Healthcare Philanthropy | Fall 2023

Journal of the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy | www.AHP.org | Fall 2023

HEALTHCARE

philanthropy A Physician’s-Only Giving Circle: Why Their Gifts Aren’t the Best Part

Also in this Issue 10 To Campaign or not to Campaign (Chief Philanthropy Officer’s Version) 25 The Resilient Fundraiser: Fighting Burnout and Regaining Control of Your Life 30 Nurses Lead the Way: Maximize Fundraising and Inspire Volunteers for a Key Hospital Program

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FALL 2023 | VOL. 51 NO. 2

CONTENTS 5 6 8 10

Letter from the Chair

By Arthur J. (Art) Ochoa, JD

CEO Corner

By Alice Ayres, MBA

Letter from the Journal Chair

By Bob Nolan, FAHP, CFRE

To Campaign or not to Campaign (Chief Philanthropy Officer’s Version)

By Heather Wiley Starankovic, CFRE, CAP

This article explores 10 things a chief philanthropy officer can ask themselves as they consider starting comprehensive campaigning and the suggested next steps for consideration.

17

A Physician’s-Only Giving Circle: Why Their Gifts Aren’t the Best Part

By Jessica Benko

In 2019, Beacon Health Foundation developed a Physician Philanthropy Council, which offers doctors a unique, hands-on approach to gift-giving. While financially successful, this initiative has also strengthened relationships between gift officers and clinicians.

25

The Resilient Fundraiser: Fighting Burnout and Regaining Control of Your Life

By Alisa M. Smallwood, CFRE and Jacynta Brewton

With many professionals struggling with stress and burnout in the office, it’s essential to have the tools to cope. This article explores techniques to help.

30

/ FORWARD THINKING Nurses Lead the Way: Maximize Fundraising and Inspire Volunteers for a Key Hospital Program

By Nicki Hines, MA and Carol Huttner, BSN, MA

Abbott Northwestern Hospital’s Nursing Excellence Initiative not only surpassed its fundraising goal but also made significant programmatic advancements in nursing education and research. This article will unpack the steps that led to their success.

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 3

President and Chief Executive Officer: Alice Ayres, MBA

39

Vibrant Vulnerability: Engaging NonFundraising Clinical Executives/Leaders

By Randall Hallett

Based on the new book “Vibrant Vulnerability: Mastering Philanthropy for Today and Tomorrow’s Healthcare.” Discover how to cultivate relationships with chief executives and the C-Suite to strengthen philanthropy at your organization.

49

Strategic Branding Can Supercharge Your Next Campaign

By Lori Woehrle

Strategic branding and messaging are essential when you’re putting together a campaign.

This article outlines key branding milestones to incorporate while campaign planning, including research and messaging, campaign identity, the case for support, communication plans, and more.

54

Inside the Minds of Donors

By Brenda Solomon, EdD, CFRE

With the Assessing The Learning Strategies of AdultS (ATLAS) instrument, fundraisers can personalize their approach to donors and create a donor-centered experience, ultimately strengthening donor relationships and increasing the likelihood of successful fundraising. Learn how to implement the ATLAS tool at your shop.

61

Money Mindset

By Jenny Mitchell, CFRE, CEC, DMA

The article highlights the significance of understanding one’s “Money Mindset,” which is the set of beliefs and attitudes about money that can be a significant obstacle for fundraisers. By shifting their outlook on money, fundraisers can gain more confidence and better serve donors.

2023 AHP Journal Advisory Council Chair: Robert Nolan, FAHP, CFRE Members: Murray Ancell, MS, CFRE Mendal Bouknight Michelle J. Collins Sarah Fawcett-Lee, CFRE Jolene Francis, FAHP, CFRE Matthew Lang, CFRE Ben Mohler, MA, CFRE, ACFRE Andrea Page, FAHP, CFRE Elizabeth Rottman, CFRE AHP Board of Directors: Chair: Arthur J. (Art) Ochoa, JD Vice Chair: Tammy Morison, CFRE Secretary/Treasurer: Shawn A. Fincher Immediate Past Chair: Randy A. Varju, MBA, FAHP, CFRE Directors: Julie E. Cox, FAHP, CFRE Jeanne Jachim, MBA Crystal Hinson Miller Preston Walton Published by: Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, 2550 South Clark Street, Suite 810, Arlington, VA 22202 Managing Editor: Olivia Hairfield Business Manager: Michelle Gilbert About Us: The Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP) is the healthcare development professionals’ definitive source of thought leadership, connections to facilitate innovation, and tools to advance knowledge and elevate philanthropy. As the world’s largest association for healthcare fundraising professionals, AHP represents 7,000 members who raise more than $11 billion each year for community health services. Our mission is to inspire, educate, and serve those transforming healthcare through philanthropy.

The Journal’s Mission: Healthcare Philanthropy will be an authoritative resource for healthcare development professionals by providing a timely, informative, and insightful collection of literature that will raise the standard of individual and organizational performance. Serving as the premier forum for healthcare philanthropy literature, the Healthcare Philanthropy journal will educate, empower, and inspire development professionals and, thereby, help strengthen the case for philanthropic support and the mission of AHP.

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 4

Letter from the Chair

I

t was a joy to see so many of you at the International Conference in Orlando, FL this past September. I watched strangers become colleagues, joined many great conversations, and celebrated the 2023-2024 awardees. The conference was also an exceptional event for learning and professional development. The educational sessions, presenters, and roundtables fostered new innovations, exchanges of best practices, and the power of peer-to-peer learning.

The fall 2023 edition of Healthcare Philanthropy expands on the culture of learning you enjoyed at the conference. With more articles than ever before, you can expect to find content for every experience level on topics ranging from clinician partnerships, campaign planning, C-suite relationships, employee burnout, and more. We’re grateful for the 10 authors who gave their time and shared their expertise to make this journal possible.

Arthur J. (Art) Ochoa, JD AHP Chair of the Board of Directors Senior Vice President, Advancement and Chief Advancement Officer Cedars-Sinai

Looking ahead to 2024, you can expect many opportunities for professional growth and fellowship. This March, we encourage all midand senior-level healthcare philanthropy professionals to join us in Denver for the Campaign Excellence Summit. You will learn from peers with demonstrated success and gain the tools to elevate your fundraising campaigns to new heights. If you prefer to stay closer to home, browse our On-Demand Learning Hub for digital resources on the topics that matter most to you, or review the Report on Giving to see how you compare.

Thank you for your continued support of AHP and the journal.

Best,

Art

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 5

CEO Corner

I

n today’s media landscape, hospitals and healthcare institutions face heightened scrutiny. I was reminded of this, the frustrating onesidedness of it, and the potential damage it can inflict on our work, in the on-going New York Times series “Profits over Patients.” There’s an old journalism adage, “if it bleeds, it leads,” and this series and others like it seem determined to show as much carnage as possible instead of the countless times hospitals provide the bandages and the cures.

This negative press can erode public trust in hospitals, creating skepticism about the quality of care, patient safety, and overall Alice Ayres, MBA organizational integrity. High-profile stories highlighting medical President and errors, billing controversies, or misconduct can shape public opinion, Chief Executive Officer making individuals hesitant to seek treatment. These stories also of AHP diminish confidence in the hospital’s ability to use funds effectively and ethically, causing potential donors to divert their support to other organizations or choose not to contribute at all.

Because negative narratives tend to overshadow the positive work hospitals do, it is essential for healthcare foundations to proactively manage their reputation. Here are a few of AHP’s recommendations to showcase the countless benefits our organizations are providing to donors and the community to mitigate the damage of negative press.

Create Key Messages: Write out messages and proof points that can be woven into any conversation about the role nonprofit hospital systems play in making life-changing healthcare possible. Our Key Messages and Proof Points Toolkit, which outlines the benefits provided by hospitals and healthcare philanthropy, is a great starting point.

Communicate Transparently: Openly addressing concerns, sharing accurate information, and acknowledging mistakes can help rebuild trust. Promptly responding to media inquiries and sharing positive stories that highlight the hospital’s impact can counterbalance negative narratives.

Engage with the Community: Actively engaging with the community through partnerships with local organizations fosters a positive image and reinforces the hospital’s dedication to community well-being.

Highlight Success Stories: Sharing success stories, innovative treatments, and positive patient outcomes through various media channels can showcase the hospital’s accomplishments and counter negative narratives.

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 6

Invest in Donor Cultivation: It’s our bread and butter for a reason. Establishing strong relationships with donors based on transparency, stewardship, and effective communication is one of the most effective ways to instill confidence in the hospital’s ability to leverage donations for maximum impact.

By transparently addressing concerns, prioritizing patient experience, engaging with the community, and sharing success stories, hospitals can mitigate the damage caused by negative press. Through these efforts, we can build a resilient foundation of public support, ensuring the ability to deliver high-quality care, advance medical research, and make a positive impact on the communities we serve.

In gratitude for all you do,

Alice

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 7

Letter from the Journal Chair

W

e’re so pleased to bring you this issue of Healthcare Philanthropy, the Journal of the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy. The response to our call for submissions for this issue was outstanding, and the articles appearing here reflect the decades of accumulated experience of our authors working on behalf of our profession.

We hope that you will be able to absorb and reflect on the content provided here and use it to improve your own professional practice. Do your experiences differ substantially from the authors represented? We’d love to hear about that. How have you taken what you may have learned from these pages, or at the International Conference or in a webinar, and used it to improve your results?

Or maybe you implemented a plan that didn’t work out as well.

Help your colleagues learn from that experience through your own submission to the Journal or by presenting at one of the many AHP conferences.

Bob Nolan, FAHP, CFRE Chair–AHP Journal Advisory Council Executive Director of Development Indiana University School of Public Health

Finally, the AHP Journal Advisory Council is made up of your colleagues from across the profession.

Would you be interested in helping us in our work to produce an outstanding professional journal?

We are always seeking diverse perspectives to work on behalf of the profession. If you are interested in learning more, please reach out for a discussion.

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 8

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To Campaign or not to Campaign

(Chief Philanthropy Officer’s Version)

By Heather Wiley Starankovic, CFRE, CAP

“T

o campaign or not to campaign?” is often a question left to the chief philanthropy officer alone. If the organization is doing well and feels they may not need the money from the community, they may not initiate a campaign.

The community often doesn’t demand that hospitals campaign and often thinks they don’t need the dollars because they charge for services. Volunteers are often happy to sit back and feel pride in their past efforts but do not understand the power, potential, and energy if they would pivot into a new campaign.

Executive leaders often feel like the campaign check mark is done after a completed campaign and may feel pressure to “wait their turn” from other nonprofits in the community. On the

other hand, if the funds are needed quickly for a project, executive leadership may ignore the needed runway to align the community to the campaign and advocate you immediately start campaigning for the next initiative. The weight of the decision lies with the chief philanthropy officer to decide, strategize, and share with their healthcare executives and philanthropy boards or lead volunteers. Data and reports are priceless and will help make 50% of the case for campaigning; however, also factor in the art and knowledge of your experience as the other 50% needed to decide.

Relying on your experience and honoring the art of our work, here are 10 things a chief

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 10

philanthropy officer can ask themselves as they consider starting with a campaign study or comprehensive campaigning and the suggested next steps for consideration. #1 Know Your Why As Simon Sinek shared, all organizations start with WHY, but only the great ones keep their WHY clear year after year. Make sure you keep your WHY clear. Why are you considering a campaign?

Some of the less compelling reasons are: • We just finished one.

• It’s our turn.

• The money is there to get.

• Why not?

• We don’t know how to connect with our donors outside of a campaign.

A compelling reason for why is that these dollars will support the strategic priorities of our organization, advance the health of our community, and inspire donor partners and volunteers to join us and give their time, talent, and treasure with joy.

Next Steps: Consider strategic conversations with your board, executive leadership, and team to ensure your WHY is clear and will support a campaign. Don’t shy away from the “why” conversation; these stakeholders and partners feedback will help you craft a more compelling “why” to then in turn inspire your community. #2 Know How to Articulate a Comprehensive Campaign as Opposed to a Capital Campaign Many healthcare organizations keep their foundations sidelined by asking them to focus only on specific capital initiatives. This strategy is short sighted because donors have their own philanthropic priorities that may not align with your very next project. When you expand and

consider comprehensive campaigning, it allows for the healthcare organization to get the funds they need and provides flexibility for donors to be part of the campaign even if their desired gift isn’t designated to the most urgent priority.

