Initial rejection leads to $40 million gift

As fundraising requests go, it started out small: Would Sidney and Lois Eskenazi consider donating $250,000 in return for their names on a hospital room?

Officials at the Wishard Foundation, the fundraising arm of Wishard Health Services, hoped the Eskenazis would consider a six-figure gift to help with a $50 million philanthropic drive to help build the new hospital.

Initially, Sidney Eskenazi resisted, but the Wishard Foundation pressed on. After a meeting and then discussions, both sides agreed to a $40 million gift by the Eskenazis in exchange for the naming rights to the hospital and foundation.