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Few topics in the field of healthcare philanthropy garner as much attention as physician giving. The conversation – and far too often our actual approach to the medical staff – goes something like, “They’re on staff. They make a lot of money. Why don’t they give us some?”
Today’s physicians face many challenges and demands. Like hospitals, all are confronting increased scrutiny, uncertainty, and quality and productivity metrics. Declining reimbursement has impacted their revenue. They may be on staff at more than one hospital. Many still fulfill mandatory on-call obligations, and deliver some uncompensated care. Our top docs are frequently tapped for leadership roles within the institution, asked to chair departments, serve on various medical committees, and give even more of their time.
The profile of today’s doctor is evolving. “He” is more likely to be a female, employed, and with a completely different set of values and work-life expectations than “her” older colleagues. She is far more likely to be employed or contracted, as opposed to the independent entrepreneur of yesterday.
A survey by the American College of Physician Executives found doctors struggling with low morale, family and marital discord, burnout, depression, substance abuse, and thoughts of suicide. Nearly 60% considered leaving the profession for those reasons. Physicians cited low reimbursement rates, loss of autonomy and control, bureaucratic red tape, patient overload, loss of respect, uncertainty, and the medical malpractice environment as contributing factors.
We owe it to our medical staff – and our development program – to understand the shifting environment challenging today’s physicians. Just as with our hospital employees, the local business community, and other important constituencies; our strategy to engage doctors must take into account these obstacles and issues, and seek ways to collaborate.
Take advantage of doctors’ tremendous and unique potential to be advocates, experts, and connectors. Position them to talk about the important work they do, and the impact of the project you’re working to fund.
Don’t miss opportunities to recognize their many other contributions. (Hint: think doctor’s day and gifts of tribute.) Help them understand just how important and influential their leadership can be, and enlist their help identifying and cultivating grateful patients.
Naturally, along the way, remain on the lookout for that extraordinary physician champion, capable of rising above the politics, referral patterns, and financial turmoil, to effectively cultivate and solicit his or her colleagues. All of our prospective donors – including physicians – deserve the courtesy and deference of a personal, peer-to-peer solicitation. However, recruiting these busy clinicians to a traditional volunteer role, with the expectation that they will comfortably cultivate and close their colleagues, is more than a bit presumptuous.
Invest the time and resources to effectively engage your medical staff. The potential rewards are great.
Join the Pride Development Institute, online, at 11:00 AM (EDT) for a one-hour webinar, featuring special guest presenter, Dr. Roger Longenderfer, retired CEO of Pinnacle Health in Harrisburg, PA, and a member of Pride Philanthropy’s Executive Board. Click here for details.
T. Christian Rollins, MBA, CFRE
Executive Vice President
At a recent Pride Philanthropy leadership conference, Senior Partner Jim Lyons made use of citrus, cherry tomatoes, red beans, rice, sand, and cheap champagne to illustrate the relative importance of fundraising activities. In his variation on the “put the big things in first” illustration, the bad bubbly represented special events, which “seemed like a good idea at the time.
In my book – TRUISMS of Fundraising – I focus on events in a chapter entitled “My Favorite Oxymorons.” My dynamic list currently includes broadcast journalism, reality television, social media, and fundraising events.
Sy Seymour, the granddaddy of development, and still probably the most quoted author on the topic, wrote, “Benefits are like raisins in rice pudding. Many people like them…the fact remains that benefits do little or nothing for thoughtful and proportionate giving…”
According to The Nonprofit Times, nearly half of the nation’s 30 largest event fundraising programs reported decreases in their 2012 results. Susan G. Komen led the decline, posting one-third less revenue, and dragging down aggregate totals for the nation’s 30 largest run-walk-ride events by 1.3%.
Now, to be fair, there are reasons why charities might host special events. Paradoxically, raising money doesn’t happen to be one of them. Their intrinsic variable expenses keep events from achieving efficiency, and ultimately limit their capacity to raise significant dollars.