A comprehensive campaign, where you count all gifts, or a wave campaign that campaigns for many different initiatives, allows you to sustain giving and include and engage many more donors. Your community engagement moves beyond that of only the donors interested in the most pressing, current funding priority. Many times, a comprehensive campaign is the best invitation to provide donors with the flexibility to accomplish their philanthropic goals.

Next Steps: If your organization frequents the capital campaign space, spend time gathering examples of successful comprehensive campaigns. Talk to your trusted donors about their giving. Show executives examples of the flexibility that a comprehensive wave campaign can offer. After you conduct a study, make the case for all future campaigns to be comprehensive, so that you can achieve the capital goals and grow philanthropy within your community by being donor centered and offering flexibility. # 3 Know Your Team Coach John Wooden shared, “The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team.”

As a chief philanthropy officer, some individuals may view you as the star of the team. It is your responsibility to make sure you have the right people in the right roles on your team, so you will all shine brightly. It is unreasonable to expect all the ducks to be lined up in philanthropy staffing before the start of a campaign. However, do you have a plan to take care of each program and constituent group? For example, do you have a person assigned to make sure engagement happens specifically and personalized in each constituent group, which is the minimum level of engagement. Do you have a plan for how to build from the minimum layer of engagement?

Is your data clean and easily accessible when AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 11

actively adding and auditing the data? Do the gift officers have confidence in qualifying prospects and know the philanthropic true norths of all donors qualified in their portfolios?

Next Steps: Review your current staffing and ROI and CPDR with a run rate over five years. Consider how you can grow in staffing to keep within an acceptable ratio. Focus on the operations team as the backbone of your philanthropy team and then grow gift officers only as portfolios grow. A frequent mistake happens when high philanthropy goals are expected of new gift officers without the proper operations in place or a true path to grow their portfolios. The “have at it” strategy rarely works. # 4 Know Your Allies Broadcaster Earl Nightingale shared, “Getting along well with others is still the world’s most needed skill. With it, there is no limit to what a person can do. We need people, we need the cooperation of others. There is very little we can do alone.”

It doesn’t matter how large and experienced your staff is; you can’t campaign alone any longer. Beyond the philanthropy team, organizational leadership, and donors, campaigns need allies to help complete the campaign strategies. These allies can speak directly to their role in the health system, answer the detailed content questions, and inspire the community with their high level of experience and knowledge. Most allies are physicians, clinicians, and nurses who have a significant high trust factor from the greater community.

If they are inspired to speak on your behalf, the community will in turn be inspired and trust what they say. This is the foundational element of grateful engagement programs, and, at the minimum, you should have an ally for each initiative you are considering within your next campaign.

them to participate either in referrals, attending visits, joining or leading affinity councils, and/or reviewing materials. It is important to note that however they chose to participate, you should ensure that you treat them in the same manner that you treat donors or prospects. Show them your gratitude and recognition for their gift of time. Avoid expecting their participation because the dollars support their programs; appreciate their gifts. # 5 Know Your Community Philanthropy does not drive healthcare strategy.

It does, however, support the strategic vision of the organization in ways often missed.

Philanthropy does not have to be an add-on or an extra to the way we support our communities.

Hospitals evaluate the community to determine the impact they can make. Philanthropy works to raise dollars from the community to accomplish that goal. When you realize philanthropy’s role is to connect the donor’s top philanthropic priorities to the organization’s top strategic priorities, your role as chief becomes easier, more joyful, and significantly more valued by healthcare executives. Margaret Wheatley writes, “There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.”

Next Steps: Consider outreaching to the main clinical leaders in the areas of your case. Invite AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 12

Next Steps: Many chief philanthropy officers look at what is on the capital list approved for the system, and then ask people they know what is missing from that list and how philanthropy can help. If you don’t have the big idea initiative that is easily understood, I encourage you to look at the capital list and talk to your chief financial officer and plan to supplement that list and their costs with philanthropic dollars. This will allow your organization’s executives flexibility in both dollars and budget without adding the responsibility to manage add-on, incremental projects. An important reminder though is to evaluate the projects; they must align with the community’s needs, donors’ interests, and what is critical for your organization. There are strategic exercises that can help you determine this within an afternoon. Accordant practices the Strategically Aligned Project Selections (SAPS) exercise. # 6 Know Your Case for Support What do your close partners in the community say about the case? Have you created an environment to give them honest feedback? Ask them early in the process. Does your campaign case feature projects and items that the community thinks your hospital should purchase anyway? Things like hospital beds, wheelchairs, and other equipment? Does your case include programs beyond capital? Have you captured what happens within the buildings when trying to raise dollars for capital? These are all things that you need to know before drafting a case for support. Drucker shared, “The most important thing in communication is to hear what is not said.” What are your allies and community partners not telling you that you can address and make your philanthropic case stronger.

Next Steps: As you develop your case for support, look beyond involving just your executive team to involve other critical, key allies like clinicians, key volunteers, and potential donors to further develop the case. Consider keeping your case in draft form for as long as possible so that you can gather feedback and

support often and can adjust the case as you move forward. # 7 Know How to Advocate for an Impactful Goal Choose an impactful goal: a goal that is aspirational in what it will do for your community, realistic for your program, and has the “wow” effect for donors. When deciding to embark on a campaign, it is not uncommon to hear objections from philanthropic members of the community who fear the competition from the many other nonprofits in the community that are also campaigning. They don’t want to compete against another organization for fear of not doing well or appearing too ambitious. This adds an additional responsibility to anchor institutions like hospitals, who care for the community members and organizations in more ways than only having an emergency room. Regardless of what other nonprofits in your community are campaigning, the hospital is an anchor institution in any community that is likely being utilized by many. This presents a unique opportunity to appeal to a large portion of the community, but also may not appeal to donors that want to support the smaller organizations or mistakenly think you don’t need their philanthropy. Your campaign goal and the projects you pick will have a resounding impact in your community for years to come. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance to take this seriously and plan your campaign to have maximum impact for your community and show how current healthcare campaigns are not about just your organization and a shiny new building. Comprehensive wave campaigns involve community health and health equity and will uplift entire communities, states, or in some cases regions. Jackie Robinson shares, “Leadership is not about a title or a designation.

It’s about impact, influence, and inspiration.

Impact involves getting results.”

Next Steps: It is important to first identify where partnership and support can be built with partner organizations. Today, donors and foundations

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 13

especially positively support organizations that unite for a greater good. Secondly, ensure that your goal is significant and meaningful. You are not going to receive a million-dollar gift without a million-dollar idea. We know our hospital boards and executives have those moon-shot goals that go beyond building a new building or purchasing expensive equipment. Remind yourself of what will happen in that new building.

What will the equipment allow you to do for the community? Ensure that your case stays focused on the community and goes well beyond building market share for your organization. # 8 Know How You Will Stay Engaged and Thank Individuals Hands down this is the silent killer of campaigns.

Organizations jump from one big potential donor and gift to the next and forget to engage those original donors from the beginning throughout the campaign. There is no limit to creative ways to say thank you and show the impact of their early support. One of the most successful ways that I have seen this succeed is continuing to praise and engage those early donors by letting them know their early support allowed all the following gifts to happen. Each new gift that

is given to the campaign allows a stewardship opportunity for the early supporters. Think of this as the ripple stewardship effect. Michelle Obama shares, “We learned about gratitude and humility—that so many people had a hand in our success.” We already established you can’t do it alone, make sure to thank those and plan to keep thanking those individuals along the way in creative and meaningful ways.

Next Steps: Ensure your gift officers have a plan for staying in meaningful contact with your donors and prospects beyond their individual outreach plan for program outreach and involve the appropriate senior health system leadership or other volunteer and allies for outreach to express gratitude if appropriate.

Do you have a scheduled engagement plan with your initial donors that involves the right allies and resources? Do you have ways to measure success beyond the number of meetings or items mailed. Beyond visits and communications, consider open rates of your newsletters or communications, if they make a second gift, or referrals of other prospects as results to measure for success for how your team continues to engage donors.

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 14

#9 Know How to be Flexible Plan for the unexpected. When you are working in healthcare you learn how quickly programs and communities can be negatively impacted due to budget cuts, external forces, or even tragedy. To ensure maximum preparedness for potential changes, it is important that you allow yourself flexibility in your planning. Whether it is planning time carved out each week to address the biggest issues, potential issues, or even strategize for the future, or 30 minutes reserved after each meeting to recap, evaluate, and complete the task, know that you will have to pivot or possibly significantly change your current strategies to meet and exceed your goals for your team and your community.

Plans, even yearly plans, are not meant to be put on the shelf like your grandmother’s china.

They are meant to be executed, monitored, and updated to make sure they work for your organization and team. For example, you are instructed to name a new heart hospital; your entire team is focused on heart and vascular, and you receive a generous naming opportunity.

After the first payment is made, you learn there will be no heart hospital, then your organization merges with another. How do you deal with that enormous issue? It is an unexpected forest fire. When in that position, hopefully the time mapping you have done earlier has your other programs solidified, with no fires burning. This way they can stand alone for a period of time and your entire team can focus on the most urgent priority, which is your unexpected forest fire of the recognition and strategy changes due to a merger or joint venture.

Next Steps: If you don’t already block or schedule flexible time on you and your team members’ calendars, start now with at least one meeting to discuss potential issues. If you spend your week chasing the most recent fire, your team morale will suffer as they will be stuck in the loop of the many external negative things always happening to them and how they must spend precious time fixing a crisis. When you plan for the unexpected, you may not know

what the fire is; however, you will know that you have time to address it and the structure of this flexible or follow-up time allows the thoughtful development of the best strategy. As you take time to consider events as they unfold, it allows for a thoughtful adaptive strategy. As Dolly Parton shared, “We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.” #10 Know How to Say “No” Leaders sometimes forget they are not being asked to do it all. Your executive leaders trust you to develop your strategy. You may identify as a people pleaser that wants to say yes to build confidence and impress your chief executive officer, board chair, or whomever. Often folks mistake innovation with saying yes to everything and a can-do attitude. They tend to hire similar team members and before you know it, you have an entire team of members doing more and more until it is unsustainable, or you pay the high cost of turnover. As one of the biggest innovators of our time, Steve Jobs shared, “Focusing is about saying no.”

Next Steps: Before any campaign, new initiative, or plan is started, pause. Identify what you want to accomplish. Before you move on, identify what tasks or initiatives do not provide value that you can stop, pause, or do in reduced capacity. Only after those assessments are made can you thoughtfully move forward and innovate in your program. As your team becomes more comfortable evaluating projects or ideas this way, they will do it internally and then truly bring you innovative strategies with action plans. Board members, team members, chief executive officers all have different responsibilities when considering supporting their organization in campaign.

As the chief philanthropy officer, you will be the fearless driver connecting the community to your organization’s strategic priorities with impactful gifts that will transform your philanthropy program. It is true the best way to support your organization is to move AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 15

beyond, “do we campaign or don’t we,” and to always be campaigning. Your community will always have needs. To practice wave campaigning, you are best positioned when you; understand your organization’s why, learn how to articulate a comprehensive campaign strategy, have a grasp of your team, allies, and community, work to build a strong case for support and advocate to make the goal impactful, practice flexibility, and create strong donor engagement with focused strategies.

Heather Starankovic, CFRE, CAP Throughout her more than 20-year philanthropy career, Heather has advanced the missions of large academic health systems, regional health systems, and community hospitals through her empowered coaching style leadership, strategic execution, and a focus on relationshipbased giving. She specializes in strategic planning, comprehensive campaign planning and execution, as well as major and transformational gift services and strategies. Heather also brings expertise in systemization of healthcare philanthropy, pipeline development, donor relations, wave campaigning, and building philanthropy programs.

