Charitable pledges down due to slow economy
Hospitals feel effects of fewer donations
WASHINGTON – Charitable pledges to nonprofit healthcare organizations in both the U.S. and Canada slowed in 2010. With these dwindling pledges many healthcare systems are finding it difficult to generate the philanthropic funding necessary to meet their long-term, construction, equipment and patient needs.
These findings were contained in two recent reports published by the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP) based on its detailed Performance Benchmarking Service survey of fundraising activities in both countries - which for the first time examined a full year’s post-recession fundraising by U.S. and Canadian healthcare organizations.
“I think that because of the economy and the uncertainty with the healthcare dialogue, people are in a wait-and-see mode,” said Susan Doliner, AHP Board of Directors chair and vice president for development at Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine. “They want to see where the market is going to go and if it will eventually become more stabilized. People are in a period of time where they are assessing the market.
Instead of making long-term commitments with assets, they’re making one-time commitments. I think when people feel more comfortable with the environment is when they will be more willing to make long-term pledges.”
The survey also indicated that in the wake of the recession, healthcare philanthropy increased its reliance on cash-based fundraising. Besides annual giving and public support programs, there was an uptick in donations coming from an array of special events such as golf tournaments, community runs or walks, fashion shows and dinners.
In almost all instances, organizations that devoted more staff and resources to philanthropic tasks did significantly better than those with less to spend on charity programs and fewer professional fundraisers, especially in securing major gifts, government grants and revenue from special events.
At Harrington HealthCare System in Webster, Mass., CEO Edward Moore said they had recently been feeling the effects of lower pledges and realized they “needed to get more serious about fundraising.”
Last month, the health system launched a fundraising campaign, called Strengthening Our Future, to rebuild the Emergency Department at its Webster campus, Harrington HealthCare at Hubbard.
“We received a commitment from an anonymous donor for up to $4 million as a matching challenge. It’s the largest donation in the area in history assuming we can raise the equivalent $4 million. So far we’ve gotten a half-million in matching donations,” said Moore.
“My sense is that under economically difficult times, charitable donations are more difficult to achieve,” he added.
Bill Kiel, vice president of development at Allegiance Health in Jackson, Miss., said Allegiance has not felt the effects of fewer charitable pledges yet, and attributes this to the fact that the hospital system was in the midst of several major fundraisers when the recession hit.
“We had just started a hospice campaign immediately followed by a cancer campaign, so we really never lost out on charitable contributions. In some cases, the donors wanted to expand the amount of time they had to pay off certain pledges because of the recession, but we still received the funding,” said Kiel.
“My best advice to hospitals is to get out and steward the donors you have. Make sure they understand what you’re doing with the money you have and keep them interested in future programs,” noted Kiel. “Communication is key.”
Doliner offered similar advice. “We’re going to continue what we’ve been doing all along and stay in touch with donors. I think everyone has to do that. When the economy turns around, the donors will ultimately give larger pledges,” she said.
