Children’s Wisconsin is the only health care system in the state that’s 100% dedicated to serving kids and teens. For their inaugural Day of Giving campaign, Children’s Wisconsin was able to showcase real patient stories that resonated with donors and knocked their fundraising goals out of the park.

The Challenge: Running a First-Time Day of Giving Campaign With Limited Assets

At Children’s Wisconsin, a Day of Giving campaign had been in the works for years but never attempted before, said Jon Lord, Director of Annual Giving. Jon and his team went into their first-ever Day of Giving campaign knowing they had a $40,000 match donation in hand, but they weren’t sure what to expect.

One thing they were sure about was their goal to highlight real patient stories and connect donors with the actual impact of any dollars given. The challenge was that they didn’t have the same amount of photos and background information available for every patient they wanted to highlight. How could they pilot a successful campaign capable of showcasing each story to the fullest, even when there were limited assets available?

The Solution: Tailoring Email Outreach To Fit Each Patient Story

Jon and his team created a tailored email series that highlighted each of the four patient stories they wanted to showcase. Because everything was customized, the Children’s Wisconsin team was able to put their best foot forward no matter what — in instances where they had more assets available, they were able to share those with donors without sacrificing other stories.

With that tailored outreach approach, Children’s Wisconsin ran a successful first-time Day of Giving campaign and raised $55,000 — surpassing their fundraising goal by $15,000!

“Engaging Networks allowed us to start fresh, and that’s what we did,” Jon said. “We looked at what tools we had in our toolbox to really maximize this day.”

Learning Lessons for Future Fundraising Campaigns

Using Engaging Networks, Children’s Wisconsin was able to test out features and take notes on what worked best for their audience. They had some major successes with a donation thermometer updated in real time, countdown timers, and the abandoned cart follow-up feature — which snagged them a $5,000 donation that would’ve otherwise been forgotten.

Based on what they learned during their Day of Giving, Children’s Wisconsin was able to plan for future campaigns like Year-End Giving and beyond.

“One of the stories that we had great assets for tested really well for the emails and donations associated with it,” Jon said. “We were able to take that and spin it out into our entire year-end campaign this year.”

Working With an Accredited Partner Made Everything Run Smoothly

“This campaign was about pairing strong strategy with the right tools. Together, we developed a thoughtful approach to storytelling and donor experience, and Engaging Networks made it possible to bring that vision to life in a flexible, scalable way for Children’s Wisconsin.”

– Katy Spencer, Senior Director, Client Solutions, Doing Good Digital

Children’s Wisconsin worked closely with Doing Good Digital, an accredited Engaging Networks partner, to build out and launch their Day of Giving campaign. That extra support allowed Jon and his team to focus on telling patient stories and reaching their fundraising goals, instead of worrying about the behind-the-scenes details.

Key Takeaways

• During their first-ever Day of Giving campaign, Children’s Wisconsin exceeded their fundraising goals by $15,000 using Engaging Networks.
• They created custom email outreach campaigns that highlighted real patient stories in the best ways possible.
• Children’s Wisconsin kept donors engaged with an updated thermometer, countdown timers, and abandoned cart notifications.
• By working with an accredited Engaging Networks partner, the Children’s Wisconsin team was able to keep focused on their goals.