Programs

Education, Training and Best Practices Exchange

Identifying and exchanging best practices in fundraising is a primary goal of The Woodmark Group. Several programs advance the goal. They are:

The Woodmark Forum

The annual gathering of chief development officers that launched the Woodmark Group. The meeting is devoted to roundtable discussions and presentations that chief development officers identify as among the current challenges and opportunities hospitals are facing in their efforts to advance philanthropy.

Woodmark Summit

A best-practices-based educational conference held annually, primarily for mid- to senior-level fundraising team members. Content is identified, developed and delivered primarily by members to ensure relevance to day-to-day practice.

Cohort-based networking and best-practices exchanges

Affinity groups for professionals that work in fundraising specialties including major gifts, annual giving, corporate giving, special events, etc. Woodmark provides support for learning efforts of 13 cohort groups.

Woodmark Exchange

A members' only intranet site that supports online chats and messaging, serves as a resource hub for ready-to-use documents, templates, etc.

Topic-specific conferences

Produced to address select challenges that members identify. Among topics that have been addressed are the role of trustees in securing transformational gifts, best-practices in campaigns and how hospital branding works to increasing philanthropy.

Annual Surveys

Annual benchmarking survey and ad-hoc surveys of the membership to address members’ interests. Woodmark engages in benchmarking to:

Identify and highlight best practices among members to increase understanding
Promote continuous improvement within member fundraising programs to promote excellence
Identify potential partnerships/initiatives aimed at learning to promote learning and collaboration, and
Promote excellence in fundraising by identifying areas of excellence and areas of opportunity among members to improve performance.

Donor Recognition and Education

Facing the shared challenge of needing to build a major-gifts culture, Woodmark members created the Children’s Circle of Care program in 1995 to recognize and educate their leading benefactors. Leading benefactors are known as Children’s Circle of Care members. They are individuals, couples or members of family foundations who contribute $10,000 or more annually to one of Woodmark’s member hospital.

Since 1994, Children’s Circle of Care members have collectively contributed more than $9.16 billion to support clinical care, research, teaching, and the child-health advocacy efforts of Woodmark-member children’s hospital. In 2019, there were 8,422 Children’s Circle of Care members across the United States and Canada. Donors that are interested in becoming members of the Children’s Circle of Care are invited to select one of Woodmark’s member hospitals to support with their charitable contributions.

Leading the advancement of philanthropy to improve health for children everywhere.