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

One example is City of Hope’s efforts with the matching-grant appeal, a mailing that Oaksmith says typically brings in the most net revenue of any appeal, but that most organizations she works with don’t use as often because they fail to get matching-grant commitments.

City of Hope has had no such problem, and as a result, it’s been able to make use of this big-time revenue generator. It’s at the point now where corporations and individual donors are lining up to be a part of the program.