How the Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation Doubled Online Donations and Grew Its Donor File
March 13, 2026
Their donor file leaned on a handful of major donors. We built a digital pipeline that brings in new and lapsed supporters, and the active file grew for the first time in years.
Year-over-year growth in online giving, against a 2% industry average.
Online donations, driven by new first-time donors.
Return on paid ad spend, about $4 raised for every $1 invested.
The challenge
A top-heavy file, leaning on a few major donors.
The Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation has spent more than forty years inspiring generosity for patient care in New Brunswick. But the donor file had grown top-heavy. It leaned on a handful of major donors, and past acquisition had underperformed.
That left the pipeline thin. There were not enough new and re-engaged donors feeding the annual, mid-level and major giving the hospital depends on, and digital acquisition was underdeveloped.
They needed a partner that understood fundraising first, not just brand lift. Someone who could grow digital revenue and donor counts, rekindle lapsed supporters, and do it all while keeping the compassionate, human tone a healthcare cause deserves.
The Foundation needed a partner who could:
- 1Acquire and re-engage donors systematically, not just chase brand awareness.
- 2Grow digital revenue and donor counts into a real pipeline.
- 3Rekindle lapsed donors while keeping a warm, human tone.
Our approach
We led with value, not asks, and built a real pipeline.
We led with value, not asks. Across Meta, Google and Spotify, every dollar of paid media drove to a donation, never a vanity click.
Behind that, we built segmented email journeys for new leads, lapsed donors and active supporters, and we tested landing pages and forms continuously. We came in alongside a strong direct mail program, not over it, to grow digital as a new engine for the Foundation.
The goal was never a one-time spike. It was a digital pipeline that feeds annual, mid-level and major giving for years to come.
Education-first content
Free, genuinely useful health resources, like a heart-health guide built with cardiologists and a How Heart-Smart Are You quiz, drew supporters in instead of leading with an ask.
Gratitude-driven reactivation
Thank Your Physician and Nurse campaigns re-engaged lapsed donors through appreciation, never guilt.
Data-driven personalization
Segmented audiences and plain-text notes from doctors and the CEO kept every message relevant.
The results
The donor file grew for the first time in years.
Over April 2024 to Summer 2025, the program drove growth across the board. Online giving grew about 25 percent year over year, far ahead of the 2 percent industry average, and the number of online donations doubled, driven by new, small donors making their first gift on the website.
The heart-health guide and quiz brought more than 1,000 new leads into the pipeline. Nurture sequences routinely topped 40 percent open rates, paid ads returned about 4 to 1, and the Thank Your Physician campaign alone drove $50,000 in tribute gifts and more than 200 thank-you messages delivered to hospital staff.
The growth story
New leads into the donor pipeline from the guide and quiz.
Open rates on the nurture email sequences.
In tribute gifts from the Thank Your Physician campaign.
