BHP Sophomore Alexandra Mulconnery Wins National IGNITE Challenge

Natalie Weston, Alexandra Mulconnery, Sofia Aranha and Hadia Aziz (CMN Hospitals manager) post with their awards.

Written by Alexandra Mulconnery, BHP sophomore

Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals (CMN) (the charity behind Texas THON) hosted their first-ever case competition, The IGNITE Challenge, this year with a series of rounds from January to March. Four universities competed – UT Austin, Vanderbilt, Ohio State, and Utah. I, along with two friends (Natalie Weston – Civil Engineering, and Sofia Aranha – Dance and Economics) formed a team to compete.

The IGNITE challenge was designed to provide a real-life innovation experience for the non-profit, which has raised more than $5 billion since 1983 to help pay for critical care and medical equipment at its more than 170 member hospitals. In partnership with The Baker Family Foundation, CMN was seeking peer-to-peer and new generation fundraising solutions to stay ahead of technology and cultural shifts in donation behaviors. The proposed initiative needed to raise funds of $250,000 in the first year and $5,000,000 by the fifth with a budget of $50,000 for the first year and a cost-per-dollar of less than $0.10.

We started by researching CMN and the fundraising behaviors of the new generation.  After several drafts, we settled on our final idea, Hometown Heroes. Our proposed Hometown Heroes program would allow more Miracle Kids to become ambassadors to their hospitals, and would create a high school internship program. The interns would be paired with their local hospital’s Hometown Heros to create a unique fundraiser tailored to the hero’s interest as well as the community. We structured it to fit into CMN’s brand, existing initiatives and the hospital’s capabilities.

Our team, Female Logic, was selected based on our initial proposal and video to participate in the semi-finals at UT. We were then put forth to the finals, which were hosted during the annual Momentum conference at Disney World. It was a great excuse to extend spring break a few days, and an amazing opportunity to participate in the conference and be inspired by all of the Champions (Miracle Kids representing each state).

We presented to a panel of six judges, and we were shocked to find out we had won. The following two days, we had the opportunity to present two more times to various heads at CMN, and to discuss the implementation of our idea with them. We were also able to attend sessions on innovation and fundraising, interview with Miss America, and participate in a pin exchange with all of the Champions. The entire experience was very rewarding and fun, and I hope to find more case competitions that are as meaningful and engaging as IGNITE has been.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *