Helping a Research Leader Expand Reach
Children’s Oncology Group (COG) is the world’s largest organization devoted exclusively to childhood and adolescent cancer research. While they are world leaders in their field, they have flown under the radar for many potential donors and the general public. They came to us to help increase awareness of their work, and to create content that stewards existing donors and inspires new donors to give. And they wanted to create a newsletter as their first step.
We worked closely with their team to develop a quarterly newsletter that:
- Shares articles about research discoveries and progress, COG patients and COG donors.
- Communicates how donors help COG carry out research that increases survival rates and improves quality of life for kids and teens with cancer.
The Solution
- Our team came together with the COG Foundation’s leaders to understand their research priorities, their scientific progress and their role in supporting pediatric cancer providers across the globe.
- We designed a newsletter strategy to help donors connect with the COG’s mission and understand how its latest discoveries can improve lives.
- We write and publish stories about clinical trials and research (like the paradigm-shifting blinatumomab trial); grateful patient stories (like Nick’s) that showcase the impact of COG’s work; and articles that recognize key COG Foundation donors (like The Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation).
- These stories are often repurposed for proposals, personalized “thank yous” and reports to donors. These stories also establish an online “library” that gives new and existing COG Foundation supporters easy-to-understand information about the cancers and research they care about.
The Results
Since 2023, we’ve sent the COG Foundation newsletter to thousands of donors, highlighting the discoveries their gifts make possible. With four annual editions, we are helping the COG Foundation cultivate donors, and build a stronger community of physicians, families and donors.
The newsletter has also become an effective internal communications tool. Many donors are nurses and physicians who have worked with COG and value learning about COG’s work beyond their own projects, as well as the team behind pediatric and adolescent cancer research breakthroughs.
Success metrics include:
- Average open rate: 50% (nonprofit industry average: ~40%)
- Average click-through rate: 5.7% (nonprofit industry average: ~3.27%)
- The “Donate” page rose to become one of the top three most viewed pages on their website.