Do one. Do it well. Two if you can’t live without the second. Refuse to do a third. Adding another event to the calendar will not add additional dollars to the budgets of your potential sponsors, whose support constitutes the margins for most events. It will add expenses to your budget, diminishing your returns, while diluting the finite pool of sponsorship dollars available within your market or service area.
Take advantage of events’ ability to advance cultivation, education, recognition, and stewardship. Demonstrate your mission and philanthropy’s impact. Get your money’s worth out of those investments. Recognize donors, capture suspects, qualify prospects, and move your constituents closer to more meaningful gifts.
Help your volunteer leadership to make good decisions around events, by sharing good information. Not just gross and net receipts. Unique as well as new sponsors and attendees, growth, and donor acquisition.
An important metric is conversion rate. How many event attendees can you successfully convert into donors? Are you deliberately and successfully employing your events to attract and secure major gifts?
Go on. Host an event. Measure and manage the results, to achieve all of the return you should expect. But go easy on the cheap champagne.
T. Christian Rollins, MBA, CFRE
Executive Vice President
Turns out 2012 year-end online giving was strong, posting a 16.7% increase in dollars, and an 8.1% in number of gifts over the final quarter of 2011.
The welcome holiday results follow a lackluster summer.
The Network for Good data plots Monday as the biggest single day, and again shows midday as the busiest time.
As National Volunteer Week comes to a close, I find myself wondering if there is any other verb packed with so much power and potential?
As a development professional, give and ask come to mind. Yet, in some way, both depend upon volunteer.
Volunteer. From the Latin voluntarius. Of one’s free will.
Quite, often anonymous deeds. Selfless, generous acts. Giving back, and giving of one’s self. Gifts of time and leadership. Helping many, or touching just one. The power and potential to change the world, or one life.
With that, please allow me to close with one other pretty important word.
Thanks!
T. Christian Rollins, MBA, CFRE
Executive Vice President
It turns out that Dorothy was right, all along, when she told the Wizard of Oz, “if I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look any further than my own backyard.” According to a new study from Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, there really is no place like home, especially when it comes to major gifts.
The majority (60%) of gifts of $1 million or more are made by donors who live in the same state or geographic region as the recipient not-for-profit. Nearly half of all such gifts come from donors living in the same state.
Health related nonprofits – as well as arts, culture and humanities, and higher education – are among those receiving more than half of their million-dollar-plus gifts from donors in the same state. About two-thirds of gifts of $1 million or more to these types of organizations were given by donors within their geographic region.
According to a new report from the Nonprofit Research Collaborative, more than 70% of U.S. charitable organizations expect donations to rise in 2013. The positive outlook follows a year in which 58% of not-for-profits reported an increase.
The study was co-sponsored by the Association of Fundraising Professionals. AFP President Andrew Watt – who will keynote Pride Philanthropy’s Fall Leadership Forum in New Orleans – says, “Overall consumer confidence in the economy rose last year, and that created a more positive environment for charities to go out and build relationships.”
Many of the nearly 1,200 responding charities plan investments in staff and technology. Half reported an increase in major gifts, 63% met their fundraising goals, 59% percent set higher goals in 2012, and 77% hit those targets. The study also found that a third of NPOs made formal efforts to solicit planned gifts, 18% set a planned giving goal, and 65% of those achieve their objectives.
Donor recognition and stewardship were cited as contributing factors, as well as employment of best practices, including major gifts and engaging trustees and CEOs in fundraising efforts.
The “Nonprofit Fundraising Study” is available at np¬research.org.
The feasibility study is a frequently employed, and often valuable step for many not-for-profit organizations, especially when preparing for a capital campaign. Most experienced development professionals have been through them. So do we really need a definition?
What
Yes.
Remember that the feasibility study is only a tool. Counting the projected financial target as money in the bank is a fool’s errand. That number should not become the organization’s goal, unless and until the board formally adopts, accepts, and owns it.
