Becker's Hospital Review

Becker's Hospital Review 5th Annual Meeting - call (800) 417-2035 47 W hen the U.S. economy collapsed in 2008 and 2009, the effects stretched far across the healthcare sector. According to a report from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, the total hospital margin for all payers — Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers — dropped from an average of 6 percent in 2007 to 1.8 percent in 2008. The lagging finan- cials also spread to hospital philanthropy depart- ments, as gift sizes fell in fiscal years 2009 and 2010. However, philanthropic giving to nonprofit health- care groups has surged in the past few years. In FY 2011, donations to hospitals and health systems hit a record high, $8.94 billion, and that number was almost matched again in FY 2012, according to the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy. For hospitals looking to improve their philan- thropy department, or maintain their high- performing status, following a modern do's and don'ts list could be the difference between a suc- cessful or weak year. Do: Invest in your staff In January, the Association for Healthcare Phi- lanthropy released two reports on the state of nonprofit hospital philanthropy programs. Bill McGinly, PhD, president and CEO of AHP, says one theme consistently appeared in the highest- performing organizations: investment in a high- quality fundraising staff and dedicated culture. In the reports, AHP analyzed hospital philanthro- py surveys and produced hard data that correlated with the best of the best. For example, fundrais- ing revenue is maximized at systems that have at least seven full-time equivalent staff members, and optimal budgeting for salaries and benefits within the hospital fundraising department was $800,000 or more (equating to an average per- person compensation of $114,285). Dr. McGinly says he has seen those benchmarks in play, anecdotally. He has worked with two hospitals, one in New Jersey and another in Massachusetts, that are similarly sized and located in comparable communities. The hospital in New Jersey had five people on its fundraising staff, while the hospital in Massachusetts had seven people on staff — and raised almost four times more in revenue per year. "The difference is [the Massachusetts hospital] invested in those two people," Dr. McGinly says. "You have to be willing to take that plunge, and you do it in a business-like fashion. Bring on one person to do [a task], manage that person and judge what are meaningful calls." April Box Chamberlain, president and CEO of the Methodist Health System Foundation in Dallas, says she has seen the value of a sizable staff first- hand. With seven employees and a volunteer board of directors, Ms. Chamberlain and the foundation raise an average of $4.5 million every year. Don't: Focus only on the annual campaign Methodist raises several million dollars every year, but Ms. Chamberlain says success is derived from diversifying their efforts. For example, the system has already brought in $18.8 million for a $20 mil- lion campaign to fund an expansion of the trauma center at Methodist Dallas Medical Center. Jennifer Johns, director of Mercy Foundation with- in Janesville, Wis.-based Mercy Health System, says her system's philanthropy similarly focuses on oth- er key events, which include a charity ball for the system's House of Mercy Homeless Center. "The center is a 25-bed facility that provides homeless families with short-term, emergency shelter and access to community resources," Ms. Johns says. Dr. McGinly says it is successful alternative cam- paigns like those that lead to more opportunities. Too often, a hospital's foundation may put all of its eggs in the annual fundraising campaign bas- Raising the Bar for Raising Dollars: Do's and Don'ts for Today's Hospital Philanthropy By Bob Herman It takes more than just data to transform healthcare. It takes evidence- based insight – knowing what your greatest risk factors are and where you have the opportunity to improve fi nancial health. By combining sophisticated analytics with the know-how to act on them, we help you see the connections – between health plan and provider, cost and quality, and good business and better healthcare. At MedeAnalytics, we are changing the way the world looks at data, and revealing the future of healthcare… one insight at a time. A Proud Sponsor of Becker's Hospital Review Annual Meeting If you know how to fi nd it. © 2014 MedeAnalytics, Inc. All rights reserved. Hidden within your data is the power to change healthcare… medeanalytics.com

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