As we begin to emerge from the COVID pandemic in the midst of economic uncertainty, the interests and behaviors of hospital donors are evolving at a rapid pace. Hospital foundations must adapt accordingly, making the importance of using data to drive their donor engagement strategy more critical than ever.
The 2nd annual Digital Fundraising Benchmark Report for Hospitals, in partnership with the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, surveyed 71 leading non-profit hospital foundations, spanning academic, specialty, and community-based systems in 30 states across the country.
Benchmarks were developed from data sourced from 37 hospitals and hospital systems. The data used was validated and standardized by Digital Health Strategies and only includes revenue from e-mail, website, and direct mail solicitation campaigns. Revenue from events, major giving, planned giving or employee giving is not included.
See the results from our most recent report and learn insights related to donor acquisition, retention, and data to inform your fundraising strategy.
Key Takeaways
A strong digital donor acquisition program is crucial for pipeline development and revenue growth.
72% of respondents who have a grateful patient program in place reported increases in revenue over the last 6-9 months, compared with 36% of respondents who don’t currently have a digital grateful patient program.
Improved major donor conversion relies on more advanced data inputs and models.
80% of survey respondents said that their major donor prospecting could be improved.
Foundations are missing out on the opportunity to learn about and respond to donor communication preferences.
58% of respondents don’t survey donors about their interests.
Improved retention is directly correlated with the use of qualitative and quantitative data for solicitation and stewardship efforts.
62% of respondents who perform two or more of these practices saw consistent or increased retention rates.
Digital infrastructure is critical to leveraging data to drive revenue growth and deepen relationships with donors.
97% of respondents need improvements or upgrades to their fundraising infrastructure.
A dedicated team is necessary for revenue growth and overall digital fundraising success.
59% of respondents reported they do not have a dedicated, digital fundraising team.
Hospital Foundation Digital Fundraising Benchmarks
Throughout 2021, non-profits in the healthcare sector began to transition beyond COVID-19 and look ahead to what’s next. We sourced quantitative data from 37 hospitals across the country to develop specific hospital fundraising benchmarks around donor acquisition, retention, and lifetime value.
Donor retention
Percentage of donors with multiple gifts from Jan. 2020 – Dec. 2021
Non-profit hospitals saw an average retention rate of 30%. This is a decrease from last year’s retention rate of 43%. This decrease in retention was due to the influx of COVID donors in 2020.
First-time donor rate
Percentage of total donors who made their first gift from Jan. – Dec. 2021
Non-profit hospitals saw an average acquisition rate of 32% in 2021. Of those new donors, 31% were acquired from digital solicitation.
Average online donation
online revenue per gift from Jan. – Dec. 2021
The average online donation gave $332 to non-profit hospitals in 2021. This is on par with the average online donation ($338) in 2020.
Average online donor value
Total online revenue per donor from Jan. – Dec. 2021
The average 12-month value of an online donor to a non-profit hospital was $426 ending in December 2021. This is 44% higher than the value of online donors from the 12-month period ending December 2020 who had an average value of $296.
Annual Trends
2021 and 2022 brought a marked shift in fundraising operations, especially in the healthcare sector. A period of record-breaking fundraising during the pandemic followed by donor fatigue and an uncertain economic outlook has had a significant impact on donor behaviors in the last 12 – 18 months.
Here’s what changed:
Acquisition is more important than ever
Digital grateful patient programs are on the rise, with a 10% increase year-over-year in hospital foundations taking their grateful patient program digital.
Ongoing communications are critical for retention and new donor conversion
Foundations are increasingly relying on annual giving campaigns. Doctors’ Day campaigns saw a 23% increase, and Nurses Week saw a 10% increase year-over-year.
Increased reliance on philanthropy puts pressure on Foundation performance
83% of respondents listed increasing revenue following the post-COVID fundraising peak as a top priority, a 21% increase year-over-year.
Full survey results
We heard from 71 non-profit hospital foundations in 30 states.
Here’s what they said:
1. Have you experienced a change in your overall fundraising revenue over the past 6-9 months?
2. Has the quantity of donations of $1,000 or more increased over the last 12 months?
Increasing digital solicitations can lead to increased revenue
Major gifts don’t just come through the mail or over the phone. One large, multi-hospital, integrated health system brought in an individual gift of $50,000 via email during Giving Tuesday last year.
