That question is one that has been posed many times and has many different answers. Perhaps the best answer is that annual giving is the custom of contributing once a year to an institution in which one has confidence. To Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, the Foundation’s program of Annual Giving provides a financial lifeline, helping the Hospital to maintain its position as one of the nation’s leading academic health centers. Annual gifts, like so many other types of gifts, maybe made on an unrestricted basis, thus allowing the Hospital administration and Board of Directors to determine their most effective use, or they may be made to support a special purpose at the Hospital.