This holiday season, without a doubt, you will be asked to makedonations – toys for kids, food for families, supplies for schoolsand more. The world of charitable asks is saturated; so much sothat you can be presented with all of these giving optionswhen checking out at the grocery store. You, too, will be askingcredit union members to donate to their local Children's MiracleNetwork Hospitals.

So how could anyone possibly support all of these worthy causes?And how can charities stand out among the 1.5 million charities inthe United States alone (according to the National Center forCharitable Statistics)?

I believe the answer lies in smarter stories – telling potentialdonors exactly what their donation provides and how that impact ispersonally relevant to them. We need to shift our charitable asksfrom transactional to more relational partnerships. It's how we canshow authenticity in our efforts, and hopefully create lifelongcredit union members and donors.

The best place to start is with how we ask members to supporttheir local CMN Hospitals. Which question would prompt you to givea donation?

A. We're supporting our local children's hospital thisholiday. Would you like to give a donation to your Children'sMiracle Network Hospital?

B. Our local children's hospital needs help providing carefor sick and injured kids – kids like my neighbor who has a raredisease and requires special treatments. Would you like to donateto give kids like Sam every chance to get better?

The personal nature of B is clearly more inspiring. These arethe stories – the personal connections – that will generate moresupport. Sharing more details about Miracle Kids helps potentialdonors understand why hospitals rely on community donations to carefor kids.

In Costco stores this year, you could purchase boxes of GeneralMills' cereal to support your local CMN Hospital. This opportunitywas identified on each box with the iconic Miracle Balloon and aphoto of a Miracle Kid and his story. It was immediately apparenthow donations were being used to help kids like him. Employees knewhis story and it also was shared in the customer magazine.

This holiday season, reference Miracle Kids such as familymembers or neighbors, whom they know, and how they are helped bydonations. If employees do not have personal stories, consideradopting a Miracle Kid at your credit union. Encourage everyone tolearn the child's story. Display his or her photo at your locationand invite the child's family to events to meet your community.Every request for donations should reference how that child ishelped by those funds.

Another component to turning charitable asks into relationalpartnerships is engaging your community – finding meaningful waysto connect with your members and encouraging them to join yourdonation program.

Last year, many of you participated in CU Direct's specialcontest, in which the general public was invited to vote for theCMN Hospital of their choice, with the winning hospital receiving a$20,000 donation from CU Direct. The community response wasoutstanding: There were 375,000 votes cast, thousands reached viasocial media and many media interviews about the promotion.

In fact, there was so much buzz that CU Direct raised itsincentive, awarding $20,000 to two hospitals, plus a $5,000consolation prize to each of four additional hospitals. In the end,six hospitals benefited financially from the campaign and memberstook pride in knowing they helped to secure additional funding fortheir local children's hospitals. It's these campaigns that helpmembers associate CU Direct with CMN Hospitals and demonstrate theimpact and the authenticity of this partnership.

So, this season, when you're asking a member to support yourlocal children's hospital, tell a smarter story about a kid whodirectly benefits from donations.

Clark Sweat is chief corporate partnerships officer forChildren's Miracle Network Hospitals. He can be reachedat 801-214-7417 or [email protected].