Case Study: Children's Miracle Network Hospitals achieves 95% employee engagement and raises $350K with Brightidea

How Children’s Miracle Network Leveraged Innovation to Engage 95% of Employees and Raise $350k

Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, a 35‑year nonprofit supporting 170 member hospitals, faced a decade of stagnant fundraising ideas after a 2015 reorganization. Senior Innovation Program Manager Kyton Sweat was charged with modernizing the organization’s approach and engaging 160 employees despite being a two‑person team.

Working with Brightidea, Kyton ran a Culture Week hackathon that drove 95% participation (150+ employees) and produced three winning ideas — including a crypto-based donation tool and a new campaign that has raised $350K. The easy-to-launch platform, playbooks, and training secured executive buy-in, spawned an innovation development team, and transformed culture with repeatable HACK, SOLVE, and OPTIMIZE programs.

Children's Miracle Network Hospitals

Kyton Sweat

Senior Innovation Program Manager