Can A Donor Wall Update Increase Donations?

 The ongoing battle with donor walls is designing something that brings in more donations. Donor walls can always be beautiful, but do they do more than recognize previous donors, do they inspire. Recently we were asked to update a donor wall for a hospital birthing center that over 10 years had not received more than 20 donations. The original donor wall consisted of engraved Corian tiles and a small panel with a poem about a baby. It was not clear that this was a donor wall. The donor wall blended into the wallpaper and the poem was confusing. Most guests thought it was a list of babies that died. The hospital wanted to use the existing structure and wanted something people would notice and give a clear message. We began by replacing the Corian tiles with panels that were easily updated, added a new message to the poem panel and a three dimensional title. Simple changes that didn’t cost much, but made the donor wall stand out and give a clear message as to the reason for the donor wall. Within two days, they had gained donors. Something the wall hadn’t done in years.