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How Children's National Health System in Washington, DC, is leveraging sponsors from its $10.9 million Children's Ball through creative communications and stewardship strategies. Learn how the corporate, event, and communications teams worked together to engage donors in new and innovative ways to increase the event from $2 million to more than $10 million while carefully managing financial and staff resources.
Your Fundraising Event is the Beginning, Not the End:
Leveraging Event Sponsors to Build Long-Term Partnerships
The 2014 Children’s Ball
Mark Miller and Julie Butler, Children’s National Health System
Children’s National Health System • Founded in 1870. • Only freestanding children’s
hospital in Washington, DC metropolitan area.
• Ranked among top children’s hospitals in every specialty area measured by US News & World Report.
• Raised $56 million in philanthropy in FY14.
Unrestricted Revenue • Unrestricted revenue is
increasingly important to close the gap between paNent revenues and expenses.
• Many specialty services that are parNcularly important at a children’s hospital are not covered by insurance.
• Important sources of unrestricted revenue include fundraising events, corporate partnerships, and annual giving (online and mail).
Donors and board members Bret and Amy Baier, with their sons at the 2013 Race for Every Child, which raised money for Children’s NaNonal.
Abeer and Yousef Al Otaiba, UAE Ambassador to the United States
The Baiers and Al Otaibas, grateful families and co-‐chairs of the 2014 Children’s Ball
Challenges
• How do we meet the expectaNons of our chairs, commi\ee members, and sponsors while managing our budget and staff resources to maximize our net revenue?
• How can we engage new sponsors in our mission, demonstrate impact, and inspire them to conNnue their involvement?
• What are ways we can begin recogniNon and stewardship immediately, even before the Ball?
Sponsors
What We Did
• AcNvaNon phone calls with the 25 top sponsors -‐-‐ introduced new partners to our mission, and learned about their needs and expectaNons.
• Follow-‐up calls to plan external communicaNons together (with the foundaNon’s communicaNons team and the appropriate representaNve of the sponsor – usually an internal PR team or a PR agency).
• Exclusive dinner with the co-‐chairs and our CEO for the top 25 sponsors one month before the event.
• Signage opportunity for top donors ($250,000 and up).
Sign unveiling for execuNves from the four $250,000 corporate sponsors, with Bret Baier, Ambassador Al Otaiba, and President and CEO Dr. Kurt Newman.
With our help, ENhad Airways leveraged its sponsorship to include the unveiling event, and their “Flying Nannies” at the Ball and a play date with children at the hospital.
Communica4ons
• Two communicaNons plans – US and UAE
• Goal was to build buzz, show our graNtude to co-‐chairs and partners, and elevate the reputaNon of Children’s NaNonal as a charity.
• In UAE, goal was to leverage the ambassador’s involvement to demonstrate the impact of our longNme partnership.
• Plan included adverNsing, media outreach, social media, and on-‐site recogniNon.
13
Capital Business, April 14
Washington Post, half page, April 11
Washington Life, full page, May 2014
Select Media and Online Coverage
Feature on Amy Baier and Abeer Al Otaiba in Washingtonian Mom.
Full-‐page arNcle in ENhad Airways’ in-‐flight magazine, in English and Arabic
Editorial: “For parents of sick children, the partnership means they can obtain world-class care while staying where they ought to be – close to home, with the support of their wider families around them and making a scary process a little less intimidating. Sheikh Zayed would approve.”
Social Media
33 million impressions
ExxonMobil (85.5K followers) leveraged the Children’s handle and sponsor video on TwiFer.
On-‐Site Recogni4on
• PaNent video: The Al Otaibas’ story
• Sponsor thank-‐you video: h\p://bit.ly/sponsorvideo14
Follow-‐Up
• Partnership plan for every sponsor
• Impact report
• Customized photo books
• Private, tailored tours and visits
What We Learned
• The value of a fundraising event is not just in the dollars raised in one night, but in the rela5onships and engagement it can inspire.
• Don’t underes5mate the passion and commitment of your grateful families.
• Your supporters want to help you.
• Ask what your partners want.
• Follow up.
Thanks! Julie Butler Associate Vice President, Corporate and Community Giving
Children’s Hospital FoundaNon
Children’s NaNonal Health System
301-‐565-‐8508
Mark Miller
Associate Vice President, CommunicaNons
Children’s Hospital FoundaNon
Children’s NaNonal Health System
301-‐565-‐8507
