Providence Alaska Foundation: The Cycle of Giving

It’s been said that all politics is local, and while that may or may not be true, healthcare certainly is. All medical organizations depend on local funding and donors to help them maintain and expand the services they offer to their communities. Providence Alaska Foundation in Anchorage wanted to showcase their philanthropic partners in a way that grabbed people’s attention. The Visix creative team helped them turn a video wall in the lobby of their Providence Alaska Medical Center into an interactive donor board.

There were several goals for this project. First and foremost, to thank all donors by highlighting their philanthropic efforts and generosity. They also wanted to highlight specific contributors and donations, as well as encourage others to participate in giving programs.

The touchscreen video wall design is customized to match the organization’s brand colors and imagery. A home screen with an animated photo carousel catches the eye of passers-by, and a timeout ensures that the screen isn’t stuck on an abandoned search page but instead reverts back to the home screen. ADA-friendly navigation buttons for three directories are placed at the bottom of the display for easy access by those in wheelchairs.

Providence Alaska Interactive Donor Board
Providence Alaska Interactive Donor Board Info

The Donors directory lists donors by name and shows their recognition level (Alaska Circle, Mother Gamelin Circle, Explorers Club, etc.). Visitors exploring the directory can filter results by last name or use scroll buttons to page through the results. (This is very useful when you have more than 45 pages of donor names.) This section includes two subpages which highlight the Foundation Event and Foundation Board.

There’s a similar layout for the Legacy Society, with buttons for Corporate Donor Highlights and Individual/Group Donor Highlights. And then there’s Tribute Giving, when a person, group or organization makes a contribution is someone else’s name. The additional buttons here lead to tributes and further information about the tribute giving program.

Of course, thanking patrons is the primary aim of a donor board like this. But there’s a secondary aim – to stimulate new donations from the community and people served, or to encourage individuals, groups or organizations that have given before to do so again. Donors might even get inspired to increase the amount they give, going up to the next recognition level.

To that aim, every page in the touchscreen design has a contact button that takes viewers to a screen with three ways (phone, email and website URL) to contact the appropriate people at the foundation to participate in their donation program.

Putting the donor board on a large interactive video wall makes it very dramatic and sure to get noticed immediately by every person who walks into the lobby. Video walls often have that effect, bringing a “wow-factor” to a space. When people discover it’s interactive, they just can’t help themselves and begin tapping the buttons to see what it’s all about. In this way, Providence Alaska Foundation plants the seed for donations in people’s minds from the moment they start their visit, and again as they leave.

Healthcare is an essential service, and digital signage in hospitals and healthcare facilities help to engage and motivate people to support those efforts. Public recognition on donor boards, like this one from Visix, continue to inspire and nurture a cycle of giving so providers like Providence Alaska Foundation can continue offering quality health services to their communities.