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2021A N N UA L R E P O R TM OV I N G F O R WA R D TO G E T H E R

Table of ContentsHealthcare partners supported byadequate, safe, cost-effectiveblood supplies and services.MissionLetter from the CEOYear in ReviewImpact – CentersImpact – MobilesFinancial SummaryFinancial PositionThank YouHospital PartnersBoard of TrusteesMoving Forward02040810121415161820222021 Annual Report3

A Message from our CEOD E AR FR I E N DS ,After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, 2021 brought hope and promise of areturn to normal. For The Blood Connection, it brought optimism for a strong year of blooddonations in every community. But 2021 broke records we didn't want broken – as we continuedto see historically low blood donor turnout. As this community's blood center, that was a hugeproblem. Not enough donors, means not enough blood.Every year we face challenges, but none quite like this – there was a point around MemorialDay where our shelves were almost empty. We immediately put out a plea to the community tohelp get our blood supply back to stable. Thanks to our hardworking TBC staff and the donorswho responded, we never had to tell our hospitals that we didn't have enough, and we workedwith them to ensure their patients were taken care of. In some cases, we were asked to step inand provide blood products to hospitals we don't usually supply.Towards the end of the year, The Blood Connection joined the Blood Emergency ReadinessCorps (BERC), which is composed of blood centers from across the nation that have committedto collecting extra blood units to be held in reserve for any critical-need scenario, like a massshooting or natural disaster. Unfortunately, both of those things happened shortly after wejoined. TBC sent units to help victims of a school shooting in Michigan and sent even more unitswhen the string of deadly tornadoes hit the Midwest.“THE WORDTHAT COME STO MIND FORTHIS YE AR ISRE SILIE NCY.”Despite the many challenges this year threw at us, we still supplied life-saving bloodproducts to hospitals, accounting for multiple units used on one patient. More important thanthe products we supplied, are the lives of the patients that our donors helped save and theirloved ones. An estimate of 300,000 people received blood products thanks to the generouscontributions of TBC donors.The word that comes to mind for this year is resiliency. In addition to the seemingly neverending pandemic, we faced challenges no one saw coming. Challenges that we, and other bloodcenters around the country, still can't explain. In the midst of all of it, we continued to be thecommunity blood center our donors rely on and even expanded our reach in the Carolinas andGeorgia. It has been an honor to help our communities heal. Thank you to our donors, partners,and hospitals for trusting The Blood Connection as your non-profit community blood center – wecouldn't do our work without you.S I N CE RE LY,Delisa K. EnglishPresident and CEOThe Blood Connection2021 Annual Report5

242,693blood donations collectedwhich impacted local hospital endsclassmatescoworkersteammates2021 Annual Report7

A Never-Ending BattleADAPTING TO REACH A NEWGROUP OF BLOOD DONORSAs 2021 brought a renewed sense of optimism to the world,it also brought a new set of challenges for collecting blooddonations across the Carolinas and Georgia. It was TheBlood Connection’s commitment to our communities, andour loyal donors, that allowed us to push through.At the start of the year, The BloodConnection (TBC) put out urgentpleas for those who had recoveredfrom COVID-19 to donate convalescentplasma, as the demand for CCP morethan tripled during yet another surge inCOVID-19 cases.As the year progressed, with theavailability of COVID-19 vaccines andan increased sense of comfort amongcommunity members to return tonormal life, The Blood Connectionentered a trying time. The need forregular blood donations became critical,but a consistent base of blood donorswas nowhere to be found. It seemed thatthe same donors who came out in 2020,were not returning in 2021.By April, TBC put out its most urgentmessage: donor turnout had hit a historiclow, creating a need for blood even moredire than during the worst periods ofthe pandemic. Community hospitalswere reporting an increase in need forblood products, while TBC was seeing adecrease in consistent blood donors. Bythe summer, TBC and hospitals warnedcommunity members that a bloodshortage was near if people did not return todonating blood.In the Fall, TBC brought back COVID-19antibody testing for all donors, free of charge, asCOVID-19 case numbers rose across the South.Donors responded positively to the additionalincentive, and donations increased as peoplelooked to know their vaccine and COVID-19antibody status.Throughout the year, TBC continued itscommitment to health and safety, as COVID-19cases ebbed and flowed. TBC maintained safetyprotocols to ensure donors felt safe both insidecenter locations and on blood mobiles. TBCdonors continued to adapt as we made changesfollowing FDA and CDC guidance, and our staffwere flexible in adapting to new protocols.Carolina Blood Bowl. Across the two campuses,TBC collected more than 3,000 units of blood inone week, helping shore up the blood supplybefore entering the always-challenging holidayseason.2021 proved to be a never-ending battle tomaintain a stable blood supply. Times of theyear when donations were normally abundantpassed with TBC seeing empty shelves and lowinventory levels. Through it all, we found ourloyal TBC donors held true to their commitmentto maintain a strong blood supply; donatingblood regularly to do their part to help supplylocal hospitals. In an increasingly challengingyear for blood donations, The Blood Connectionis especially thankful for all the donors acrossour three-state region that took time out oftheir busy lives to donate blood.Community partners continued to show upin support of TBC, agreeing to host new blooddrives and revamp old partnerships to reachblood donors who had previously not donatedwith TBC. Hospital partners were alwayswilling to alert and educate the media aboutthe threat of a blood shortage. Colleges anduniversities also stepped up their involvementwith TBC hosting larger, more frequent blooddrives. Though 2021 was a challenging year, itwas also the first year that TBC brought bloodmobiles and staff to The University of SouthCarolina for the annual Clemson vs. South2021 Annual Report9