A thorough feasibility study will do far more than plot a financial objective. Your findings should include potential leaders and donors, mission and message feedback, internal and external obstacles and opportunities, and an organizational plan and timeline.
The study presents a unique opportunity to truly evaluate the organization and its development program; not with a punitive eye, but rather with a collective desire to succeed.
When
There are obvious times when a feasibility study is an appropriate, if not necessary step. An organization preparing for its first major campaign would be well-advised to begin here.
More mature organizations contemplating a significantly larger goal than previous efforts will benefit from recalibrating capacity. The community’s, as well as their own.
When the board is disengaged, conflicted, or overly confident; when administration’s expectations or resource allocation is misinformed; or when project, timing, message, or need are uncertain may be other times when a study can bring value.
Don’t conduct the study too early or too late. While you will need time to prepare the organization – recruit and train volunteers, develop your case for support, and conduct the campaign’s critical silent phase – you don’t want to measure interest, pique curiosity, gage response and inclination, or count lead gift indications to a project that is speculative or years away.
Why
The study should asses the community’s awareness, interest, and reception to the organization and the project. Is there a culture of philanthropy, donor fatigue, lack of clarity, or any other issues to be considered?
You must use the study to identify additional leadership, willing and able to give and ask; as well as top donors, their potential, and their inclination. In fact, reaching and determining goal depends upon these two elements.
Obviously, a feasibility study’s primary deliverable is the projection of a challenging yet achievable financial goal. This forecast should aggregate gift indications from likely lead givers.
A good study will not speculate on your behalf, or tell you what you think you want to hear. You cannot afford to act on anything other than the truth.
How
Confidential interviews, well-prepared and conducted by a third party, will gather better information and results. Removing the threat of solicitation, and assuring confidentiality, encourages a more open conversation with constituents. Board members will be far more likely to share their concerns, and prospects more likely to voice their opinions, helping to deliver a valid planning tool.
Talk to enough of the right people. Push beyond your comfort zone and the usual suspects. Don’t expect to expand your donor base without casting a wider net. A study with input from only the board, staff, and administration has little value, and can do no more than guess at goal. Similarly, a study which is not based on personal input from prospective lead givers cannot accurately or reliably project their degree of support.
The campaign you are contemplating holds the potential to elevate your development program, and significantly advance the mission of your organization. Prepare well.
T. Christian Rollins, MBA, CFRE
Executive Vice President
Join the Pride Development Institute’s online training series on Friday, April 19, as we explore the feasibility study. Details and registration are available here.
Conducting a successful employee giving effort is typically one of the early steps in a major campaign. And while the dollars can be significant (don’t underestimate the cumulative impact of many small gifts over time), the real reward may be a bit harder to count.
The ability to demonstrate the endorsement of those who know our institution the best strengthens our case, and helps set the pace. If needed, we can leverage the visible support of our workforce with other critical internal constituencies, including our medical staff, board members, and volunteers. Vendors, local business, and the broader community are often impressed as our CEO proudly boasts of our employee participation rate.
But while you’re filling in the last few inches of that tote board thermometer, don’t miss the real opportunity hidden in all of those payroll deduction forms: A successful employee giving program can also help equip an army of effective advocates.
Try this litmus test: Gather an informal focus group of the first five employees you pass in the hall. See how many know the institution’s tax status, and what that means. Ask them to answer this question: “The care was great. How can I help?”
Take advantage of an employee campaign to inform and educate. Help the staff see the big picture, understand the importance of philanthropy, and appreciate their uniquely powerful advocacy role.
Chances are that you would be hard pressed to find three degrees of separation from a prospective donor and at least one member of your staff. Those employees do far more than treat patients, interact with families, and interface with vendors. They go to church, buy groceries, congregate on soccer sidelines, and belong to civic organizations. Someone is going to ask them about that construction project for which you are raising money. Wouldn’t it be great if they knew the answer? Wouldn’t it be better still if they knew you were raising money for it, had supported it themselves, and felt proud enough to talk about it?
