The Children’s Hospital Foundation of Denver

The Children’s Hospital Foundation of Denver Creates Miracles Using Blackbaud Sphere™

Founded in 1908, The Children's Hospital is a private, nonprofit, pediatric healthcare network located in Denver, and 100 percent dedicated to caring for kids. It has been ranked one of the best children's hospitals in America by U.S. News & World Report for more than a decade. With 1,130 pediatric specialists and more than 2,300 full-time employees, Children's is home to a number of nationally and internationally recognized medical programs.

The Challenge:

• The Children’s Hospital Foundation launched a comprehensive fundraising campaign and needed to energize its online fundraising.
• The organization’s signature event fundraiser, the Courage Classic bicycle tour, and a website update were essential elements to the fundraising campaign.

The Solution:

• The Foundation used Sphere® Events Advanced™ for event registration, donation collection, and volunteer management.
• Courage Classic riders were able to create customized websites and send email fundraising appeals to their friends and family regardless of geographic location.
• The solution also enabled riders to create team pages and both manage and monitor team volunteers and fundraising.

The Results:

• The organization raised $1.2 million online in 2007.
• In 2007, 93 percent of registrations came in online.
• The Children’s Hospital Foundation nearly doubled its online donations from the previous year in 2006.
• The organization was able to offer custom-designed widgets like fundraising thermometers that riders and team leaders could put on their personal pages to track donations and show fundraising progress.