Case Study
Improving Annual Giving via Direct Mail & Email
Project
Ongoing Annual Giving Direct Mail Campaign
Client
St. Louis Children’s Hospital Foundation
The Challenge
Engage, steward, and reactivate committed donors to increase funds raised.
Our Approach
St. Louis Children’s Hospital is one of the most renowned pediatric healthcare organizations in North America. Their Foundation approached hjc looking to reinvigorate their Direct Mail appeals to facilitate larger and more frequent gifts from their annual giving donors.
To do this, hjc’s team began where all fundraising appeals should; story. We worked alongside the St. Louis Children’s team to find the most remarkable and moving stories from parents, children, and families whose lives have been changed by the leading-edge care, as well as the healthcare providers at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Equipped with these incredible life stories, we converted them into a series of Direct Mail appeals — with additional Email Follow-Ups for each to ensure the highest response rate – then set out to market them as a part of the Foundation’s marketing mix.
The Result
Once the fundraising numbers were finalized, St. Louis Children’s Hospital Foundation was more than pleased with the results. Over the course of each year, we worked with the Foundation from 2019-present, and they have surpassed the previous year’s fundraising results, setting a record in 2021 with over $100,000 raised via Direct Mail alone.
Currently, hjc and St. Louis Children’s Hospital Foundation continue their working relationship and are projected to continue their upward trend in annual giving revenue.
“It’s always a pleasure to work with hjc. They do a great job capturing the work we do at St. Louis Children’s and adapting it into effective, emotion-driven stories that result in fundraising success!”
Jenny Schmidt
Manager, Donor Marketing & Communications ,
St. Louis Children's Hospital