Nonprofit Hospitals Improve Fundraising but Costs Ease Only Slightly

Donations to U.S. nonprofit hospitals and health care systems advanced 8.2 percent last year to $8.941 billion, but the cost of raising these funds remained close to post-recession highs, according to the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP), whose Report on Giving-USA for fiscal year 2011 was issued Monday.

The FY 2011 total for cash gifts and pledges represented a 4 percent increase over the previous high water mark of $8.588 billion set in FY 2008.