A fundraising campaign to help pay for the $40 million expansion of Lawrence Memorial Hospital is near its goal.

Kathy Clausing, vice president and chief development officer of LMH, said the campaign has raised nearly $7 million. It has a goal of $8 million that it wants to reach this summer.

In addition to raising funds, Clausing said the campaign has increased LMH’s profile in the community and enabled the hospital to tell its story.

“We are a great community hospital. We are very lucky in Lawrence to have the things that we have,” Clausing said.

Clausing said the capital campaign is the first one conducted by the hospital in its 85-year history. And she said support from the community has been wonderful.

The campaign has received contributions from more than 1,300 contributors and already has released $1.6 million to the expansion effort.

In fundraising situations, most hospitals will receive monetary support from 25 percent to 30 percent of staff, Clausing said.

At LMH, 70 percent of the employees have contributed, which, in turn, helps efforts to raise funds from outside contributors.

“From floor cleaners to the leadership team, that lends a lot of credibility,” she said of the donations.

Mark Heider, president of Commerce Bank in Lawrence, said contributing to the hospital was important to him, the bank and its employees.

The William T. Kemper Foundation, which the bank serves as trustee, made a large contribution, he said.

Employees who wanted to make contributions were allowed to wear jeans and green LMH T-shirts on Fridays.

“There are a lot of good causes out there, but the hospital is probably the biggest cause that affects all of us in our community,” Heider said. “It’s so important that we have a state-of-the-art hospital in Lawrence.”