Mary and Richard “Dick” Compton believe it is important to invest in the health of the community now for the future. Their milestone philanthropic commitment in 2016 inspired Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Foundation to build on their vision by planning the Reaching Higher Together campaign.
Dick knows firsthand how generosity pays off. He grew up in rural Michigan and attended a one-room schoolhouse. He started out as a local farm mechanic without much thought about his future. But a local farmer, Ann Dorr, saw something special in Dick. Ann encouraged him to think bigger and offered him a loan to attend the University of Michigan.
Fast forward, Dick is a co-founder of NuSil Technology and continues to serve as the Chairman of the Board of this Fortune 500 company. The Comptons are active Santa Barbara community members and long-standing patrons to Cottage Health.
This local couple have generously donated $15 million to establish the Mary and Richard Compton Endowment Fund to fuel Medical Excellence and Innovation at Cottage. Their support will enrich clinical care, hospital technology, research, and nursing and physician leadership and education.
Mary and Dick Compton hope their donation inspires others to give and become Cottage philanthropists. Because when you plant the seed, it will grow and blossom into a bright future.