Breaking Down Our ImpactCOLLECTIONS PER CENTERASHEVILLESPARTANBURG6,721 units ofblood collected11,756 units ofblood collectedVAHENDERSONVILLE4,711 units ofblood collectedWNCEASLEYENC8,231 units ofblood collectedRALEIGH11,955 units ofblood collectedSENECA9,412 units ofblood collectedSCUGREENVILLEFLORENCE22,372 units ofblood collected1,257 units ofblood collectedCSCGREENWOOD6,096 units ofblood collectedMYRTLE BEACHGA1,157 units ofblood collectedLEXINGTON1,257 units ofblood collectedCHARLESTON4,529 units ofblood collectedSAVANNAH598 units ofblood collected2021 Annual Report11

Breaking Down Our ImpactCOLLECTIONS PER BLOOD MOBILESVAWESTERNNORTH CAROLINAWNC24,784 units ofblood collectedENCEASTERNNORTH CAROLINAUPSTATESOUTH CAROLINA48,381 units ofblood collectedSCU66,615 units ofblood collectedCSCGACOASTALSOUTH CAROLINA23,791 units ofblood collectedHOW WE'VE GROWN10 2 54%counties addedto service areamobile units addedincrease in collections2021 Annual Report13

TBC by the NumbersHOSPITAL PARTNERSVAEmployeesHospitals645100 Donation CentersMobile Units1345TNNCSCGALegendOperational CentersHospitals Served1 MissionSaving LivesTesting ServicesAir Transport &Ambulance Partners2021 Annual Report15

2021 Financial SummaryREVENUESTATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITIONFY 2020FY 2021Current Assets 16,533,900 20,886,806Net Property & Equipment 32,656,742 35,742,586Other Assets 12,341,772 13,489,712Blood Service Fees 90,785,634Total Assets 61,532,414 70,119,104Total 98,990,903Current Liabilities 9,957,038 9,433,392Long Term Liabilities 15,014,683 11,429,886Total Liabilities 24,971,721 20,863,278Net Assets 36,560,693 49,255,826Total Liabilities & Net Assets 61,532,414 70,119,104Lab Testing and Services 2,340,503Other 5,864,766EXPENSESSalaries,Taxes, Benefits 36,426,557Marketing 9,406,994DepreciationOther 2,264,227 4,175,997Utilities & Telecom 1,207,697Contractors 2,633,804Maintenance 2,746,263Risk ManagementTotal 87,597,986STATEMENT OF ACTIVITIESSupplies 26,542,717 2,193,730FY 2020FY 2021Revenues 71,161,318 98,990,903Less Expenses 70,320,653 87,597,986Income from Operations 840,665 11,392,917Non-Operating Income (Expense) 59,007 1,302,216Increase in Net Assets 899,672 12,695,1332021 Annual Report17