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

Keim says it was a leap of faith, but she agreed, figuring that if Merkle could do all that within the current budget, it would make rock stars of the annual-giving staff.

Shifting focus
A key element of the new game plan was an adjustment to City of Hope’s messaging.

A direct-mail test that Keim’s been doing since her days in development at her alma mater, University of Southern California, signaled some problems with messaging. She replaced the name of the institution in its appeals with the name of a competitor to see how it read.