SASKATOON, SK
A comprehensive and immersive donor engagement system that engages all stakeholders through storytelling and is a sustainable strategic tool to enhance philanthropic culture and support future fundraising.
A freestanding children’s hospital was a vision for the leaders of Saskatchewan for over two decades. Saskatchewan was the last of two provinces in Canada without a dedicated maternal and children’s hospital. To make this dream a reality, the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation was founded in 1992. Under the leadership of Brynn Boback-Lane, CEO of the Foundation, the Foundation launched a $75 million campaign, We Can’t Wait. This campaign was initiated to raise funds for the new hospital, equipment, material, research, and programs. In May 2017, Jim Pattison made an additional $50 million gift, bringing the campaign goal to over $125 million – by far the most extensive campaign for the institution. The Foundation team and their philanthropic partners succeeded, and the new 176 bed, Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital, opened on September 29th, 2019.
With running their largest campaign to date, the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation needed a comprehensive and immersive donor recognition system that not only engaged donors but the entire network of stakeholders and partners at the hospital.
Creating a transformative and complete donor engagement system had its challenges:
The Foundation issued a competitive RFP and selected BrookGlobal as their Donor Recognition Partner. Through a series of early discovery and strategy meetings, we identified several objectives for the partnership, in addition to recognizing donors.
Through a deliberate design and content development process, BrookGlobal created a central Donor Center that is a combination of digital and Brook Easy Change elements, and successfully produced an immersive experience while enhancing the calm and peaceful environment for the families entering the facility. The calming ambiance is created through digital interludes followed by stories illustrating the direct impact of philanthropic investment on the children, families, physicians, caregivers, and the donors.
With a comprehensive donor engagement strategy, the Foundation has a hybrid system that can be re-purposed for future campaigns without having to tear down or replace anything but the content. This allows the Foundation to utilize the system as a sustainable fundraising tool that can maintain their remarkable fundraising growth. There are additional donor recognition areas that are made with the future in mind: indoor pillars directly across from the primary donor engagement wall, individual naming opportunities throughout the entire hospital, and exterior Beacons of Hope pillars for large transformational gifts.