Nonprofit trailblazer excited to help drive growth and community at Covenant Foundation

Powerhouse, innovator, trailblazer – these are just a few words that describe Karina Dixon, our new Director of Annual Giving & Stewardship.  

An outside-the-box thinker with a proven track record, Karina successfully doubled the revenue of the direct mail program in her previous role at another healthcare organization by using new targeting and acquisition tools. Her tremendous achievements earned her recognition from the Association of Healthcare Philanthropy as a Top 40 Under 40 winner in 2021.

Born and raised in Ontario, Karina’s adventurous personality and drive for positive change brought her to Alberta eight years ago. Wanting to explore the country and the communities all around her, Karina started her philanthropy career in Edmonton, eagerly learning from both experts in the nonprofit world and those just entering the industry. Thanks to her ongoing desire for improvement, Karina is also currently completing her MBA through the Australian Institute of Business.

We’re excited to welcome Karina to our growing team where she’ll use her extensive education and nonprofit experience to help us continue to transform health care at the 21 Covenant hospitals and continuing care facilities we support across Alberta.

We sat down with Karina to learn more about her and what she’s excited to accomplish in her new role.

What drew you to work at Covenant Foundation? It was really my excitement to learn more about this community of donors and Covenant Health. I wanted to know what made Covenant Foundation donors inspired to support their community and use that to build greater fundraising momentum. I wanted to use the expertise I’ve developed over the last eight years and bring it to a new foundation to help grow and establish a thriving annual giving program. I’m a builder – I love building teams and exploring new strategies. It’s really exciting to leave a legacy behind because once you build something, your thumbprint stays on it. What are you most excited to work on here? I’m excited to work with our community and monthly donors – they really drive donations and set the basis for ongoing support. I’m going to be developing a program that hasn't formally existed at Covenant Foundation in the past – that is, an annual giving program to really focus on our community donors. My hope with it is that we can try new and innovative ways to thank our incredible donors while sharing the impact they make across the province.

I'm also a big proponent of “you give where you live,” so I’m looking forward to exploring how we can grow relationships with Covenant Health staff – the amazing nurses, healthcare aides, doctors and others, who are the lifeblood at the facilities our foundation supports. I want to help them give back in a way that's meaningful to them.

Plus, so many Albertans have loved ones who are healthcare workers, so I’d love to show them how they can support the healthcare workers they know through our foundation!

Overall, my biggest goal here is to inspire philanthropy. We have such an amazing community in Edmonton and across the province and no matter how big or small your gift is, it makes an impact. We wouldn’t be able to do what we do without our donors!

What does your life look like outside of work? I live a quiet and relaxing life outside of work with my husband and three cats. When I’m not making my way through school work in my spare time, I enjoy playing rec league sports with my friends (I love that we get to switch up which sport we play depending on the season). My husband and I also took up cross-country skiing last year, so that's been a lot of fun when it's warm enough to do it. So I like staying active, but I'm mostly a homebody who just loves to relax indoors, especially during these harsh Alberta winters! What would you like to say to our Covenant Foundation donors? Thank you for your ongoing support and commitment to improving the health care of all of those who visit Covenant sites. I'm looking forward to meeting you and getting to know you better. It's always fun to meet donors face-to-face! I'm someone who often sits behind a screen and does the data, but I get really excited when I get to meet our donors and put a face to a name.

Written by: Tara Joyce

If you’d like to learn more about annual or monthly giving, or to donate today, please visit our website or reach out to us at foundation@covenanthealth.ca.