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Celebrating Costco and Jeff’s fundraising secret: Securing sweet success at the register

On Tuesday, July 23 and Thursday, July 25 top performers from Costco were invited by Phoenix Children’s Hospital to celebrate raising $881,000 during their May 2019 campaign. The two luncheons held at a local Marriott were a chance for much-deserved thanks and recognition,  and the opportunity to share best practices. Every year since 1994, associates at 14 Costco warehouses, two depots and one business center come together to fundraise. To date Costco has raised almost $15 million for Phoenix Children’s, supporting world-class pediatric health care, close to home.

Phoenix Children’s also took time during Thursday’s lunch to recognize an employee from Costco store #490 in North Phoenix: Jeff T. This passionate employee impresses colleagues, members and staff at Phoenix Children’s alike with his fundraising stamina.

There is a reason his line is the longest: Meet Jeff T.

So what’s the secret to Jeff T.’s success? He sets a fundraising goal for each shift and clearly doesn’t often leave without achieving it – he solely raise more than $21,000 for Phoenix Children’s Hospital during May.

He says that his tactic is simple. He asks every member, every time they are in his line. A visit to Jeff’s register might sound something like, “I am $400 away from reaching my daily goal of $1,000 for Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Would you like to help me?” Jeff says that customers react very positively to this, and that they often specifically come through his line just to make a donation and help him reach his goal.

Jeff confesses he learned his winning technique from a fellow employee, and so he was excited to share it with other colleagues at last week’s lunch.

“As a fundraiser, you dream of having employees like Jeff asking for donations,” says Susan O’Donnell, CMN Program Director and Manager, Account Management at Phoenix Children’s Hospital Foundation. “We work hard to make sure that employees feel connected to the Phoenix Children’s mission so that ‘the ask’ becomes personal. When we see it in action, it’s pretty amazing. We know we have something special with Jeff.”

We can’t wait to see what the future holds with our friends at Costco!