Prior to joining Accordant, Heather led a substantial fund development campaign at one of the nation’s largest integrated healthcare systems, Geisinger Health System.

Previous experience also includes collaborative campaign management at the University of Pennsylvania Health System where she served 19 clinical departments raising well over the projected goal. Heather has also trained, mentored, and led philanthropy organizations through multiple mergers and reorganizations.

Heather has achieved certification as a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE). She is also certified through the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® (CAP) program from the American College with additional management and fundraising certificates from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She shares her knowledge through online webinars and thought leadership.

Heather holds a master’s degree in public culture with a focus on nonprofit management from the University of Pennsylvania. She also earned dual bachelor’s degrees in Anthropology and Art History from Kent State University.

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 16

A Physician’s-Only Giving Circle: Why Their Gifts Aren’t the Best Part

By Jessica Benko

40+ physicians. $460,000 committed.

50 grants funded.

Beacon Health Foundation’s Physician Philanthropy Council (PPC) offers Beacon Health System doctors a unique, hands-on approach to gift-giving and grant-making.

It has proven to be a highly effective engagement tool between Foundation staff and system physicians, with many ongoing benefits. This model may work well for other organizations too, so we’re thrilled to share our lessons learned, successes, and ideas for future growth.

I

n 2019, Beacon Health Foundation launched the system’s first-ever, physician’s-only giving program. Our initial optimism was fueled by early buy-in from a few critical physicians and an eagerness to try something new from a major gifts perspective. We set goals, deployed tactics, and continued internal conversations.

Though we weren’t totally sure what outcomes to expect, we soon felt our measured excitement transforming into joyful gratitude.

Fast forward to today: physician engagement with our Foundation—fostered by participation in the physician-only giving circle—has flourished. That’s not just from a dollars-raised standpoint. Membership growth has been, and

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 17

continues to be, both organic and referral based.

The impact remains measurable, tangible, and meaningful.

But what’s even more exciting? Relationships between gift officers and clinicians are strengthening. And providers are becoming more aware of philanthropy’s role within the system. Our Foundation is a trusted partner across multiple specialties and service lines; opening doors for grateful patient referrals, legacy gift conversations, and alignment on fundraising initiatives. Undoubtedly, this program has become a catalyst to successfully partnering with physicians.

Why Physicians Only?

Beacon has a successful employee giving program, with approximately 40% of eligible staff choosing to participate. Though some doctors give through this program, our prospects have traditionally been non-physicians. Thus, we identified an opportunity. Beacon was growing, and we needed a way to more effectively engage with the 1,100+ physicians in development capacities.

Early feedback from internal stakeholders, particularly physician leaders, was encouraging.

They too saw an opportunity to give back in a meaningful way. The twist? They wanted “more say” in directing their gifts. Though all donors can designate their dollars to the areas of their choosing, the message was clear. Physicians would be more open and willing to give back financially and at a major gift level if they could have an active role in allocating dollars.

The Power of a Giving Circle (With a Twist) Most shops do not have the capacity to give every $10,000 donor—physician or not—the ability to play grant maker. We are no different.

As a small team, our resources are limited. That’s why a giving circle felt like the perfect fit.

According to an article in Philanthropy Together, “A giving circle brings a group of people with

shared values together to collectively discuss and decide where to make a pooled gift… Individuals multiply their impact and knowledge, have fun, and connect with their local community.”1 It’s likely we are not the only team using a collective giving approach to fundraising. In fact, CCS Fundraising’s Snapshot of Today’s Philanthropic Landscape 2022, A Guide to Philanthropy in the US report stated that “Collective giving groups in the US have tripled in the last decade…With over $2 billion flowing annually from collaboratives working on a range of societal issues, the prospects for future growth from these groups are high.”2 So, what’s our twist? We considered what could happen if we combined the inherent power of a successful giving circle with individuals already connected to our organization. We knew these individuals would be highly motivated and passionate, with both ability and capacity to influence change. As a result, the Physician Philanthropy Council (PPC or the Council) came to fruition.

How it Works At its core, the PPC is an annual giving program for physicians within a giving circle structure. The commitment is $10,000 over five years. Most Council participants are generally employed physicians, while a few are employed by closely aligned independent groups.

Because physicians’ time is valuable and limited, requirements for participation are minimal.

In Q1 each year, we host a Voting Meeting for Council participants. Meetings are 75 minutes, facilitated by Foundation staff and held at the hospital. Each meeting includes the following:

• “Elevator speech” presentations.

Departments asking for grant support provide a three- to five-minute overview of their problem or need. Council participants then have a chance to ask follow-up questions.

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 18

• Grant-making discussions. Following the

presentations, Council participants consider the available grant opportunities and allocate dollars.

• Other business. Conversations generally focus on membership referrals and/or potential future grant opportunities.

In Q3, we hosted a Stewardship and Update Dinner. This event provides:

• Fellowship opportunities outside of work for all participants and their guests

• Face time with hospital and system leadership • Real-time updates from at least two grant

recipients, who share metrics and stories about how Physician Philanthropy Council (PPC) dollars are making an impact

• A chance for Council participants to invite a colleague to learn more about the PPC

Grants and Very Local Giving In our experience, giving is almost always done locally. The Physician Philanthropy Council (PPC) is no exception. PPC-awarded grants exclusively support Beacon Health System programs, services, patients, and community-focused efforts.

Most often, grants target:

• Vulnerable and at-risk patient and family populations

• Associate training opportunities • Start-up costs for new and/or pilot programs • Small equipment and capital needs When a Beacon department seeks grant support, it comes with additional responsibilities.

Those asking for support must complete a short application defining the problem, proposed

solution, and anticipated outcomes. In addition, they present their project to the Council. If the grant is funded, recipients must measure specific metrics throughout the year. Outcomes and stories are shared through a year-end report to Council participants.

As is probably expected, there are always more needs than dollars available. Interestingly, during our last two Voting Meetings, individual Council participants have committed additional dollars (and encouraged their colleagues to do the

What are Physicians Saying About the PPC? “The challenges of healthcare are not going to slow down; they will only continue to increase. What’s been shown is that healthcare can’t be tackled alone, it has to be a true partnership with the community. With the challenges increasing, there is going to be a greater opportunity and a greater need for more physicians to have a say in what happens not only within the hospital, but outside the hospital; through a different avenue: philanthropy.”

—Samir Patel, MD, CCD, DABR, FACR “If I had to describe the Physician Philanthropy Council in one word, it would be ‘catalyst’…a catalyst in that we’re not coming up with ideas ourselves. We’re taking ideas that come from employees and community members, and we’re helping to turn them into reality. We’re not sustaining them forever, but we’re giving them the boost they need to become selfsustaining.”

—Luke White, DO

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 19

same) to help bridge as many gaps as possible.

Their above-and-beyond commitments have translated into an additional $20,000 in PPC gifts.

Why Our Physicians’ Gifts Aren’t the Best Part: Long-Term Benefits Our first goal on this journey was simply to grow participation. After all, higher membership correlates to greater impact. We’ve since realized there are other, longer-term benefits of having a physician’s-only giving circle.

Physician Well-Being. Today’s healthcare environment is turbulent, to say the least.

Burdens on physicians are extraordinary and plentiful. Philanthropy alone cannot solve the greater systemic issues that lead to burnout and dissatisfaction. It can, however, give physicians a sense of fulfillment beyond that of their daily work. The giving circle structure helps:

• Foster fellowship and comradery amongst like-minded colleagues

• Strengthen connections between disciplines and departments

• Provide an autonomous approach to problem solving

It can also help enhance empathy for patients, families, and hospital colleagues, as Council participants gain a deeper understanding of the struggles faced by others. Collectively, these features can help counterbalance the mental and emotional toll of physicians’ work, potentially reducing burnout and improving well-being.

For us, two specific metrics speak to the high level of fulfillment that physicians experience through participation. The first is the number of physician referrals. Since the PPC’s inception, we’ve received more than 45 unique membership referrals by Council participants, 19 of which have turned into new members.3 This demonstrates participants’ trust in the Foundation’s oversight abilities, as well as their

belief that the Council is making a positive difference.

The second metric relates to attendance at events. On average, more than 80% of Council participants attend the annual Voting Meeting (including those who send their votes ahead of time), and more than 70% attend the annual dinner. This has been (very pleasantly) surprising to us, given how varied on-call and clinic schedules can be.

HELPFUL HINT Online polling platforms have proven to be exceptionally helpful in obtaining physicians’ input when choosing dates and times.

Greater Collaboration between Physicians and Staff The Physician Philanthropy Council (PPC) cannot function without projects and programs to support, and staff to administer them.

Conversely, these same projects and programs would likely not happen without support from the PPC. This symbiotic relationship has led to greater collaboration between physicians and staff. New problems and needs (i.e., opportunities!) are being identified—specifically by front line staff.

Together, they’ve developed and supported effective approaches to addressing said opportunities. As a result, the increased team effort has enhanced patient support and staff morale.

When appropriate, the Foundation and grant recipients acknowledge the PPC’s collective generosity. After all, stewardship remains critically important within a collective approach to giving.

Regardless of whether grant recipients are patients, families, staff, or community members, feedback is always the same. Everyone has an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 20

physicians who are going above-and-beyond to care for others. This gratitude and compassion for Council participants reinforces positive internal relationships, perceptions, and working environments.

Trust is Key to Advancing Relationships This isn’t a new concept. Trust is a critical component of building and maintaining strong relationships. This may be even truer now, since Indiana University reported this year that “Americans trust nonprofits more than government or business, but levels of trust in all three sectors are low.”4 Building relationships with physicians is no different. The PPC has been an extraordinary catalyst for identifying and engaging with a new and growing group of doctors. It’s the trust we’ve earned through building and overseeing the Council, however, that has been integral in deepening our relationships.

From partnering in our grateful patient program and helping identify needs (which sometimes is half the battle!) to making legacy gifts and participating in cultivation activities, physicians can engage with our Foundation in many ways.

Because Council participants better understand the mutually beneficial nature of healthcare philanthropy, they have become more involved with our team.

PCC MEMBERSHIP GROWTH BY YEAR 50

MEMBERSHIP Total dollars committed to date

$460,000

Total # of PPC commitments to date*

44

# of PPC members who were first time donors

23

# of physicians who, prior to joining the PPC, had made a $10,000+ commitment

2

# of unique physician-to-physician referrals

47

# of referrals that have turned into memberships

19

# of physicians who have given “above and beyond” during voting meetings

3

Total above-and-beyond dollars given during Voting Meetings

$20,000

# of physicians who have made legacy gifts, since their PPC membership

2

Total legacy dollars given

$35,000

GRANTS # of grants funded

50

IMPACT # of grants supporting patients and families

18

# of grants supporting staff

7

# of grants supporting the community

6

# of grants supporting equipment/ capital

2

This is the total number of physicians who have made commitments, and made at least one gift to the PPC. To date, six Council participants have terminated their commitments early because they’ve either left the system or had a family hardship

40 30 20 10 0

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 21

Lessons Learned and Future Opportunities How Many PPCs are Best?

As a regional system, Beacon has 146 care sites—including eight acute care hospitals— across seven counties and two states. When the PPC launched, however, Beacon had only two acute care hospitals in neighboring counties.

We intentionally formed two separate councils, one at each hospital (these are also our largest hospitals). The Councils operate independently from one another.

Depending on the size and location of your hospital/system, consider the following when deciding whether a single council or multiple councils will be best:

• Physician prospect pool • Cultural differences and giving attitudes within different hospitals, outpatient clinics, and communities

• Buy-in from executive and physician leadership

• Quantity of grant opportunities Because the Councils align with two hospitals, the majority of participants are inpatient specialists. With that said, we’ve seen an increase in primary care physicians committing in the last two years. In all cases, these physicians participate on the Council that aligns with the hospital where the majority of their patients receive care.

Navigating Change and Challenges Whether it’s unexpected organizational changes, internal politics, or a global pandemic, the following considerations are based on our lessons learned. To navigate most barriers: Identify champions. For us, it all started with

Examples of PPCSupported Grants Lodging Program for Trauma & ICU Patient Families Beacon’s largest hospital is also our region’s only level 2 trauma center.

