How Des Moines University creates an affordable and meaningful way to donate with their White Coat ceremony
Melanie Weibel is the associate director of stewardship and annual giving at Des Moines University.
Melanie Weibel is the associate director of stewardship and annual giving at Des Moines University, where she leads an innovative fundraising campaign that makes a personal connection with students and alumni before they graduate.
The White Coat Program asks alumni to sponsor a white coat — the doctor’s coat — and write a note that makes a personal connection with the student receiving their coat. It’s an emotional, empowering moment for both the alumni and the student. So much so that 95% of students say that they write thank you notes to their alumni donors.
Weibel shared how the program grew. It continues to cultivate alumni relationships and strengthens the connection students have with the university before they start their careers.
“I love seeing the full impact a donor can make on our students,” Weibel said.
About DMU: The university prepares tomorrow’s health care and public health care professionals, researchers, and science educators in its ten graduate medical and health sciences degree programs, and it serves central Iowans in its multi-specialty DMU Clinic.
Why I do what I do: I love seeing the full impact a donor can make on our students — from their gifts coming into to sharing the impact that it has made.
How I get into "the flow" at work: Going for a run. It clears my head from all the noise, and I can return to my desk with some creative thoughts.
Favorite app: Oh, I’m so boring. Keep Notes is my go-to app. It connects with my husband’s account, so we can both add items to shopping and to-do lists.
To decompress, I: Exercise and read a good mystery book.
On the weekends, you’ll find me: Running around with my 1-year-old and 3-year-old and then winding down with a good drink.
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About the campaign:
How would you describe your campaign?
For students in certain DMU programs — doctor of osteopathic medicine, doctor of podiatric medicine, doctor of physical therapy, doctor of occupational therapy, and master’s in physician assistant studies — donning their professional white coats in an annual ceremony is a pivotal experience in both symbolic and substantive ways.
More than any other symbol, the white coat signifies the excellence and caring demanded of those entering the healthcare profession. By accepting the white coat at this public ceremony, students acknowledge they assume the additional responsibilities inherent in a medical education.
Students don the white jacket as a class and are recognized individually by the president, their dean, and faculty as they walk across the stage. During the ceremony, students also sign the university’s professional integrity code, initiated by students in 1998.
Des Moines University launched its inaugural White Coat Program fundraiser in 2009 to inspire our clinical program graduates to recall the special memory of donning their first white coat and paying it forward to current students who are receiving their first white coats with this message:
Remember the pride and excitement of putting on your DMU white coat for the first time? That coat symbolized your achievements, the beginning of your professional life, and your lifelong connection to Des Moines University.
Your coat also probably made you feel grateful to your ''heroes" – the people who supported you while you worked to earn your coat. Now you can become a hero to current students by becoming a White Coat Sponsor.
For just $25 per coat, you can help one or more future DMU graduates put on this powerful symbol of professional service and success. You also will be part of a very special event, the fall White Coat Ceremony.
Every coat you sponsor will include in its pocket a note to the student with your name and class year.
As a White Coat Sponsor, you will strengthen and celebrate the connection across DMU classes. And you will encourage future alumni to one day become heroes, too, with their own support of this wonderful tradition.
Since its first year, the now-annual White Coat Program has been enormously successful.
Beginning in 2009, the university received gifts that fully fund all 388 white coats needed annually for students in our clinical programs. From 2012-17, DMU sent a direct mail piece to alumni asking them to support this effort.
In 2018, we transitioned to an all-email appeal. An email goes to all alumni in the clinical programs. We send a series of three emails out at the end of the fiscal year to create a sense of urgency. The emails are segmented based on the program. We also share with alumni the number of students in their program that need their white coat sponsored. For example:
221 first-year D.O. students anxiously wait to follow in your footsteps. Support these students before June 30*, and assist them on their journey to a medical degree.
Time is almost up, and we need you. [Number of] white coats remain to be sponsored for first-year PA students.
We also send a text message to graduates of the last decade in the clinical programs asking for their support:
Support a first-year DMU student as they receive their white coat on September 16. Make a $25 gift at www.dmu.edu/white-coat
The day before the White Coat Ceremony, we email each student receiving their first white coat with information about the donor who sponsored their coat. We include the donor’s name and email address and encourage students to either email a thank you, send a video or handwrite a note and drop it off to our department to send to the donor.
How did you come up with the campaign? Why did you select this approach?
We were looking for a way to engage our recent graduates by finding something that would resonate with them and inspire philanthropy early. We also wanted to offer an ask amount that was easily doable for all graduates. After determining the cost per white coat, we landed on $25 as the donation amount.
What goals did you want to achieve?
The White Coat Program has been effective in achieving and contributing to these goals:
Building connections among DMU alumni and students.
Honoring graduates’ and students’ professional accomplishments and aspirations.
Underscoring graduates’ lifelong connection to the university.
Offering alumni, including younger graduates, a highly affordable way to “become a hero to future DMU alumni by sponsoring their first white coat.”
Fostering both a tradition and habit of making recurring donations.
In addition, given the longevity of the program, graduates since 2009 – who received their first white coat through the program – remember that “gift” from alumni when they receive the annual White Coat Program solicitation.
What personally inspired you about the campaign?
I love that we can give our recent graduates the opportunity to start their philanthropy journey by paying it forward. We also get to build a connection between our students and alumni. A student’s thank you note could help open a door for mentoring and a lifelong connection.
How long did it take to create and launch the campaign?
The first campaign was launched in 2009 after a short planning period.
What resources did you use?
The DMU development team oversees the project with support from the marketing and communications department in designing the email solicitations.
We use MailChimp for our email communications and work with Shift Marketing for our text message solicitations. We also use Blackbaud products for creating online gift forms and tracking donations.
What challenges did you run into? How did you overcome them?
One challenge we ran into was that some of the programs were not getting enough donations to cover the cost of white coats for their program. We started adjusting our messaging to tell alumni how many white coats were needed for students within their specific program. Then our follow-up emails include how many white coats remain to be sponsored.
How did you measure success? What were the results?
For over five years, we have had 100% of our white coats sponsored by donors, and every student is given a sponsor name to thank. Those who make their first gift to DMU to support the White Coat program will do so one to two years after graduation. We also have nearly 95 percent of our students inform us that they sent a thank you to their sponsor.
How can another nonprofit “steal” this idea and make it their own?
Probably every nonprofit organization has identified sets of non-donors and/or younger individuals (particularly colleges and universities).
Offering a cause that directly appeals to these individuals’ pivotal experiences with a relatively low dollar amount creates a great “entry” into giving. DMU’s White Coat Program leverages an important and memorable milestone in our graduates’ lives as a way they can “pay it forward” with a gift of just $25 or – as our communications have stated — for the cost of “just one latte a week for a month.”
What tips do you have for someone launching a similar campaign?
Have patience. You are not going to get everything sponsored in the first year. You have to build momentum, and then the dollars will follow. Make sure you have a great message. And follow up. Always follow up.
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