Keys for Electronic Donor Recognition Display Decision-making
Electronic donor recognition displays can be web-based, stored on a central server or stand as an independent computer system. Decide what best aligns with the technology, IT support and budgets available to YOU.
Electronic Donor Display at Phoebe Memorial Hospital
Usually, if the components are web-based, the organization must plan to engage the services of an outside resource for design, development, service and support. The hardware expenses are typically less for both web and server-based applications, usually only a monitor, speakers and connecting wiring. With an independent computer system, design and implementation is less expensive – possibly eliminating the need for a programmer, yet the cost of the computer must be included. Continue reading »
Filed under Best Practices for Donor Recognition, Donor Communications, multimedia donor recognition, Philanthropy, Think Before You Thank | Comment (0)“Seeing is believing” A Guide to Visual Storytelling Best Practices
The “eyes” have it. This image captured your attention immediately, didn’t it?
For fundraisers, bringing an organization’s story to life visually has been a major push of mine for years. Yet, like so many other of the more technical communications specialties these days, simply advising someone to do it is not enough.
Filed under Donor Communications, multimedia donor recognition, Recognition Environments, Robin E. Williams, Social Media, Stewardship, Think Before You Thank | Tags: Donor Recognition, donor wall, Interactive Displays, Social Media, Stewardship, Think Before You Thank, Trends in Fundraising | Comment (0)Self-help Tools for Improving the Impact of the Story-telling on Fundraising Success
Story-telling, nearly everyone agrees, must now be a part of all your donor recognition efforts, beyond the exposures presented through social media and websites. I am also pleased to report that we find the use of testimonials and imaging of both donors and special events are being incorporated into traditional, facility-based donor plaques and displays like never before. This most certainly has been a fortunate out-growth of those social media and website influences. Continue reading »
Filed under Best Practices for Donor Recognition, Donor Communications, multimedia donor recognition, Philanthropy, Robin E. Williams, Social Media, Stewardship | Tags: ADRP, Best Practices for Donor Recognition, Donor Recognition, donor wall, Fundraising, Healthcare Philanthropy, Interactive Displays, Stewardship, Think Before You Thank, Trends in Fundraising | Comments OffIntroducing our “Portfolio”-the results of our thinking about thanking over the years
It’s been a long time coming. Kind of like the cobbler’s children who have no shoes, we’ve been too busy to tell our own stories to our own “prospects”! We advise our clients to use their existing social media to communicate their story, their worth. It’s advice we have finally heeded for ourselves.
You can click “Portfolio” in the green band above, or click here and they come back and see what our intent has been with everything we do.
Though they are presented as individual shots, they represent decisions we made for each client to use as their own recognition branding mechanism. These are simply snapshots with quick captions intended to point out a feature or two of each display or family of recognition elements, to feature a certain design and/or functional intent.
Everything you see has been designed by my firm. All is based on “Best Practices for Donor ™, our mantra. Everything here has been created and specified uniquely for each client’s to meet their budget, answer their functional need and to integrate appropriately with its architectural environment. Each build-out and installation has been managed through to completion by this firm, Robin E. Williams. Incorporated. And do know that although there are several manufacturers’ work shown here, the importance is not in who made these, but in how each functions best to enhance and broaden giving…..to motivate continued giving!
I hope you enjoy this, our “Portfolio” of work.
Written by: Robin E. Williams
A Philanthropy Museum!
A bit of background, first: I began work with this client in 1998. At that time, fund-raising at the Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany Georgia was just beginning to make traction. We installed our first, comprehensive health care philanthropy center there. It became a true destination within the hospital. Named the Distinguished Leadership Gallery, all giving programs, Volunteers, Planned Giving, Lifetime Giving, Employee and Corporate Giving, were presented within sight of each other. For the first time in my knowledge, a rural, regional hospital presented all of their donors to viewers/visitors (prospective donors, all) within the broader context of community giving.
But that’s not the story here. The story is how that celebration of giving has led now to the Grand Opening of a Philanthropy Museum.
In January, 2012, that entire Distinguished Leadership Gallery was presented anew, including new stories, new branding and increased the capacities of each giving program. Along with that work, we introduced a “teaser-package” of sorts: a Centennial Gallery. See last month’s post regarding the specialized bronze history imaging. The Gallery of bronze historic graphic elements was used to introduce visitors to the idea and expectation of their newest celebration of philanthropy in Albany, a Centennial Museum created solely to celebrate 100 years of community support and medical accomplishments.
These images I wanted to share. I am most interested that folks understand that fund-raising entities of any size can and SHOULD commit to constant and ever-changing philanthropy story-telling. This organization chose to use their artifacts and history books as a basis for re-purposing what could well have become a commonplace historic narrative into a commentary on the philanthropy of their community, all initiated by a gift of cash by Judge Francis Flagg Putney, originally a “carpet-bagger”, who chose to solidify his own standing in the community by honoring his mother and truly benefiting his neighbors.
-
- 1. Philanthropy Museum signals a partnership between community and its hospital
-
- 2. Actual patient logs and artifacts from the hospital’s first years
-
- 3. Albany GA suffered a massive flood in 1994
-
- 4. Early 20th Century Medicine. Gifts from the community
-
- 5. Early 1900′s medical services and equipment
-
- 6. Volunteers are as significant as financial donors
-
- 7. Iron Lung used in the treatment of Polio circa 1950′s
-
- 8. Digitally reproduced timeline makes story-telling appear permanent
-
- 9. A Team effort
Lastly, upon the grand opening on March 11, the local TV station covered the event. Take 30 seconds (after enduring the brief paid commercial) and enjoy the heartfelt reactions of both community and the client, Lacy Lee, Director of the Phoebe Experience. It has been her tireless dedication to commemorating the hospital’s historic advances through a timeless melding of philanthropy and medical advancement story-telling.
A Centennial Museum: a Century of Commitment
My point with sharing all of this? It’s important to inspire an individual’s philanthropic spirit, a uniquely American trait, through story-telling whenever you can.
Written by Robin E. Williams