Meaning, patients and their families don’t always live close by. Overseen by the trauma case manager, this program gives qualifying families up to five night’s stay in a local hotel at no cost to them.

Keeping families together, during some of the earliest and toughest days of their loved one’s hospital stay.

Reducing Infant Mortality via the BABE Store BABE is a unique store that offers incentives to expectant mothers and parents to encourage responsibility and improve self-esteem. As a comprehensive incentive program, it gives parents the ability to earn coupons for keeping prenatal and well-baby appointments, attending parenting classes, and more.

Grant dollars purchase items that the BABE stores need including clothes, formula, diapers, wipes, car seats, etc.

In-Home Attendant Care: Pilot Program A joint grant supported by both Councils, this first-of-its-kind program at Beacon aims to implement an innovative approach to care-coordination and inhome services for some of the system’s most vulnerable and high-risk patients.

The Councils’ grants fund a partnership with a local home health agency, who provides qualifying patients with dependent care services immediately upon their discharge.

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 22

buy-in from four physicians; two at each hospital. Find your champions and keep them involved!

• Be adaptable. If something’s not working well or needs to change, fix it and move on.

• Be informed. Have a general

understanding of when contract negotiations are happening, which departments and groups are in a “good place,” and when physician-facing presentations are appropriate. Finding the right time and place for recruitment is critical.

Leading timely change, built on timeless truths.

Times have changed; yesterday’s onesize-fits-all campaign communications are fading in impact. As a healthcare fundraiser, you need a strategic communications partner to foster modern capabilities for your team.

• Focus on impact. Emphasize the tangible

impact of the grants and the minimal time requirements for physicians. Demonstrating impact gets easier after the first year!

• Utilize physician-to-physician referrals.

This will almost always be the easiest and most efficient way to recruit new people!

Ask Council participants to open doors to colleagues. Some may even be willing to ask their colleagues themselves.

• Generating grant ideas. Providing projects

and programs for funding consideration has, at times, been challenging. Though Council participants are encouraged to submit grant ideas, most do not. Ensure relationships with internal stakeholders are strong, as they are critical to helping identify and oversee grant opportunities. This is an extremely important component of future success.

Conclusion Excitingly, the Physician Philanthropy Council (PPC) will celebrate its 5th anniversary next year.

Reboot your campaign communications.

Download your free checklist HERE.

In many ways, it feels like we’ve finally reached a tipping point with participation—our group of physicians is large enough, and highly respected, so recruitment has become easier. We’re confident that our earliest adopters will renew their commitments and continue to be strong champions of the Foundation. What a privilege it has been to work with this amazing and evergrowing group!

Perhaps now more than ever, as our industry faces some of its most challenging issues yet, we remain steadfastly committed to supporting our physicians. Like fundraisers, physicians are helpers driven by a desire to make a difference for others. For us, a physician’s-only giving circle is the ideal platform to foster those sentiments.

Physicians are empowered to solve problems and make an even bigger impact. Yes, the Foundation raises more money. But more importantly, we benefit from strong relationships with clinicians. As for the patients, families, associates, and community members who are positively impacted by the grants? They’re the real reason behind what we do each day.

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 23

Endnotes 1

What is a Giving Circle? Philanthropy Together. https://philanthropytogether.org/what-is-a-giving-circle/.

2

CCS Fundraising. Snapshot of Today’s Philanthropic Landscape 2022, A Guide to Philanthropy in the US (2022).

3

There are certain physicians—some who have become members, and some who have not—who have been referred by multiple Council participants over the years. These numbers reflect unique referrals only, rather than the cumulative number of referrals.

4

Giving USA Foundation. Giving USA: The Annual Report on Philanthropy For the Year of 2022 (2022).

Jessica Benko serves as a Senior Major Gift Officer for Beacon Health System, northern Indiana and southwest lower Michigan’s largest, locally owned healthcare provider. She helped implement the Physician Philanthropy Council and manages all aspects of recruitment and operations. Jessica also helps lead grateful patient engagement strategies for the Foundation, while supporting select departments and service lines in their unique fundraising efforts.

With nearly 15 years of healthcare experience, in both community hospital and academic medical center settings, Jessica has successfully served in annual giving, employee giving, and marketing and communication capacities. She is passionate about helping patients and families act on their gratitude, while supporting the life-changing work of clinical colleagues. Inspired by her family, faith, and belief that everyone deserves access to expert care close to home, Jessica works tirelessly to connect donor interests with patient and provider needs.

Jessica earned her bachelor’s degree from Albion College and is currently applying to take the CFRE exam. She’s an avid reader and writer, and loves traveling, golfing, and volunteering for local nonprofits.

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 24

The Resilient Fundraiser: Fighting Burnout and Regaining Control of Your Life

By Alisa M. Smallwood, CFRE and Jacynta Brewton

*ding*

Y

ou hear the email notification before you look down at your phone. Oh no. It’s from her. Your breathing increases. Your blood pressure rises. You feel a ringing in your ears. It doesn’t matter what the subject is. Just seeing her name makes you nauseous. You’ve had it.

You’re over it. You just can’t take it anymore.

Sound familiar? It sounds like burnout.

FROM STAGE TO PAGE: This article is adapted from a session presented at the 2022 AHP International Conference

Over the past several years, the role of the fundraising professional has been elevated in both stature and responsibility. In addition to providing leadership and strategic direction for philanthropic activities, development officers are expected to work with hospital leadership, be

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 25

“Despite popular culture coverage of the issue, burnout can’t be fixed with better self-care.”

—Dr. Christina Maslach knowledgeable about hospital operations, liaise with the community, and create partnerships with internal colleagues. And even those who are not in executive leadership positions are required to lead up, down, and across their organizations.

In a 2021 survey of 1,500 US workers, more than half said they were feeling burned out as a result of their job demands.1 The pandemic and its aftershocks have only exacerbated the existing burnout epidemic—so much so that the Surgeon General took the extraordinary step of issuing an advisory on addressing health worker burnout in 2022.2 As the public health needs in our country grow, so do the annual financial goals necessary to help meet these needs. As employee engagement scores continue to decline, creating an internal culture of gratitude becomes especially challenging. Our philanthropy teams are called on to do more with less and for higher stakes. The result can be debilitating burnout that leads to physical and mental symptoms.

What is the difference between run-of-the-mill fatigue and workplace burnout? The World Health Organization defines burnout as a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions:

• Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion • Increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and

• Reduced professional efficacy.

In short, burnout impacts your energy, emotions, and efficacy. It can manifest itself with physical and emotional concerns that may not be recognized as symptoms of burnout. These may include headaches, muscle aches, indigestion anxiety, nausea, and shortness of breath. What’s most important here is not to blame yourself for burnout. As Dr. Vivek Murthy, US Surgeon General, stated in an article in the New England Journal of Medicine, “Burnout manifests in individuals, but it’s fundamentally rooted in systems.3” Dr. Christina Maslach, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, has said, “Despite popular culture coverage of the issue, burnout can’t be fixed with better self-care.” In fact, the notion of self-care unfairly places blame and responsibility on the burnout victim. There are, however, strategies that we offer that might help you cope with what you’re feeling.

Three Practical Coping Techniques One of the keys to your resilience is realizing what things you can affect vs. things outside of your control. While you can’t often change your stressors, there are some techniques you can try to help cope and manage your reaction to them.

1. The Grounding Technique This technique is sometimes called The 5-4-3-21 Method. As you feel your burnout symptoms increasing, pause and refocus your brain.

This grounding exercise brings you into the present, reducing your focus on things that went wrong in the past and keeping you from catastrophizing about what could go wrong in the future.

In full awareness of your present surroundings, begin to engage your five senses by answering the following questions aloud (if you can): What are five things you can see right now?

What are four things you can touch right now?

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 26

What are three things you can hear right now?

What are two things you can smell right now?

What is one thing you can taste right now?

In addition to engaging all five of your senses, The 5-4-3-2-1 Method also helps to calm your central nervous system. Focusing on things around you helps you remain present. And as you go through this exercise, remember the fact that you are in control of it. The idea is to remember to control what you can control.

2. The Mirror and Matching Technique By now, many of us have taken tests that help us examine our strengths and personality types (examples include Strengths Finder, Birkman, DISC, and Enneagram). While no person is confined to one box, the general categories outlined in each might be helpful in thinking about our stress reactions. The Mirror and Matching Technique is an exercise that demonstrates rapport-building between people who have dramatically different approaches to stress.

To begin, create a scenario. Here’s an example: Your boss has just come into your office waving an annual report you produced with a serious typo in it. His stress behavior is to yell and scream. Your stress behavior is to retreat into yourself. You need to meet him halfway. While we don’t recommend screaming back at your boss, you can rehearse “matching” your boss by quickly acknowledging the seriousness of the situation, and “mirroring” by verbalizing steps you can put in place to improve the process. Grab a friend who can roleplay your boss and test different responses until you are comfortable.

What you are managing here is your reaction to a stressful encounter. When these situations happen in real-time, you can be better prepared to control your physical and emotional response.

3. The Energy Boost Technique (Hype Song Karaoke) Every athletic event needs a great hype song.

You’re no different. Need to speak about philanthropy in front of a room of burned-out clinicians? Time for you to make your first sixfigure request to a potential donor? Scheduled to have a difficult conversation with an employee? Take a walk with your smartphone and play your favorite hype song. Braver souls can sing along. Focus on the rhythm and music and allow your brain to wander for a few minutes. D.J. Khalid’s “All I Do is Win” is one of our favorites. Now go get your own hype song!

“‘Quitters never win and winners never quit.’ Bad advice. Winners quit all the time. They just quit the right stuff at the right time.”

—Seth Godin, from “The Dip”

When It’s Time to Go The strategies presented for combating burnout and strengthening resilience are designed to help you cope—not continue working in a toxic situation. If you determine your work conflicts with your well-being, start preparing to leave, if at all possible. Maintain connections with colleagues, mentors, and advisors outside of your organization with whom you are comfortable being transparent and vulnerable. Honestly sharing your experiences will help them guide you toward your next successful career opportunity.

So, here’s to your ongoing strength and resilience. Your talents are critical to better health in our communities.

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 27

Endnotes 1

Employee Burnout Report: COVID-19’s Impact and 3 Strategies to Curb It (indeed.com).

2

Addressing Health Worker Burnout: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on Building a Thriving Health Workforce (2022).

3

Vivek Murthy, MD., MBA, “Confronting Health Worker Burnout and Well-Being,” NEJM.org. (July 13, 2022).”

Alisa M. Smallwood, CFRE believes strongly in the power of philanthropy to transform lives.

As a widely recognized nonprofit leader and fundraising expert with 30 years’ experience, she has raised over $150M to support organizations in the areas of healthcare, higher education, arts/culture, and social services. She currently serves as chief development officer for Holy Cross Health. In this role, she leads the development, implementation, and management of all fundraising-related gift initiatives with a focus on major, transformational, and planned gifts.

Prior to Holy Cross, she served as vice president for development at the Grady Health Foundation, where she provided leadership for their recently completed $90M capital campaign. Alisa also served as principal of Smallwood Consulting, serving nonprofit clients throughout the US. Alisa has held the Certified Fund Raising Executive designation since 1999 and was named a Master Trainer by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) in 2011.

A well-known speaker, Alisa has conducted highly rated workshops and presentations for the Association of Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP), the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), and many others.

A trailblazing fundraising professional and burnout coach, Jacynta Brewton continuously transforms the organizations in which she serves. For over 15 years, Jacynta has closed major gifts, spearheaded first-ever historical initiatives, led a program to #1 ranking, and worked successfully in billion-dollar campaigns. She has the rare ability to be a catalyst for change both internally and externally. Jacynta is often tapped to lead new change initiatives because of her ability to deliver tangible and intangible results. She is the creator of the “Brewton Burnout Indicator,” a visual aid that helps fellow professionals gauge their current stress levels in order to create practical stress management plans. Jacynta has been an AHP presenter and has also served as vice chair of National Philanthropy Day (Greater Atlanta). She has been a speaker, coach, and faculty mentor with the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), and was selected as the national president of University of Florida ABA. Jacynta is a Lean Six Sigma green belt for performance improvement and has earned advanced degrees in sociology and organizational leadership.

