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

A great example of this is the gift-acknowledgment package, a device that the annual-giving department shared with other departments in the organization. The package was such a hit that it was rolled out across the entire organization right away and now is used to acknowledge gifts of all kinds, organization-wide, ultimately benefiting the organization as a whole.