‘A Unicorn Health Center’
El Rio Foundation Raises Millions for Expanding Healthcare
By Loni Nannini
There’s a unicorn on a mission in the Sonoran Desert, and its extraordinary power to heal is being brought to fruition by a group of generous donors, a dollar at a time.
“There is a lot of symbolism with unicorns being mythical and connected to healing,” said Brenda Goldsmith, executive director of the El Rio Foundation. “The unicorn represents many things, including a for-profit start-up company that grows to $1 billion in five years.
“I strongly believe that El Rio Health is a unicorn health center for the United States. We think outside of the box and are growing significantly and will continue to grow. We are focused on our mission of treating all people with dignity, respect and compassionate, quality healthcare.”
Goldsmith has been at the helm of the foundation for 21 years, championing El Rio’s evolution into the 20th largest community health center − by patient census − in the United States. Goldsmith credits the El Rio board of directors with visionary foresight in creation of a nonprofit foundation that has resonated with the entire community, garnering contributions of time, money and talent from volunteers, individual donors, foundations, businesses and partner organizations.
“Most community health centers in the U.S. don’t have foundations to support them with private fundraising,” said Goldsmith. “In 2001, El Rio’s board decided to activate the El Rio Foundation and the additional fundraising dollars raised from the community have helped us to grow and save lives. Because of our donor support, we can help people who don’t have insurance to access care.”
The foundation leadership recognized that El Rio’s role as a healthcare safety net was compelling to all Tucsonans, and in 2013 they recruited a group of young professionals to expand outreach and engage the next generation of volunteers.
El Rio Vecinos – vecinos is Spanish for neighbors − initially raised funds for children’s dental programs. The young professionals’ group has since extended support to cancer screenings, teen health and other programs, Goldsmith said. The annual “Vecinos Block Party” and other events have been vital to raising awareness and funds for El Rio programs.
The collective efforts have been a resounding success. The foundation has raised $46 million since inception and is in the midst of one of the most successful community health center capital campaigns in the U.S. In less than a year, the foundation has secured commitments of more than $16 million toward the $40 million state-of-the-art El Rio Stone Health Center slated to open in 2026 at River Road and Stone Avenue.
When asked in 2024 to “fast- track” the capital campaign with a stretch goal of $10 million, Goldsmith said leadership knew the effort had to be inclusive, much like El Rio.
“At El Rio we want to make fundraising fun, and we want to embrace all people at all levels of their abilities to give. We believe anyone can be a philanthropist with their support,” said Goldsmith.
The Blessing Project
In a stroke of philanthropic genius, the foundation team led by Campaign Chair Anthony Schaefer created “The Blessing Project” to reflect El Rio’s status as a healthcare unicorn.
“A herd of unicorns is called a blessing, and once we changed the name to The Blessing Project, we started receiving many more blessings with so many people joining us,” said Goldsmith.
Donors who contribute between $5,000 and $5 million over a five-year period become “unicorns” and receive recognition on the donor wall at the new facility. Prospective donors who tour El Rio are “sparkles” − the term for baby unicorns − and people who donate at other levels are “yum yums.”
Schaefer, an original Vecinos member who transitioned to the foundation board a few years ago, said leading the campaign is “the honor and the challenge of a lifetime in philanthropy.” He credits numerous El Rio donors, board members, patients and health center employees from all walks of life for gifting at unprecedented levels.
“It provides an opportunity for people to coalesce around a project that is greater than all of us, and everyone is all in,” said Schaefer. “People don’t just throw money at a project. They give to projects that have impact and positive ramifications for our community.
“This campaign has achieved so much success because people believe in its ability to open up access to many healthcare services and because they know how big the need is. It is easy to get behind something that checks all those boxes.”
Schaefer believes the wide scope of El Rio’s programming is added incentive for involvement.
“There is so much happening to power community health through this community health center. I had no inkling that besides the main services, there are between 30 and 40 lesser-known programs that make a huge difference every day. El Rio is kind of a hidden gem that needs to be championed,” he said.
The breadth of programming is backed by El Rio’s ongoing commitment to personalized medicine in the increasingly technical world of healthcare.
“El Rio is focused on people-to-people service and communication and is using technology and AI in ways that enhance that, not replace it,” said Goldsmith. “In the primary care setting, human-to-human interaction and the trust built between providers, patients and other team members − whether that is a dentist, nurse practitioner or doctor − those relationships are everything.”
Those interactions and relationships have inspired Foundation Board President Angela Mattix-Celis, who experienced the impact firsthand through El Rio midwife services during the birth of her daughter. She continues to build connections with El Rio providers and fellow patients during her primary care visits.
“People’s lives are being changed because of El Rio,” said Mattix-Celis, who is humbled by the many Tucsonans who have stepped up “to create a legacy of healthcare that will last for generations.”
“After 55 years, my hope is that it will continue to grow,” she said. “Whether people choose El Rio as the provider for all of their healthcare needs or whether they are happy with where they are but want to help others, it is about the bigger picture. My hope is that El Rio continues to thrive and be a consistent standard for healthcare in Tucson and the nation.”
Pictured above from left – Brenda Goldsmith, El Rio Foundation Executive Director; Anthony Schaefer, El Rio Foundation Campaign Chair; Angela Mattix-Celis, El Rio Foundation Board President. Photo by Brent G. Mathis
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