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 28

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AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 29

/ FORWARD THINKING

Nurses Lead the Way: Maximize Fundraising and Inspire Volunteers for a Key Hospital Program

By Nicki Hines, MA and Carol Huttner, BSN, MA

A

bbott Northwestern Hospital, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is part of the Allina Health system. It serves patients throughout Minnesota and western Wisconsin. At Abbott Northwestern (ANW), 2,510 providers care for medically complex patients, performing complex procedures, among them heart transplants, brain surgery, and bone marrow transplants.

Ranked nationally, this award-winning hospital draws patients from throughout a five-state region. Additionally, it serves the surrounding economically and racially diverse neighborhoods of south Minneapolis. This community is still

recovering from the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, which occurred eight blocks from the hospital. Annually, ANW serves 200,000 patients with a nursing workforce of 2,200.

Forward Thinking article sponsored by

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 30

ANW has earned and maintained its Magnet® status since 2009. Nursing’s highest honor, Magnet® is awarded by the American Nurses Credentialing Center and is reached by fewer than 7% of hospitals worldwide. The work to achieve and retain Magnet® indicates the importance of nursing and nursing excellence at ANW. In 2016, the Abbott Northwestern Hospital Foundation1 launched the Nursing Excellence Initiative. The goal of this $7.5 million five-year fundraising campaign was to raise funds to educate, recruit, and retain the best nurses possible. Funds were raised for education and professional development, nurse-led research, and simulation training. The Initiative exceeded its fundraising goal and achieved its primary programmatic outcomes.

This article will discuss three areas of the Nursing Excellence Initiative that led to our success. We will unpack the following: volunteer recruitment and deployment, communication tactics, and fundraising strategies. Effective use of these elements (which often intertwine) is key to a successful fundraising campaign for any purpose, whether nursing, another care area, or a traditional bricks and mortar, capital focus.

nursing profession. Reapplication is every four years, and organizational resources are committed to support the rigorous application process. Another unique asset which provided support to the Initiative was the existence of legacy schools of nursing associated with the hospital, the last of which closed in 1978. Finally, consensus building and active participation from operational leaders for the Initiative was critical. The Foundation worked closely with the chief nursing officer and nursing staff to develop the budget and case for support. The hospital president was another key, engaged stakeholder who was one of the first donors to the Initiative.

While Magnet® and the legacy nursing schools provided additional leverage for the Initiative, all hospitals have the primary ingredients needed to conduct a similar campaign: nurses, retired nurses, nursing leaders, and grateful patients and family members. The depth of these elements at your institution will impact the size and scope of a similar campaign.

Volunteer Recruitment and Deployment Volunteers are an extension of the staff in fundraising and your mission’s best advocates, so how do you organize and inspire them to have the greatest impact?

The Nursing Excellence Initiative began preCOVID-19 and ended during the pandemic. As fundraising professionals, we know that COVID-19 impacted our work. This article will also discuss the implications of COVID-19 on the Nursing Excellence Initiative and future campaigns.

Volunteers are the life blood of any nonprofit.

Regardless of a nonprofit’s size, maturity, mission, or scope, volunteers amplify the work of staff in all aspects. In healthcare philanthropy, volunteers play the role of advocate, connector, and donor.

Supporting Elements Before we dive into the three areas of the campaign, we will highlight several factors which supported our efforts. The first is ANW’s Magnet® status. This award is not only a testament to the high quality of nursing at ANW, but it also indicates the value that hospital leadership places on nurses and the

For the Nursing Excellence Initiative, a key group of engaged volunteers was the Foundation board of directors. Indeed, for any fundraising campaign, one must first engage those volunteer leaders most closely connected to the organization. If managed effectively, these volunteers will play all three roles, advocate, connector, and donor.

1 In 2022, the 12 separate foundations associated with Allina Health, including Abbott Northwestern Hospital Foundation, merged to become the Allina Health Foundation.

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 31

Carol Huttner, RN, BSN, MA, former patient care vice president at ANW, joined the Foundation board in 2009 and brought the voice of nursing to that high-capacity and influential group of people. “All they talked about was bricks and mortar,” Huttner remembers thinking. “But I would ask, ‘what does the patient remember?’

They remember the care that was provided by the nurse and the care team.” After joining the board, Huttner first met with the Foundation board chair. She told him about the impending nursing shortage due to the retirement rate and the Institute of Medicine recommendation to increase the number of baccalaureateprepared nurses to meet the increasing complexity of care. From there, Huttner met with each member of the development committee of the board to share a similar message.

As a result of Huttner’s advocacy, the strength of the case, personal stories, and one-to-one conversations, the board members championed the Initiative. The board approved a resolution to “authorize a multi-year Nursing Excellence fundraising initiative,” they approved the designation of the Foundation’s 2016 annual gala funds to the Initiative, and they gave personally. Board members who had their own meaningful experiences with nursing care readily shared their stories, inspiring their peers and others. One board member created a matching opportunity for his peers. Foundation staff kept board members engaged and inspired with updates and “mission moments” at the quarterly board meetings. The Foundation board was a key group of volunteers to engage; however, the scope of a Foundation board is broader than one Initiative.

Box 1: Abbott Northwestern Hospital Foundation: Nursing Excellence Fundraising Task Force 2017 Vision Exceptional patient care through excellence in nursing.

Membership and Duration The Nursing Excellence Fundraising Task Force will consist of 10-12 members representing the ANW Foundation board (two members maximum), nursing and hospital leadership (three members maximum), and community leadership. The Task Force will be chaired by a current member of the Foundation board and staffed by a member of the Foundation. It will report through the Development and Stewardship Committee of the Board.

The Task Force will meet through 2017. Possible extension of the Task Force with interested members through 2018.

Charge 1. Assist with raising $2M in 2017 for the Nursing Excellence Initiative.

2. Make a thoughtful and meaningful gift to the Nursing Excellence Initiative.

3. Inform and guide the fundraising, marketing, and recognition plan.

Member responsibilities 1. Identify, cultivate, and solicit donors with support from foundation and hospital leaders.

2. Participate in cultivation and thank you efforts, including August 15 nurse reunion.

3. Participate in meetings approximately every two months to report on progress, identify potential donors, and share feedback on solicitations.

4. Be available for phone/email communications as needed between meetings.

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 32

Another important component was recruiting and deploying a group of volunteers focused specifically on the Initiative. The Nursing Excellence Fundraising Task Force was formed in the second year of the Initiative. Led by Foundation staff member Nicki Hines, the Task Force focused solely on raising awareness and funds for the Initiative. Members were current and former nurses, Foundation board members, and community leaders. Several elements made this Task Force successful:

• Specific and time limited: While the Initiative

lasted five years, the requested commitment of Task Force members was two years. In 2019, Task Force members stayed involved and were tapped for specific activities and needs (speaking at an event, strategizing on donor engagement, for example) outside of a formal committee.

• Introductory meetings: Members brought

different resources to the group: personal nursing experience, network of a unique type of prospective donor, estate planning expertise, personal capacity, and community influence; and each had a unique motive for participating.

In the recruitment process, Hines talked with each member to understand what they were most passionate about and what resources they could bring to the group. This allowed staff to deploy each member to the best of their ability.

• Charge and charter: At the outset, the

expectations of the Task Force and members were communicated through a charge and charter. (Box 1)

Throughout the two years of its existence, the Task Force met regularly to discuss fundraising strategies and updates, events, and nursing news from the hospital. Guests joined the meetings periodically, including marketing partners and nurses who benefitted from funds.

Meetings, regular email communication, and personal calls shared ongoing progress and updates, keeping members fully engaged and celebrating successes.

Each member of the Task Force contributed uniquely to the initiative. Each brought a unique perspective and provided ways for all levels of donors and volunteers to engage. They spread the word and advocated, the results of which were realized at the time and as often happens in fundraising, continue into the future.

Communication Tactics Keeping all constituents informed is critical in any fundraising campaign, so what tools can help accomplish that objective?

With communication, knowing your audience is critical. The most well-crafted message will ring hollow if it’s sent to an unsympathetic audience.

The Nursing Excellence Initiative had three key audiences: the general donor community, grateful patients/donors, and retired and alumni nurses. We communicated with these audiences using web, print, video, and event platforms.

While certain messages were targeted to a particular constituency, their utility crossed multiple audiences.

Webpage At the highest level of communication, and as much about raising awareness as funds, we created a webpage for the Nursing Excellence Initiative. On this platform the Initiative was positioned as one of several fundraising priorities for the hospital. The webpage highlighted the fundraising and programmatic goals, and importantly, the case for support.

Print Our printed tools included the two-page case for support and an infographic. The case for support (link) was an evergreen document that lived on the website. It was part of a set of case statements that highlighted Advancing Excellence initiatives across the hospital. The case provided a high-level “why” and “what” describing how dollars would advance the goals of the Initiative. The infographic (link) offered similar information in a visual format.

This document was updated several times as AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 33

the five-year initiative progressed. A third print resource was a fundraising opportunity menu.

This described specific items to which donors could direct their support. Examples included nursing scholarships, manikins for simulation training, and research support.

Foundation staff and volunteers used web and print materials to build awareness and support gift conversations across all three audiences. We became more targeted in our communications with the retired and alumni nurses. In contrast with the general donor and grateful patient groups, alumni and retired nurses had a deeper connection to nursing and a personal love for the nursing profession. After the last graduating nursing school class of 1978, the hospital’s nursing department played a loose and informal role in supporting class events at the request of the graduates. In more recent years, the Foundation took on a more active role in engaging this group of prospective donors. To communicate with this important constituency, we used video and event platforms.

Events The Foundation led an annual gathering for retired and alumni nurses with support from the nursing department. Approximately 40 people attended the first reunion, with up to 135 in subsequent years. This provided a valuable opportunity to share updates on the state of nursing at the hospital and in the profession, innovations, and the Initiative. Nurse donors told their giving experience with their peers.

We highlighted the impact of philanthropy throughout the event.

Videos We created two videos that profiled the impact of a scholarship donor’s gift on their recipient’s professional development. These videos were shared at the reunion, in donor visits, with volunteers, on the Nursing Excellence website, on Facebook, and other venues as appropriate.

Click here to view the 3:30 minute video.

In addition to partnering with the nursing department to best communicate with and steward this group, Foundation staff also worked with human resources to regularly secure the names of retired nurses. Nursing leaders reviewed the list before staff imported the names into our database.

Fundraising Strategy and Tactics How do you use best practices in moves management to secure annual, major, and planned gifts?

Volunteers and communications are deployed to raise funds. With a five-year goal of $7.5 million, the Foundation used best practices in moves management to secure cash, pledges, and planned gifts of all sizes.

Identification and discovery The moves management cycle begins with identifying prospective donors. Volunteers played a key role in this stage as Task Force and Foundation board members identified prospective donors in their network. Nurse leaders at the hospital also passed along leads to staff members. The Foundation’s research team identified prospects from our Raiser’s Edge donor database, focusing on people coded as retired or alumna nurses. Additionally, anyone who had donated for a nursing-related purpose was pulled onto a list. Foundation staff reviewed these lists and assigned the high-capacity donors to gift officers who would invite discovery conversations. Finally, in conversations with all prospects, Foundation staff shared the case for the Nursing Excellence Initiative. The reaction from prospects reinforced Huttner’s adage that patients remember the care they received and were grateful for their nurses, thus the Initiative proved a popular purpose.

Cultivation Once staff and volunteers confirmed the interest of prospective donors, we began the cultivation process. We used our communication tools and best practices to deepen our relationship with the donor.

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 34

At the heart of cultivation is a conversation with donors–sharing stories about the need and impact of philanthropy. Gift officers created individual strategies for prospective donors, following a pattern of personalized and regular communication that included updates on nursing innovations, research presentations, staff accomplishments, invitations to events, and other news of interest. We hosted tours and demonstrations of the Vanderboom Simulation Center, one of the Initiative’s priorities. Staff wrote an end-of-year update to all prospects and donors of the Nursing Excellence Initiative, reporting outcomes and impact. The annual nurse reunion included research presentations by bedside nurses, an update from the Chief Nursing Officer, presentations on nurse education topics, and donor testimonials. These events and topics cultivated both the attendees and the presenters. For example, Huttner’s sharing of why she gives annually to reward exemplary nurses is not only an inspiration to the attendees, but also reinforces for her the importance of giving.

