Most people stopping at the gift shop or Starbuck’s coffeehouse at Mercy Medical Center – Des Moines probably don’t realize they’re indirectly contributing to the hospital each time they purchase a card or cappuccino.

The profits from those operations are the two largest sources of revenue for Mercy Auxiliary of Central Iowa, a longtime volunteer organization whose mission is to raise money for the benefit of the hospital. Founded as the Mercy Guild in 1948, the organization has historically been the largest donor to Mercy.

In its most recent fiscal year, Mercy Auxiliary generated $2.2 million from sales, membership dues and fund-raising events. Projects to be funded are selected annually by the auxiliary’s 14-person board of directors, and the money is distributed through the Mercy Foundation. The auxiliary operates with a combination of volunteers and paid staff.

“The board picks a project, and we make it happen,” said Dix-ie Harmeyer-Knowles, the board’s chairperson and an auxiliary member since 1969. “Every single penny that’s raised after expenses goes back to the hospital.”

One of Mercy Auxiliary’s largest gifts recently was a $500,000 contribution toward the renovation of the Children’s Center at Mercy, a major construction project now under way at Mercy’s main campus.

Each year, the auxiliary also provides money to Mercy College of Health Sciences; last year it funded $87,500 in scholarships.

Besides the Mercy Gift Shops and Mercy Starbuck’s, the auxiliary also operates Mercy Salon, along with West Lakes Brew at Mercy West Lakes. Its largest fund-raiser is an annual open-house sales event at its main-campus locations, which last year generated approximately $32,000 in a single day.

It’s not just women who are members now, and increasing Mercy Auxiliary’s membership has been a continuing goal for Brenda Latham, who was hired as auxiliary services manager four years ago. In January, the auxiliary surpassed 1,000 members for the first time. Latham and the board have set a goal of reaching 2,000 members by the end of this fiscal year, which began July 1. Members receive various discounts at the auxiliary’s retail operations.