Transitioning from one organization to another, especially when the leap is across industries (like the shift from higher education to health care philanthropy) requires gift officers and other foundation staff to learn and understand the nuances of their new organization’s unique culture of philanthropy.

Each organization is different, but there are three key elements to help fundraisers understand what their organization’s key stakeholders want and expect from philanthropy: donor types and interests, ally relationships, and a foundation of operations that enables these interactions.

Which donors give and why they give varies from one organization to the next

In Part 1 of this series, we discussed how the single biggest difference between fundraising in higher education and health care is the donor. Health care donors have all sorts of backgrounds. They can represent grateful patients, community members, entrepreneurs and impact investors, grateful families, or businesses and foundations who see the value in strategic partnership.

On top of that, each organization has unique funding opportunities, priorities, and impact stories that appeal to donors in different ways. One of the first things that fundraisers new to a health care organization should work to discern is what priorities donors have supported at their organization in the past and where their current interests lie.

Health care philanthropy relies heavily on internal allies

Health care donors are diverse and so are their interests. Facilitating a more individualized experience for donors requires health care fundraisers to build strong partnerships with physicians and other clinical staff.

Amy Karr, Assistant Vice President of Health System Development at the University of Virginia says that "for those considering a move from higher education to health care, I make it explicit to them that partnerships with clinical staff are vital to success." Physicians can serve as critical partners in fundraising—assisting in prospect identification, cultivation, case making, and more. However, these relationships often take careful effort to develop to ensure that clinicians are educated and equipped to participate as fundraising partners.

Fortunately, physicians in general appear to have a positive perception of philanthropy. In a recent survey of 228 physicians, the Philanthropy Leadership Council found that 87% of those surveyed have either a positive or very positive view of philanthropy.

Physician Perception of Philanthropy's Impact¹

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beingaware of philanthropy's program existence}

To capitalize on the positive perception of physicians and other clinical allies, follow the steps in the Philanthropy-Physician Partnership Toolkit, our comprehensive resource for identifying and collaborating with physicians. Make sure to focus on partners who work in strategically-aligned areas, or who serve high-potential patients.

Understand key operations at your organization

Maintaining a healthy pipeline of enthusiastic donors and internal partners who make up an organization's culture of philanthropy is a task that falls directly to foundation leaders and fundraisers. Christian Gold Stagg, Director of Development at Asante Health, said that in her experience, "The impact of philanthropy and how it will perpetuate excellence is somewhat assumed in higher education, but in health care it takes more strategic communication to reinforce that message."

Health care fundraisers must represent their organization to donors, and they must also represent donors to their organization. This often means that fundraisers must source priorities from across the health care enterprise, and integrate donor-directed ideas into their work. New health care fundraisers should understand how their hospital currently develops its philanthropy priorities—whether they are based on the hospital or health system’s strategic plan, clinical partners, or donors.

Our report, Curating Donor-Ready Campaign Priorities, describes four key sources of intelligence and insight on developing appealing philanthropic priorities, and mechanisms for gathering and implementing those perspectives when talking with donors.

Prepare for your new role!

We’ve developed 10 Key Questions to Begin to Understand Your Organization’s Culture of Philanthropy. Fundraisers can use this short checklist to quickly gain perspective on their new organization’s broader culture.

This is last in a three-part series on transitioning from higher education to health care philanthropy. Visit Part 1: Understanding Health Care Donors and Part 2: Understanding the Business of Health Care in to get the full transition guide.