Solicitation Foundation staff solicited prospective donors based on what they learned through the cultivation process. The timing, amount and type of gift, specific purpose, and method of solicitation varied, and the result was gifts of all sizes and types. Staff invited donors to support specific items using the philanthropic opportunities menu and the case statement as guides, resulting in annual, major, and principal level gifts. We invited donors, in particular retired and alumna nurses, to include nursing excellence in their estate plans, resulting in major and principal level gifts. The Foundation’s 2016 gala was chaired by a physician and nursing advocate, and benefited nursing excellence, with individuals, corporations and physician practices giving advanced annual and major gift level sponsorships. The end-of year update served as a soft ask and a cultivation tool; direct mail appeals to the broad donor base highlighted nursing excellence; and a follow-up letter to

nurse reunion attendees recapped the event and asked for support. These solicitations resulted in annual and advanced annual gifts.

Stewardship Stewardship serves as both the end of the donor giving cycle and the beginning of the next. In stewardship, we thank the donor and demonstrate the impact of their gift, thereby setting the stage for the next ask. It’s also an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the gift. A key stewardship move was the ability for donors to create and name a fund. This was especially meaningful for those donors who established nursing awards or scholarships.

In 2016, the Foundation had 10 donor-funded named awards and scholarships and by 2020 there were 17. We celebrate these donors at the nurse recognition and award lunch, led by the nursing department and held each May. At this lunch, 25+ year nurses are recognized for their service and donors meet their scholarship and award recipients.

In addition to the nurse lunch, gift officers planned other customized stewardship moves for their assigned donors, including one-on-one donor and recipient visits, thank you letters and calls from nurses, and handwritten notes. Some cultivation moves, such as updates on nurseled research and tours of nursing spaces, served as a chance to say thank you and demonstrate impact. At the conclusion of the Initiative, the Foundation mailed a 12-page impact report to 3,155 entities who had supported it.

In practice, the moves management cycle is not a perfect circle. It moves forward and backward, jumps ahead, can stay in one stage for many months. But a customized and strategic plan is necessary to move a donor relationship forward.

Volunteers, staff, presentations, news items, handwritten notes, an attentive ear, these and many more tools are at a fundraisers disposal to advance a relationship and ultimately secure support for impact.

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 35

Results Fig. 2: GIFT AMOUNT BY GIFT TYPES,

2016-2020

Goals achieved.

2.8% The Nursing Excellence Initiative exceeded its fundraising goal, raising $7,604,605. A total of CASH 622 donors 24.81%gave 1,878 gifts, ranging from $10 GIFT to $666,666. Of the total donors, PLANNED 82 (13%) were 47.58% retired and graduate nurses whoPLEDGE gave $1,608,395 (21% of 24.80% total raised). Figures one through five STOCK GIFTS share details on the fundraising outcomes.

Just as important as fundraising outcomes were the programmatic ones. We exceeded the goal of increasing the percentage of baccalaureate prepared nurses to the recommended 80%, going from 67% to 83%; the percentage of nurses certified in their specialty increased from 19% to 22%. Nurse research grew, with four manuscripts, on average, written for publication annually and 50 research presentations given annually at local, Fig. 1: TOTAL GIFT AMOUNT, 2016-2020 regional, and national conferences. $2,500,000

$1,000,000 0 $500,000

2016

0

2017

2016

2017

$794,781

2018

2019

2018

$1,483,853 $1,483,853

$1,500,000 $500,000

$794,781

$2,000,000 $1,000,000

$1,360,094 $1,360,094

$2,500,000 $1,500,000

$1,554,772 $1,554,772

$2,000,000

$2,411,104

$2,411,104

Fig. 1: TOTAL GIFT AMOUNT, 2016-2020

2020

2019

$2,500,000

0

24.81% 24.80% 2016 24.80%

47.58% 2017 2018

$1,483,853

47.58%

CASH $794,781

2.8%

$1,554,772

$1,360,094

$500,000

$2,411,104

2.8% Fig. 2: GIFT AMOUNT BY GIFT TYPES, $2,000,000

2016-2020

PLANNED GIFT PLEDGE CASH

$1,000,000

$800,000

$600,000

$400,000

$200,000

0 CASH

2016

2017

STOCK GIFTS

2018

2019

PLEDGE

2020 PLANNED

Fig. 4: GIFT AMOUNT BY GIFT RANGE, 2016-2020 Fig. 5: ANW NURSING SCHOOL ALUMNI AND RETIRED NURSES GIFT GIVING AMOUNT, 6 >$500,000 GIFTS, $3.35M 2016-2020 5 DONORS SCHOOL ALUMNI AND Fig. 5: ANW NURSING RETIRED NURSES GIFT GIVING AMOUNT, $100,000 10 GIFTS, $1.75M to $499,999 2016-2020 10 DONORS 21.15% $25,000 to $99,999 21.15%

<$25,000

ALUMNI AND RETIRED NURSES 30 GIFTS, $3.35M $1.35M 21 DONORS OTHER ALUMNI AND 78.85% RETIRED NURSES 1,832 GIFTS, $1.16M 586 DONORS OTHER

78.85%

2020

Fig. 1: TOTAL GIFT AMOUNT, 2016-2020 Fig. 2: GIFT AMOUNT BY GIFT TYPES, 2016-2020

$1,500,000 24.81% $1,000,000

Fig. 3: GIFT AMOUNTS BY GIFT TYPES EACH YEAR

STOCK GIFTSGIFT PLANNED

Fig. 5: ANW NURSING SCHOOL ALUMNI AND RETIRED NURSES GIFT GIVING AMOUNT, 2016-2020

21.15% 78.85%

ALUMNI AND RETIRED NURSES OTHER

2019 2020 PLEDGE STOCK GIFTS AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 36

In February 2021, the Task Force members and other key stakeholders gathered online to celebrate the conclusion of the Initiative.

We were in the midst of COVID-19, with vaccinations just beginning. As we gathered, we acknowledged that the pandemic and its impact on nurses reinforced the importance of the Initiative and its vision of exceptional patient care through excellence in nursing.

Post-pandemic world Implications of COVID-19 on the Initiative and fundraising The Nursing Excellence Initiative concluded during the pandemic. As COVID-19 upended our regular habits and practices, we adjusted. In 2020, we canceled the nurse reunion and instead sent a letter inviting support for nurses. We also canceled the nurse recognition lunch and gave the donor-funded awards and scholarships with

no event. In 2021, we recorded and emailed a 30-minute virtual reunion that included the experience of bedside nurses, and the awards and scholarships were presented by nurse leaders in a “pop-up” fashion to the recipients on their units.

Broadly, the pandemic raised awareness of the importance of nurses and that continues today.

The workforce challenges facing the healthcare industry confirm the importance of peoplefocused funding priorities versus bricks and mortar. Initiatives that recruit, retain, and educate nurses are needed now more than ever. The pandemic introduced new fundraising tools from virtual events to online meetings with out-ofstate donors. The pandemic forced fundraisers to think creatively about engaging with donors, and as a result, we now have more tools available to garner the important support that all nonprofits, especially healthcare nonprofits, need.

Nicki Hines, MA, Principal Gifts Officer, has more than 20 years of experience in fundraising, campaign management, and program development. In 2015, Nicki began her tenure in healthcare philanthropy, joining the Abbott Northwestern Hospital Foundation (now Allina Health Foundation). In addition to her principal and major level gift work, Nicki has led multiyear, million-dollar campaigns, board committees, and team building initiatives. Nicki was the staff lead for the Nursing Excellence Initiative which exceeded its $7.5 million goal for nursing research, education, training, and professional development. Prior to her time in healthcare, Nicki held corporate and foundation fundraising positions in higher education and social service. She holds a master’s degree in organizational leadership from St. Catherine University and an undergraduate degree in sociology from University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Carol Huttner, RN, BSN, MA, recently retired from the position of president of operations for the North Central Division of SpecialtyCare, the largest provider of outsourced surgical blood management and specialized surgical services in the country. Previously, Carol was Abbott Northwestern Hospital’s patient care vice president, providing leadership to all disciplines engaged directly or indirectly in care of patients and families. She also held other positions at Allina Health, including vice president/sponsor for obstetrics programs in four metro Allina Health hospitals; director of cardiovascular, renal, and critical care; and nursing operations lead.

Carol served on the Board of Directors for the Abbott Northwestern Hospital Foundation from 2009-2018 and was the lead volunteer for the Nursing Excellence Initiative, which exceeded its $7.5 million goal for nursing research, education, training, and professional development. She also served on the Board of Directors for the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation from 2016 to 2023. Carol received her master’s degree in Hospital and Healthcare Administration from Webster University and her baccalaureate degree in nursing from St. Louis University.

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 37

Three vital signs for checking the health of your fundraising plan Donor retention is critical for building a robust fundraising growth plan. Ignoring your leadership annual fund or mid-level donors can lead to missed opportunities and decreased revenue. To keep your donor pipeline healthy, monitor these three vital signs:

1. Keep taking the temperature of your donors; conduct advanced prospect profiling and data modeling.

“Don’t just diagnose your donors one time. Use advanced prospect profiling and data modeling to keep uncovering hidden giving potential,” says Graham-Pelton’s Senior Vice President of Data Analytics Jim Rude, CFRE, bCRE-Pro. “Regularly review your data analytics models to identify donors whose giving potential has increased and develop strategies to move them to major gifts or planned giving prospect pools. Use prospect profiling techniques to identify other donors who exhibit similar giving patterns and may also be inclined to give at higher levels.”

2. Quicken your donor’s pulse through personalized communications.

“Effective communication with leadership annual and mid-level donors should use an increasingly personalized approach,” says Graham-Pelton’s Senior Vice President of Fundraising Communications Brian O’Leary. “Use data analytics to identify a donor’s areas of interest, such as a program or project they’ve supported in the past. In your communications, create a link between giving and the direct impact it has on the causes they care about most.”

3. Keep breathing life into your clinician and healthcare provider engagement.

“Many of your donors were introduced to your organization as grateful patients or family members, and their gratitude doesn’t have to end with their first gift,” says Bridget Murphy, CFRE, Graham-Pelton’s Chief Growth Officer and Healthcare Practice Group Leader. “Graham-Pelton is known for helping fundraisers coach healthcare professionals to find their own voice when talking about philanthropy, and regular coaching allows them to keep development in mind when continuing meaningful relationships with their patients. It’s a prescription for a healthier fundraising pipeline!”

To learn more, visit www.grahampelton.com/healthcare.

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 38

Vibrant Vulnerability: Engaging Non-Fundraising Clinical Executives/Leaders

Synopsis of the new book Vibrant Vulnerability: Mastering Philanthropy for Today and Tomorrow’s Healthcare CEO —written for CEO’s to CEO’s

By Randall Hallett

P

hilanthropy, in healthcare, will only go as far as our chief executive officers (and C-Suite) take it.

While an overly blunt statement, the truth is found within the words stated. The siloing effect of fundraising activities away from the chief executive officer and C-Suite has resulted in lessthan-optimization of the philanthropic results within healthcare. And with hospital financial resources the way they are today, fundraising dollars have never been needed more.

• Healthcare Deserts — Hundreds of hospitals closed in the last decade, both in rural and urban areas.

— Critical clinical services cease (maternity/ birthing, surgeries, EDs, etc.), both in rural and urban areas, making people drive 50+ miles for basic healthcare needs

• Decreasing Reimbursement — Pressure from the government and commercial payers as to what they are willing to pay for healthcare services, regardless of the actual cost AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 39

• Private Equitization of Services — The most “profitable” clinical services are being taken “out” of the hospital and into separate, private standalone facilities/ organizations (e.g., orthopedics)

• Aging Population — The growing pressure to take care of the population most in need of healthcare (and most expensive) as its numbers grow each day

• Increasing Costs — From prescription drugs to employment through workforce shortages to overall inflation, the basic costs to provide healthcare are on the rise While all of this is bad, it is only going to get worse over the next decade. And as if the healthcare philanthropic area didn’t have enough to worry about, it is incumbent to teach our C-Suite leaders what they don’t know….

