US Healthcare Philanthropy Under Pressure

Lower donations to healthcare organisations in the US has resulted in more money being spent on fundraising and a lower Return on Investment , according to a new benchmarking report.

The report also found that doctors and healthcare employees have responded to the decline in donation brought on by the deepening recession by donating more money.

US based Association for Healthcare Philanthropy gathered detailed data from 66 healthcare institutions across the US and Canada as part of its Performance Benchmarking Service, now in its fifth year.

APH found that the median Return on Investment (ROI) – a measure of fundraising effectiveness – fell 23 percent in 2009 from $4.63 to $3.57 ROI for each dollar spent.

For cash donations alone, the study found median ROI fell 17 percent to $3.26.

The study found that hospital employees donated more money and did so more frequently than in previous years. Gift amounts from physicians and physician groups averaged $5,000, up $3,000 from 2008 illustrating great strides in foundations' efforts toward building the internal culture of philanthropy.

William McGinly, President and Chief Executive Officer of AHP, says the constant message that shines through the data is that organisations that best survived last year's worsening US economy were those who persevered by keeping sufficient staff and resources to maintain well-rounded philanthropic opportunities and programs.

Major gifts of at least $10,000 from individuals, corporations and foundations accounted for 55 percent of all revenue raised by institutions, which was seven percent more than in 2008. Annual giving's portion of total revenues was unchanged at 15 percent, however, costs associated with annual giving efforts soaked up 27 percent of all fundraising expenses in 2009, compared with 19 percent in 2008.

The survey found the average size of a planned gift increased to more than $140,000, up from $100,000 in the 2008 survey. However planned giving actually went down two percent as a portion of 2009’s total giving to institutions in the benchmarking study. The report states that planned giving, where a future major gift donation is bequeathed to a Not for Profit organisation, often takes on added importance in difficult economic times because it allows donors to postpone charitable payments.

The association's benchmarking survey for 2009 confirmed trends noted in AHP's FY2009 Report on Giving, which examined charitable donations raised by 522 U.S. and Canadian Not for Profit hospitals and health care systems.

The FY2009 Report on Giving found that health care philanthropy dipped 11 percent in the U.S. last year to $7.644 billion while rising 5.2 percent in Canada to $1.124 billion.

The Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, established in 1967, is a Not for Profit organisation whose more than 4,500 members direct philanthropic programs in 2,200 of North America's Not for Profit health care providers.

For more information visit www.ahp.org