daily operations.  The NIH is the nation’s medical research agency that is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  Therefore, it is federally backed, making its financial contributions more steady.  Further, the NIH helps connect research initiatives across the country, which in turn accelerates the progress of research and treatment solutions.  This solution would not only increase financial revenue, but would enhance the research programs at St. Jude’s.

1. 
   Development of Market Brands Specifically for St. Jude’s.  This “cash cow” solution hinges on the ability of St. Jude’s to gain support from mega-consumer corporations, such as McDonalds, Walmart, Macy’s, and C.V.S.  In this campaign, each corporation would have a high-in-demand product that is consistently bought by consumers and would designate a portion of the profit generated by that product to go to St. Jude’s.  For example, if McDonalds gave $0.05 of every fry sold or if Walmart gave $0.10 of every Walmart-brand Great Value paper towels sold to St. Jude’s, St. Jude’s would in turn have a steady stream of revenue.  Indeed, this idea does require the corporations to accept St. Jude’s as their philanthropic agency, but, if there is a program such as this in place, the corporations could focus on one amazing philanthropic opportunity while providing considerable financial support.  Also, this would work both ways.  A consumer is more likely to purchase a brand that gives back to those in need, thereby increasing the corporation’s sales.