Download the Health Spotlight infographic, or explore the 2024 Philanthropy Pulse report in its entirety.
This Health Sector Spotlight is adapted from CCS’s 2024 Philanthropy Pulse report to provide an in-depth look at the data provided by 82 survey respondents from that sector.
Survey respondents represented the following types of healthcare organizations:
fundraising practices
About half of healthcare institutions (49%) report revenue increases vs. their prior fiscal year, as compared to 57% across all sectors. Two out of every five (41%) healthcare organizations get 20% or less of their giving in the form of non-cash assets. Healthcare nonprofits might consider corporate funding partnerships with digital health startups: nonprofits would align with industry-focused and tech-forward initiatives, and healthcare companies would partner with mission-aligned efforts to appeal to their value-based investors.
Just over half (54%) of healthcare organizations organize fundraising efforts (e.g., major gifts, annual funds) by a combination of geography (3%), hospital facility (5%), and service line (8%). Others (32%) organize their efforts by other means, such as fundraising channels.
Most (33%) fundraising revenue comes from major gifts. Healthcare fundraising professionals might consider establishing a regular cadence of meetings with major donors, with trackable goals and outcomes, to ensure a steady stream of potential opportunities. On average, fundraising revenue at healthcare institutions comes from the following sources:
Most (61%) respondents have fully centralized fundraising operations, as compared to 3% who are fully decentralized. Fourteen percent (14%) are becoming more centralized, while 2% are transitioning to more of the latter. Still, 17% report being hybrid.
health sector projections and priorities
Seventy-three percent (73%) of participants expect major and mid-level gifts and annual appeals to increase in 2024. Eighty-four percent (84%) of respondents believe DEI is important to define their organization’s values, compared to 77% across sectors. Various tactics for understanding the needs of your community, including asking emergency room physicians about health equity issues, could offer direction for fundraising needs to align your actions with your values.
staffing and resourcing in the health sector
In 2023, 34% of responding healthcare institutions increased their fundraising staff, which is similar to rates across sectors. While 68% of all organizations increased staff pay by 1-10% over the past three years, 73% of organizations in this sector saw an increase. Healthcare nonprofits might consider creating opportunities for upward mobility and other tactics to support staff amidst a fast-paced and high-achieving work environment.
The top two engagement tactics for physician’s involvement in fundraising efforts include participating in recognition and stewardship efforts (35%) and participating in outreach initiatives (33%). One-third (33%) of institutions report that physicians are not engaged in their fundraising efforts.
donor acquisition and retention in the health sector
Sixty-five percent (65%) of healthcare organizations indicate that their number of new donors has increased in the past 12 months, which is the highest rate among each of the other sectors, and 7% greater than all sectors combined. Thirty-five (35%) of institutions report retaining over half of their new donors over the past 12 months, compared to 67% overall. Healthcare nonprofits might consider leveraging specialized legacy societies as a powerful donor acquisition and retention tool.
data and technology at healthcare institutions
Sixty percent (60%) of participants describe their organization’s reporting and analytics capabilities at a leading level or higher of sophistication, versus 58% across sectors. While 58% of all organizations have not addressed the use of AI technology in their operations, only half (51%) in this sector have not. Healthcare nonprofits could ask themselves guiding questions to implement AI in their fundraising practices.
The data on this page was curated from a questionnaire taken by over 600 responding organizations during the fall of 2023, reporting on FY23 results.
