A stagnant annual-giving program prompted changes to how City of Hope approaches donor cultivation and acquisition that, in many ways, defy conventional fundraising wisdom.

By Abny Santicola

HopeCONNECTION is composed of four glossy pages and always leads with a patient story on the front because, as Keim says, “that is actually what drives our donors’ gifts — the feel-good, heartwarming story of how we helped a family, a patient, a person, whoever.”

It also announces things like recent partnerships between City of Hope and other charities or corporations and notable research findings, profiles pioneering doctors, has a message from the institution’s president, and includes a cutout reply device on the back page. The newsletter strives to make the science and research behind City of Hope’s work more accessible and “cool” to donors by balancing it with the human-interest stories that it makes possible.