Approximately 200 patients were moved into the new hospital on January 8^th, and are now receiving life-changing care in a state-of-the-art facility that will serve the community for years to come.  The hospital opening is generating significant press coverage including the following ABC 7 News story.

Our congratulations go out to Rush—and we thank everyone there for inviting Lipman Hearne to be a part of the team.

But hold on—that sentence is fairly packed with qualifiers. Retaining donors is always hard. Would we be surprised to learn that the experience of making a gift online—pressing a button and watching dollars fly from our accounts into the recesses of the internet—is one donors might not relish?  Recall that just a few years ago, retailers struggled to project if and when online purchasing would take off; they predicted that consumer confidence would hinge on seeing UPS packages on their doorsteps. And so it did. Many online donors, meanwhile, receive not so much as an electronic acknowledgement, if one blogger’s experience is any indication.

Yes, spam filters are at work, and opt-outs, and so forth. But those hindrances also tell us how depersonalized giving has become, especially for first-time donors, and doubly especially for online donors. If online giving is to reach its potential as a tool, we need to infuse the experience with personality and humanity. We need to make sure donors receive their receipts, and we also need to make sure they feel thanked.

As social media darling Blue State Digital notes, 40 percent of online donors to the Obama campaign were repeat donors. But they were also seeing daily, if not hourly, reports of the cumulative value of their giving, and the immediate translation of donations into campaign events, rousing speeches, and polling bumps. Why, it was almost as if the donations had…impact.

What do others think? Can fundraising become less of a numbers game, and more of a legit human encounter? Can social media— Facebook, cause Twittering— help?

- Colleen O’Grady, Senior Writer

An accelerated integrated marketing(AIM) and enrollment services client, the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS) made headlines today as one of the beneficiaries of a mystery that is unfolding in the world of college fundraising: During the past few weeks, at least nine universities have received gifts totaling more than $45 million, and the schools had to promise not to try to find out the giver’s identity. Read more about this timely financial surprise.

But there’s one place where optimism is rampant.  Staff members at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan are upbeat about their institution and proud of the contribution their work makes to the region.  Maybe it’s because their mission and range spread beyond the urban core with its many challenges.  Maybe it’s because they’ve managed to sustain one of the top children’s hospitals in the nation even in the face of economic challenges.  Maybe it’s because great pediatricians and researchers continue to choose to do their work at CHM.

But I think it’s because of the kids.  They come in every day – maybe a little afraid because it’s “the hospital,” maybe tired, maybe fussy.  But they find a place that’s built for them, where people know that kids just want to feel good, play, learn, and grow up healthy.  They find a place with a smile and an open heart.  They find hope, treatment, and – in the great majority of cases – a lasting cure.

All parents want absolutely the best for their children – and a top-quality children’s hospital is a bet on the future, a bet on our families.  After all, if we give up on kids’ health, we’re giving up on hope.  And our kids just won’t let us do that.

- Rob Moore, Managing Partner