3. Which communications channel produces the most revenue for your organization?
4. Have you experienced a change in donor retention levels in the wake of the pandemic?
5. What steps does your organization take to retain existing donors? Select all that apply
Targeted outreach with tangible giving opportunities is a successful tactic to retain donors and drive revenue
One health system with three urban hospitals identified a need for new clinical chairs for their infusion center. Their digital-only campaign, targeted to donors who demonstrated interest in technology, exceeded its goal by almost 128% in less than 2 weeks.
6. How long do you wait until you identify someone as a “lapsed donor”?
7. What fundraising campaigns do you conduct each year? Select all that apply
8. How do you determine segmentation for direct mail versus email communications? Select all that apply
9. What type of testing do you use in your fundraising communications? Select all that apply
10. Do you have a digital grateful patient program in place?
The impact of digital grateful patient programs on revenue
72% of respondents with a digital grateful patient program in place reported a revenue increase over the last 6-9 months. Only 36% of those without a digital GP program reported revenue increases.
11. Do you regularly survey your donors? Select all that apply
Using a combination of survey and direct response data can increase revenue and reduce cost
Recognizing the important role that direct mail plays in donor retention but wanting to become more efficient and respond to donor preferences, a multi-hospital, integrated health system foundation used data to cut their direct mail list. The result? Their return on investment increased by 76%.
12. Over the next 12 months, what are the top three priorities for your organization?
13. How do you decide which donors to target for major donor cultivation? Select all that apply
14. How satisfied are you with your major donor prospect operations?
15. What improvements would you prioritize for your major donor prospecting? Select all that apply
Integrate data screening at every stage of your donor engagement strategy
A single-hospital health system that implemented a major donor screening process found that individuals who engaged with a grateful patient program had a 20% higher likelihood to make a gift of $10K or more.
16. Do you provide tangible benefits to high-level donors? (i.e. giving society memberships, special events, etc.) Select all that apply
17. Do you use targeted communications to “upgrade” donors to higher giving levels? Select all that apply
18. What types of data models do you use for targeted communications and donor development? Select all that apply
19. Where do you store your non-donor data?
20. Which statement best describes the structure of your digital fundraising staff?
21. Which tools do you use to analyze the performance of your website? Select all that apply
22. What upgrades to your fundraising tools and infrastructure are a priority for your organization? Select all that apply
Small steps can lead to big results
After implementing automated email journeys with advanced segmentation, as well as updating their donation page UX, a multi-hospital, integrated health system foundation increased its average online gift size by over 90%, from $169 in 2019 to $322 today.
Methodology and Participants
Survey Participants
This survey was sent to members of the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy. The results from that survey, compiled with data from the work of Digital Health Strategies, were used to develop this report. Survey responses from 71 participants from the United States are included in this report. These organizations span from small, community-based hospitals, to large inter-state hospital networks.
Geographic presence of survey participants
33
urban
communities serving a principal city
of a metropolitan area
25
suburban
communities serving within a metropolitan
or micropolitan area
13
rural
communities outside of a
metropolitan area
Size of survey participant hospitals
19
small
hospitals <100 beds
30
medium
hospitals 100-499 beds
22
large
hospitals 500+ beds
Benchmarking Participants
Benchmarks were developed from data sourced from 37 hospitals and hospital systems to develop specific hospital fundraising benchmarks around donor acquisition, retention, and lifetime value. The data used was validated and standardized by Digital Health Strategies and only includes revenue from e-mail, website, and direct mail solicitation campaigns. Revenue from events, major giving, planned giving or employee giving is not included. All participants are based in the United States. The participating organizations span from small, community-based hospitals, to large inter-state hospital networks.
Geographic presence of benchmarking participants
16
urban communities
serving a principal city of a metropolitan area
11
suburban communities
serving within a metropolitan or micropolitan area
10
rural communities
outside of a metropolitan area
Size of benchmarking participant hospitals
11
small
hospitals <100 beds
18
medium
hospitals 100-499 beds
8
large
hospitals 500+ beds
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