From 30 staff to 130, and a $250M campaign to a $1.3B campaign: the story of Boston Children Hospital’s Trust substantial growth

Since its founding in 1869, Boston Children’s Hospital has been a leader in pediatric care and research. Embodying a culture of innovation and scientific discovery, Boston Children’s empowers their clinicians and scientists to challenge the status quo and seek better answers to improve the lives of children and families everywhere. The Hospital is home to many firsts – from the first surgery to repair a heart defect in a child, to culturing the first polio virus, to the development of chemotherapy to treat acute lymphocytic leukemia in children. For the past six years in a row, Boston Children’s has been ranked the #1 children’s hospital in the nation by U.S. News and World Report.

Boston Children’s has been a client, nearly consecutively, for nineteen years since we first partnered on their executive search for a Senior Major Gifts Officer. At the time, Children’s had just launched the Children’s Hospital Trust to promote philanthropic investment for the benefit of the Hospital. The development team had around 30 staff and the Trust was preparing to launch a $200 million capital campaign. Today, Children’s Hospital Trust employs over 130 development staff and its current campaign, Dream Dare Deliver, is anticipated to raise $1.3 billion. It is the largest children’s hospital campaign in the country. 

Like all highly successful fundraising shops, talent is the key. Development Guild has recruited 50+ team members for the Trust, ranging from leadership positions such as the Vice President for Corporate Development and Special Events and the Assistant Vice President, Principal and Major Gifts, to senior major, principal, and corporate/foundation officers, along with a number of key operations roles. We have consulted on staff design, titles, salaries, and other special projects designed to ensure Children’s fundraising program continues to be highly effective and one the best. 

Development Guild DDI has been a frequent partner to institutions who are “building out” their teams to prepare for a quantum leap in their philanthropy programs, beginning with Children’s. Our knowledge of their team, plans, and hiring expectations, as well as our ability to move fluidly and with confidence on their behalf has helped us be a strong recruitment partner to Boston Children’s and others. We are proud to have Children’s as one of our oldest clients, and we are proud of what they have been able to achieve as a result.