Research
Updated -
December 16, 2015
As providers look to philanthropy for support in establishing care transformation programs and infrastructure, development leaders are finding it challenging to heed the call.
This study outlines four sequential steps to help programs bridge the gap between new institutional strategy and the donor market. Drawing from case examples, these best practices will help you catalyze major philanthropic investments in your 2020 strategic plan.
Hospitals and health systems are on a new strategic course—one that no longer revolves around the acute care enterprise, service line strategy, and volume growth. Rather, the strategic plan of 2020 emphasizes population health management, primary care, patient consumerism, and greater asset integration to enable more cost-effective service delivery.
These new priorities often require investment in programs and infrastructure that are not yet financially viable under current reimbursement formulas. As a result, CEOs are asking philanthropy to help accelerate their path toward care transformation.
Read more about strategic planning as we transition from acute to integrated care.
Chief development officers want to align closely with the strategic direction of their hospitals and health systems, but the gap between today's institutional strategy and a case for support is considerably wider and more riddled with barriers than for more longstanding and familiar priorities.
This study provides a roadmap for overcoming these major barriers and unlocking new opportunities in the donor market.
To make inroads in the donor market, development must build a compelling case around the institution’s goals and vision. Converting institutional strategy into a meaningful narrative for donors requires a layered approach, and it relies on leveraging significant contributions from internal allies.
New strategies are often operationalized across service lines, disease areas, and care sites, making them difficult to isolate and track. Best-in-class institutions are dedicating staff and re-imagining campaign models in an effort to bundle new priorities together in a way that raises donors' sights to the opportunity for transformational giving.
Even with a better packaging strategy, donors may still be reticent to support new and largely unfamiliar priorities. To build donor interest, development leaders must take a more intentional approach to creating demand in their market. They should build their engagement strategy for new priorities around levers that are known to catalyze investment.
To sustainably fundraise for the strategic plan across time, fundraisers must report impact to both donors and internal stakeholders. For donor reporting, this requires that development leaders orient themselves to their institution's new metrics and personnel. For executive-facing reporting, foundations and development shops must begin demonstrating philanthropy's measurable contributions to top strategic pillars.