A successful employee giving effort can do far more than raise money. It could be a cornerstone in the construction of a culture of philanthropy.
Don’t miss the Pride Development Institute’s May 17 online training session: “Charity Begins At Home – Successful Hospital Employee Giving Programs.” Details and registration are available here.
T. Christian Rollins, MBA, CFRE
Executive Vice President
Under sequestration, Medicare payments to providers will be cut by 2% on March 1.
According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the cuts will impact provider payments for services under Medicare Hospital Insurance (Part A), Medicare Medical Insurance (Part B), Medicare Advantage Plans (Part C), and Medicare Prescription Plans (Part D).
Approximately 90% of Medicare spending is limited to 2% in cuts, and 8% is exempt from sequestration. The remaining 2% of Medicare spending is subject to a 7.6% reduction.
The White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) projects that Medicare providers will see $11.085 billion in reimbursement cuts in 2013. The CBO estimates that Medicare budgetary reductions will total $123 billion from 2013 to 2021.
The American Medical Association, along with over 100 other provider lobbying organizations, wrote a September letter to Congress, saying, “The combination of the sequestration cut and looming Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) payment cut would not only impede improvements to our health care system, it could lead to serious access to care issues for Medicare patients as well as employment reductions in medical practices.”
The third in a three-part series by Larry Warkoczeski
Tools for Story Crafters
One very effective tool to use in crafting a story is provided by Chip and Dan Heath in their book, Made to Stick. Based on extensive research, they have found that ideas or concepts stick where they fit six principles (SUCCESs).
1. Simplicity – strip an idea down to its core.
2. Unexpectedness – surprise people with a point that is counterintuitive
3. Concreteness – explain ideas in terms of human actions or sensory information
4. Credibility – make people believe the idea
5. Emotions – get people to care about the idea
6. Stories – tell stories that will bring people to take action
Stories and storytelling take a life of learning and application. But, when used appropriately, stories can be a very effective way to reach donors. We invite you to use materials and experiences to further develop your skills. Some of the suggested materials and experiences are listed below:
- Blogs
Katya’s Non-Profit Marketing Blog
Seth Godin Blog
Free Range Thinking Blog
Neuromarketing Blog
Pride Philanthropy Blog
- Experiences
The International Storytelling Festival, October 2012, Jonesborough, Tennessee
Hope International Virtual Experience, Lancaster, PA
Kaiser Institute Program in Philanthropy
Pride Philanthropy Webinars and Seminars
- Books
Lisa Cron, Wired for Story: The Writer’s Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence, Ten Speed Press, New York City, 2012.
Seth Godin, Tribes, Penguin Group, New York City, 2008.
Seth Godin, Meatball Sundae, Penguin Group, New York City, 2008.
Chip Heath and Dan Health, Made to Stick, Random House, New York City, 2008.
Jonah Lehrer, How We Decide, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, New York City, 2009.
Doug Lipman, Improving Your Storytelling: Beyond the Basics for All Who Tell Stories in Work or Play, August House, 1999.
Robert McKee, Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting, HarperCollins 1997.
Diane Rooks, Spinning Gold Out of Straw: How Stories Heal, Salt Run Press, 2001.
Bruce Rybarczyk and Albert Bellg, Listening to Life Stories: A New Approach to Stress Intervention in Health Care, Springer Publishing Company, 1997.
Lori Silverman, Wake Me Up When the Data is Over: How Organizations Use Storytelling to Drive Results, John Wiley & Sons, San Francisco, 2006.
Larry Warkoczeski is a member of Pride Philanthropy’s Council of Advisors; Vice President for Development of St. Elizabeth Healthcare, serving Northern Kentucky and greater Cincinnati; and guest presenter for our February 15 online training session on story telling.
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