Comparing the Healthcare Chief Executive Officer to Another Like Leader There are such strong parallels between the history of healthcare and that of the higher education system in the United States.

• Both started exceedingly early in our country’s history

— Harvard in 16361 and Bellevue Hospital in 17362

• Most facilities/organizations were started through philanthropy

— Gifts from John Harvard1 and Elihu Yale3 created stability for their namesakes, while nuns, priests, ministers, and local leaders founded many of the early hospitals through the generosity of the community

• Growth in the mid-1800s happened because of governmental participation

— The Morrill Act in 18624 for land grant colleges dramatically increased the number of higher educational schools, while states dramatically increased spending to care for Civil War wounded5 and the US Army established the Hospital Corps6

• Direct Federal Government influx of financial

support led to explosions to the two nonprofit sectors after World War II — The Hill-Burton Act7 provided billions for hospital growth, while the GI Bill provided direct access to college for millions of veterans8

• Reduction in government support began a

radical change to financing healthcare and higher education in the early part of the 21st Century — The Higher Education Reconciliation Act slashed direct aid but increased student aid programs9 and states began to reduce annual state-allocated dollars to public universities, while the Affordable Care Act began the reduction of reimbursements for healthcare10

But higher education began a leadership pivot, starting in the last decade of the 20th century.

By the mid-2010s, a study done by Robert L. Jackson of Murray State University found that the “CEO” of public universities had shifted responsibilities away from operations and looked outward into the community. Higher education presidents/chancellors were….

• Spending 6.7 of 21 business days per month on fundraising efforts11

• Devoting 3.85 days per month traveling to conduct fundraising activities11

• Meeting with their Chief Development Officers two to three times per week11

• Committing 5.27 days each month to hosting/ attending dinners/receptions with major donors11

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 40

HEALTHCARE, HIGHER EDUCATION AND HOSPITAL FUNDRAISING12 $80 $70 $60 $50 $40 $30 $20 $10 0

19 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 20 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 81 00 HIGHER ED

HEALTHCARE

Higher education leaders shifted to where the money was…philanthropy. And when looking at the numbers overall in the industry, one can see the outcome of this modification. In 1995, healthcare, overall, outraised higher education.

As of recent days, higher education fundraising results overshadow all healthcare and dwarf that of hospitals.

Seeing these results, and looking for even greater opportunities, universities took another step by hiring “CEOs” with no academic experience but with the perfect skill set to leverage possible philanthropic relationships— nearly 40% of chancellors/presidents are now considered “nontraditional” by historical definition.13 They are not professors or deans but come from the political and business world because of their fundraising and communication acumen. Consider this list of just public higher educational institutions (a similar list for private schools is much longer):

• University of Oklahoma–David Boren, former United States Senator14

• University of Nebraska–Walter “Ted” Carter, retired U.S. Navy Admiral15

• University of Iowa–J. Bruce Harreld, corporate executive at IBM and Kraft16

• University of Missouri–Tim Wolfe, former president of Novel Americas17

HOSPITALS

• University of Colorado–Bruce Benson, former oil and banking executive18

• University of Florida system–Ben Sasse, former United States Senator19

• University of Texas–Rex Tillerson, former United State Secretary of State and former Chief Executive Officer of Exxon20

It’s Not Their Fault While University leaders (CEOs) have pivoted their calendars to be ladened with philanthropic related daily activities, healthcare chief executive officers have, for the most part, stayed very traditional to the role found in hospitals 30 or 40 years ago…. high level of concentration on operations and internal matters. But consider when philanthropy enters the career of a university president compared to that of a hospital chief executive officer.

Philanthropy activities and responsibilities formally enter into the learned experience of a university leader sometime around their appointment to being department chair or assistant dean—and potentially even before if that individual has an endowed chair. It’s at those points that the higher education fundraising professionals begin the relationship building process with internal leadership to harness their connections and their expertise. By the time a university leader becomes Dean, a good AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 41

percentage of their time overall is spent on fundraising related activities, including being included in job descriptions and part of the evaluation process and bonus structure.

When thinking about the community hospital chief executive officer of today, their career path

CAREER TRAJECTORY

HIGH EDUCATION

probably started on the floors of the hospital or a back office, grew into leadership in a department, then possibly a director of some sort, then a chief “area” officer in the C-Suite, then they become chief executive officer. And nowhere in their career trajectory do they interface with philanthropy at a high level.

HIGHERED PHILANTHROPY ENGAGEMENT LEVEL

HEALTHCARE

HEALTHCARE PHILANTHROPY ENGAGEMENT LEVEL

Position might be funded with EARLY CAREER

Assistant

philanthropic dollars. Possible

Front Line

Not discussed

Professor

some reporting on work due to

Worker/Nurse

at all

Assistant

Not discussed

Manager

at all

donors Position might be funded with FIRST MAJOR RESPONSIBILITY

philanthropic dollars. Possible Professor

some reporting on work due to donors. Possible outreach to limited alumni

FIRST

Department

LEADERSHIP

Chair

PREPARING FOR HIGHER LEADERSHIP FIRST MAJOR LEADERSHIP

Associate Dean

Dean

Might come up

description. Possibly part of the

Manager

budgeting process Part of the job description and small part of the evaluation.

Part of the budgeting process

Provost

LEADERSHIP

periodically during the year

Assistant Director

Might come up periodically during the year

Major part of the job

Service Line

Possibly asked

description and evaluation.

Leader/

to spend raised

Part of the budgeting process

Director

funds

Part of the evaluation

PREPARING FOR ULTIMATE

Small part of the job formal

process for deans. Part of the

COO/CMO/

budgeting process for colleges

CNO/CFO

and entire university

Slightly discussed and small part of planning Discussed more regularly.

PROFESSIONAL LEADERSHIP HIGH POINT

Chancellor/ President

Possibly not even

A large percentage of the daily job, direct responsibility, and accountability

CEO

mentioned in their job description.

Most likely not part of their evaluation

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 42

Within a few days of ascending into the position of chief executive officer, there is a meeting with the chief development officer to discuss a subject that they have no knowledge, wisdom, or experience with anywhere in their career development.

What’s Needed/What to Teach There are five key areas to help our chief executive officers (and C-Suites) understand and embrace the value of philanthropy… the rationale for their time and interest regarding something that is quite foreign to them.

How can you blame a leader who does not want to assume responsibility for something they have never had to learn about, been asked to do, embrace, and/or succeed at?

ROI What financially comes from philanthropy is worth exponentially more than what might come from the “net revenue” of clinical operations. Consider the following, assuming a 1-3% operating margin for clinical services and a cost-to-raise-a-dollar in philanthropy of $.25.

Embracing Vibrant Vulnerability At the same time, hospital chief executive officers are almost like submarine captains…. supposedly all-powerful. Everyone looks to them for every answer with the anticipation that the chief executive officer has it. Whether it is position power, medical mystique power, or institutional power, ignorance or equivocation may be viewed as a sign of weakness and make them a target for blame. That is a lot for a chief executive officer to bear. And “begging” for money from the community doesn’t add to the list of being “powerful.”

However, the best leaders connect to the aspect of “vulnerability” as a way to learn and grow.

Jack Welch, the former chief executive officer of General Electric, said about leaders, “Keep learning; don’t be arrogant by assuming that you know it all, that you have a monopoly on the truth; always assume that you can learn something from someone else.”

To learn, when powerful, takes a sense of vulnerability; the willingness to admit that someone else might have the answers that are necessary to solve the problem. Being “vibrant” is about being enthusiastic about it. And when combined (Vibrant Vulnerability), this is what provides the avenue philanthropy is looking for from chief executive officers (and the C-Suite).

But to get there, leaders in philanthropy have to “teach” philanthropy’s value in simple details that lead to amazing success.

It will take the operational side of a hospital years to find a “new” $10 million to invest in that piece of equipment or bringing in that new physician to build out the needed clinical service. But philanthropy operating at an average return will have that money five times (5x) faster and at a fraction of the cost. Ask a CEO the following, “where can you go in 90 minutes and come back with $1M in ‘profit?’” The answer is not another internal meeting with Finance.

Chief executive officers understand this concept.

It parallels that new surgeon they might need/ want. They ask the question about how many surgeries can they do, at what payer mixes, what are the costs (salary, benefits, space, equipment), and eventually how long until the investment of the new surgeon will take to start “turning a profit.” The same philosophy applies to the overall question of philanthropy vs. clinical operation in comparing net revenue. Chief executive officers get it, but rarely is it explained to them in this manner.

Getting Buy-In from the Community People have two ears and one mouth. Normally, they are not used in that proportion. Key to helping chief executive officers (and the C-Suite) is the understanding that people with resources, heads of companies, philanthropists, community leaders, or politicians, come to nearly

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 43

Realized Net Return $10 million $5 million $1 million

Patient Services Expenses to Get Return $323 million – $990 million $162 million – $495 million $32 million – $99 million

Time to See Return (from zero) from Patient Revenue

Total Fundraising Expenses to Get Return

Time to See Return (from zero) from Fundraising

3-5 years

$3.89 million

1-2 Years

3-5 years

$1.94 million

1-2 Years

3-5 years

$280,000

1 Year

any situation with an opinion. And while that viewpoint may not be correct or accurate, since it is their money, for philanthropy to work we need the community’s buy-in.

That means listening and taking time to build trust. It means considering other’s thoughts even though the chief executive officer might just be the content expert. Not every idea has to be accepted, but each idea might bring that person financially into the project/need.

“Let’s say a health system is having a great year. They’re going to close the fiscal year with a positive 5% margin.

Even at that level of success, to generate the equivalent of a $50 million gift, you would have to increase revenue by $1 billion. I don’t know many CEOs, no matter how good, who can do that.”

— Marc Harrison, Former CEO of Intermountain Health

If there is a healthcare essential need, instead of the chief executive officer taking the entire 100% completed project plan to potential donors, take only 40% of the strategy and 100% of the problem and ask the business owner, donor, or community leader what they think…and do so with openness. Give them a chance to feel and believe that they are part of the solution. This can be done with a community board, a foundation board, or just a small group of unofficial “advisors,” all who can give great insight into the community’s overall regard for philanthropy and/ or the hospital. Doing this takes the time of the chief executive officer, but it builds trust with those who can leverage philanthropy at much higher levels.

An old, but critical fundraising reminder, good for any chief executive officer or executive to know: If you ask someone for money, you get advice.

If you ask for their advice, you get their money.

Sharing the Right Data Chief executive officers and executives believe in data and dashboards. Not only do they believe in them, but they live with them meeting to meeting. Quality scores, patient satisfaction scores, financial indicators, sentinel events, and many more are just some of the normalized “dashboards” they rely upon to make major decisions. In addition, all of these examples have national benchmarks that allow any good chief executive officer to know where they stand

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 44

“You have to establish trust with your community. They have to trust that you are there and that you have a good product. You have to convince them that what you’re doing is critical to the health of the community, and that they can be a part of it.”

—Sue Andersen, CEO of Marian Medical Center

Dollars Raised (Cash) Dollars Raised (Cash and Pledges) # Number of Donors Above (MG Level -$10k)

within their own system, state, or overall in the country.

Philanthropy also survives by keeping and utilizing data. In fact, the kind of data philanthropy tracks, at a high-level, is the exact kind of data a healthcare leader not only needs to know but wants to see because it will make sense.

