Sound Investing Brings Ample Returns to High-Performing Health Care Fundraisers

(Press release, Jan. 8, 2015) — As 2015 gets underway, the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP) delves into its annual Report on Giving to take the pulse of the highest-performing development organizations that support nonprofit hospitals, health systems and related facilities in the U.S. and Canada.

“Our findings show that those who are able to invest the most in staff and operations raise the most money at the highest rates of effectiveness,” reports Steven Churchill, president and CEO of AHP. “This is true for both the United States and Canada, despite their different approaches to health care delivery.”

The Report on Giving defines high performers as organizations — primarily foundations affiliated with a hospital or health system — that raise more net funds than 75 percent of all institutions surveyed. In FY 2013, the most recent year for which data is available, the median amount each high performer raised was more than $20 million in the U.S. and almost $18 million in Canada — four to five times the median achieved by all surveyed.

In both countries, most high-performing organizations employed seven or more full-time fundraisers — nine out of 10 organizations in the U.S. and seven out of 10 in Canada. They also invested more on staff salaries and operating costs than their counterparts. More than 81 percent of the U.S. high performers and more than 72 percent of the Canadian high performers reported fundraising expenses exceeding $2 million.

Another key difference was the type of fundraising activities pursued. All foundations — whether high performers or otherwise — sought revenue from major gifts, corporate/foundation funding, planned giving, annual fund drives, special events and government grants. However, the high performers put more emphasis on the more productive major gifts and corporate/foundation giving.

AHP’s Report on Giving is conducted by Association Research Inc. It is free to AHP members who complete the survey and available for a fee to all others. Infographics and more information are located at www.ahp.org/reportongiving. A total of 242 U.S. and 49 Canadian institutions submitted data on their FY 2013 philanthropic activities, for response rates of 18 percent and 25.7 percent respectively.

Established in 1967, AHP is the leading authority for standards, knowledge and leadership in health care development. AHP’s nearly 5,000 members raise funds for community health services throughout North America.