From the Drawing Board to the NICU

How immersing ourselves in the client’s mission makes us better at what we do

For more than 25 years, the Sandra Schmirler Foundation has raised funds to save the lives of babies born too soon, too small, or too sick. They supply NICUs across the country with funds for life-saving equipment that gives premature and critically ill newborns a fighting chance.

And The Bowie Group is proud to partner with them.

The Foundation leverages multiple fundraising channels like direct mail, social media, a highly successful annual telethon event, and email. – and they’ve built a powerful donor base that makes their life-saving work possible.

Recently, they invited our team to join them for a $26,936 donation presentation to the NICU at Montfort Hospital in Ottawa. We didn't hesitate to say yes.

The Importance of Impact

As fundraising strategists, designers, and copywriters, we spend our days crafting appeals that ask people to give. We write about the impact. We describe the need. We tell the stories.

But there's something powerful about standing in the NICU, looking at the equipment our work helped fund, and hearing directly from the nurses and doctors who use it every single day.

It is important for our team to see it so we can better explain it to donors.

When you see your work have direct impacts firsthand, something sparks in your copywriting.

And that's why The Bowie Group doesn't just design fundraising and marketing campaigns from behind computer screens.

We immerse ourselves in our clients' missions because it makes us better at what we do.

What We Saw

On the left in the photo above is a decades-old phototherapy unit that often had to be used with a second one to deliver the right level of treatment.

On the right is a new, specialized BiliLux system – funded through gifts to the Sandra Schmirler Foundation – that does the job with a single light.

During the visit, we also learned that every NICU bed in Ontario was in use that week – a powerful reminder of just how critical this equipment is, and how often it's needed.

Ready To Build A Campaign That Delivers Real Impact?

At The Bowie Group, we specialize in direct response fundraising that moves donors to action – and delivers measurable results for the causes that matter.

Whether you're raising money for a hospital foundation, a political campaign, or a charitable organization, we know how to craft appeals that connect donors to your mission and inspire them to give.

Let's Talk!