By creating a simple dashboard that tracks the most important data, compares to timeframes like last year, the five-year average, and where possible to national benchmarks, it empowers the chief executive officer (and C-Suite) to better understand how we measure philanthropy. In addition, maybe when numbers don’t compare favorably, it also allows for a robust, active, and engaged discussion about “why” fundraising isn’t meeting expectations and what can be done

THIS FISCAL YEAR

LAST FISCAL YEAR TO DATE

YEAR PREVIOUS FISCAL YEAR TOTAL

$4,573,234

$3,987,323

$3,234,549

$3,931,702

Available

$5,873,258

$5,129,458

$3,873,431

$4,958,716

Available

45

34

25

34.7

9

8

5

7.3

24

12

34

23.3

4,349

4,148

3,245

3,914

Available

$0.23

$0.24

$0.23

$0.28

Available

8

7

8

8

Available

PREVIOUS 5 YEAR AVERAGE

AHP NATIONAL BENCHMARK

# of Donors Above (Another Level) - $100k or $250k)

Available over $1M

# of Outstanding/Not Realized Yet Solications for this Fiscal Year (Above MG Level) # of Total Donors (all giving) Cost to Raise a Dollar (or ROI Production) Direct FTE's

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 45

to see improvements (much like any clinical dashboard result discussion).

Consider this…C-Suite leaders come and go.

Does the organization change the reporting of the balance statement or income statement when there is a new Chief financial officer? Does patient satisfaction methodology dramatically change with a new chief medical officer or chief nursing officer? Chief development officers/ chief philanthropy officers also change…but great dashboards and their data should remain, just like other key metrics that inform the chief executive officer of overall health of the hospital.

Realization of a Chief Executive Officer’s Best Friend C-Suite life can be very much like a grownup version of “King of the Hill,” with each executive having an aim at the top target–the chief executive officer. In fact, almost everyone reporting to the chief executive officer might have looked in the mirror that morning and seen a “future chief executive officer.” Minus one: the chief philanthropy/development officer. We are not trained to run a hospital. We don’t have the experience. We don’t have the education.

Chief executive officers need to understand that the number one daily responsibility of any good chief philanthropy officer/chief development officer is to support the chief executive officer and make them look good. When they look good, normally there is more philanthropic support from the community. It is to set the chief executive officer up (or other healthcare leader) for the most positive conversations and situations. When the chief executive officer is with a donor or prospect, while it might not produce a million-dollar gift every time, it should be the best part of their day. No one is asking them to cut budgets or lay-off someone or settle an internal political fight. What philanthropy needs is for them to tell the story of the hospital, why healthcare is critical to a community, and listen to what the prospect/donor thinks about related issues/items.

This all comes down to trust. If the chief executive officer trusts the chief development officer/chief philanthropy officer, they listen more intently to the viewpoint of the chief development officer/chief philanthropy officer, allocate more time for meetings (internal and with donors), give the chief development officer/ chief philanthropy officer more direct access to their calendar, and make sure they are part of all critical meetings with other members of the executive team.

Part of Strategic Planning Philanthropy is not turned on and off like a water faucet. But sometimes chief executive officers and other non-fundraising executives believe that to be the case. This is why it is critical for the chief development officer/chief philanthropy officer to be a full and active member of the executive team and a fully participating member of the strategic planning group/committee (if different).

All too often, the foundation or development office is “informed” of the need for philanthropy well-after the plan for new piece of equipment or new program has already been decided.

Maybe a project has been started or a piece of equipment was purchased without philanthropy being included or considered. Philanthropy is not considered as a strategy.

For philanthropy to be used strategically, time is critical. The more time philanthropy has to engage potential donors, test a community’s interest in a project/need, or even find influential volunteers to advocate for improvements, the more effective the fundraising outcome.

Moreover, not every need is truly philanthropic.

By being part of the strategic planning process, an honest assessment of what is more “appetizing” for fundraising success can be included in the hospital’s planning, including knowledge of what projects/needs are not potential philanthropic projects at all (e.g., increase parking).

To survive, the role of the chief executive officer will have to change. Higher education realized AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 46

this nearly 40 years ago. University leaders embrace the idea that others can best manage the internal operations of the college: faculty, students, classes, finances. But only the “chief executive officer” (chancellor/president) can articulate the vision of what might be possible for the university, its alums, and the community.

Hospital CEO’s will have to embrace the same, as they are best to create a picture of what healthcare can and should be and how that has a great effect on the future of the local society.

As Marc Harrison, former chief executive officer of Intermountain Health, said when asked how important it is for the chief executive officer to ACTIVELY be involved with philanthropy: “It’s essential.”

For 25+ years, Randall Hallett has engaged in and led philanthropic engagement.

From multiple eight and nine figure capital campaigns to leadership as a chief development/philanthropy officer in large fundraising shops, Randall has spent his entire career either as a practitioner or consultant with nonprofits. In just the last decade as a consultant, Randall has worked with health systems, hospitals, universities, social service agencies, school districts, and more on four continents. He is a sought-after speaker where he constantly challenges the “status quo.”

Randall is the chief executive officer/founder of Hallett Philanthropy and has a passion for helping organizations seek funding to meet their mission—and he believes giving is good for one’s emotional and physical well-being.

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 47

Endnotes All material and references in the article, unless stated below, are from the following: Hallett, Randall. Vibrant Vulnerability: Mastering Philanthropy for Today and Tomorrow’s Healthcare CEO. GarGar Publishing. 2023.

1

“A Timeline of Harvard’s History.” Harvard University. Accessed on August 1, 2023. https://www.harvard.edu/about/history/timeline/#1600s

2

Finai, Brian, et al. World Neurosurgery. “Bellevue Hospital, the Oldest Public Health Center in the United States of America.” Volume 167. November, 2022. 57-61.

3

“Resources on Yale History: A Brief History of Yale.” Yale University. Accessed on August 8, 2023. https://guides.library.yale.edu/ yalehistory

4

Turner, Jonathan. The Origins of the Land Grant Act of 1862. (New York: Forgotten Books, 2012)

5

Davis, Joseph and Widenmeier, Marc. “The Macroeconomic Impact of the American Civil War.” (Atlanta: The Federal Reserve Bank). Accessed on August 4, 2023. https://www.atlantafed.org/blogs/-/media/CFBC939B67FA46169DA711319F15FDD2.ashx

6

“Medical Enlisted Corp Celebrates 125 years.” United States Army. Accessed on August 10, 2023. https://www.army.mil/article/74780/medical_enlisted_corps_celebrate_125_years

7

Chung, Andrea and Gaynor, Martin and Richards-Shubik, Seth. Subsidies and Structure: The Lasting Impact of the Hill-Burton Program on the Hospital Industry. (Cambridge: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2016)

8

Altschuler, Glenn and Blumin, Stuart. The GI Bill: The New Deal for Veterans. (Oxford Press, 2009)

9

“The Complete History of Student Loans.” Bankrate. Access on August 3, 2023. https://www.bankrate.com/loans/student-loans/ history-of-student-loans/

10 “The Affordable Care Act at 10 Years: What’s Changed in Health Care Delivery and Payment?” The Commonwealth Fund. Accessed on August 5, 2023. https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/journal-article/2020/feb/aca-at-10-years-changedhealth-care-delivery-payment 11

Jackson, Robert. “The Prioritization of and Time Spent on Fundraising Duties by Public Comprehensive University Presidents,” International Journal of Leadership and Change: Vol. 1: Iss. 1, Article 9. (2013).

12

Giving USA’s The Annual Reports of Philanthropy on Giving (1980-2022) and The Association for Healthcare Philanthropy Report of Giving (2003-2021)

13

Toppo, Greg. “By One Measure, Nontraditional Presidents Less Rare.” Inside Higher Ed. May, 2018. Accessed on August 6, 2023. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/05/30/new-findings-cast-net-more-broadly-nontraditional-college-presidents

14 “The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.” Oklahoma Historical Society. Accessed on August 2, 2023. https://www. okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=BO018 15

Schulte, Grant. “Retired Three-star to Run University of Nebraska.” Navy Times. October 25, 2019. Access on August 2, 2023. https:// www.navytimes.com/education-transition/2019/10/26/retired-three-star-to-run-university-of-nebraska/

16

“Bruce Harreld named 21st President.” Iowa News. September 3, 2015. Accessed on August 2, 2023. https://now.uiowa.edu/ news/2015/09/bruce-harreld-named-21st-president

17

Singer, Dale. “Timothy Wolfe, Veteran Business Executive, Named New President of the University Missouri. “ St. Louis NPR. December 14, 2011. Accessed on August 2, 2023. https://news.stlpublicradio.org/education/2011-12-14/timothy-wolfe-veteran-business-executive-named-new-president-of-university-of-missouri-system

18 “10 Years in at CU, Bruce Benson Still the Right Choice.” Denver Post. March 9, 2018. Accessed on August 2, 2023. https://www. denverpost.com/2018/03/09/10-years-in-at-cu-bruce-benson-still-the-right-choice/ 19

Atterbury, Andrew. “University of Florida Approves Sasse as New President amid Protests.” Politico. November 1, 2022. Accessed on August 2, 2023. https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/01/university-of-florida-sasse-president-00064451

20 Olson, Bradley. “University of Texas Courts Rex Tillerson to be Next Chancellor.” The Wall Street Journal. March 22, 2018. Access on August 3, 2023. https://www.wsj.com/articles/university-of-texas-courts-rex-tillerson-to-be-next-chancellor-1521839213

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 48

Strategic Branding Can Supercharge Your Next Campaign

By Lori Woehrle

H

ealthcare organizations raised more than $40 billion in 2021, according to the latest figures from Giving USA’s “Annual Report on Philanthropy.” But fundraisers in the healthcare industry face double headwinds in 2023. First, we are in an uncertain economy, which can make donors more cautious in their giving; and second, as the public’s concern about the global pandemic wanes, donors may turn to other giving priorities.

In this environment, fundraisers need every advantage to capture donors’ attention and inspire response. One advantage, particularly in a capital or comprehensive campaign, is thoughtful campaign branding and messaging carried out through marketing communications.

When properly executed, the strategic branding of your next campaign can help strengthen and

elevate your healthcare organization’s institutional branding, too. Campaign branding should reflect institutional branding and move it forward.

Your institutional brand communicates who you are and what you do; your campaign brand communicates where you are going and why.

For example, Ascension St. Vincent with its tagline “Care for All” has an institutional brand that communicates the tender and empathic care that patients can expect to receive while being treated by this institution. And its branding is authentic: patient after patient told me this to be true.

When branding its campaign, the hospital was able to start from that authentic reputation to express empathy for the future, which set the table for why a prospective donor should

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 49

join them in the campaign. Even better, the campaign theme had a double meaning, one of which was a call-to-action for donors. (More on that happy consequence later.)

Assuming you are convinced that your next campaign deserves carefully constructed branding and messaging, where do you go from here? The remainder of this article describes in detail the steps to take, the people to involve and the time needed to create branding that will take your campaign to the next level.

Timing is Everything Give yourself a year from the public launch date of your campaign to develop a theme, messaging, and materials. It can be done in less time but at a cost. You know the old saying: “You can have it done well, fast, or efficiently.

Pick two.” This saying applies. There is no point in producing something of lower quality; if so, you are better off doing nothing. If the work is rushed, you’ll either be charged rush fees by an outside firm, or you will drive your internal team to the edge, and then some.

In my experience, there are four major milestones in this process. You will need up to three months for research and messaging; up to two months for campaign identity (name/ theme) and logo; up to another two months for writing and designing a case for support; and the remaining five to develop supporting materials, such as a major gift template, social posts, and emails, a microsite, communications plan, campaign video, and various appeals. And poof! A year is gone.

Timing can become particularly tricky depending on the number of management layers involved in the approval process. Find out whose approval you will need for what and get on their calendars far in advance. You will want to manage the schedule so that you hit your deadlines and approvals do not hold you up.

Early in the process, identify patient stories that support your campaign priorities. Real-life

experience can power a campaign need. Who among your patients went through a relevant experience, came through it, and are empathetic storytellers? The Children’s Hospital of Colorado Foundation had a storytelling strategy several years ago in its “Courage Is” campaign. They created a bank of suitable patient stories that they used in appeals, their case for support, on the website, in videos, and in person. They named a “patient ambassador” annually who told their story to the campaign committee, arming the committee with a compelling tale they relayed in their own words when meeting with prospective donors. If the story is strong and the teller empathetic, the story can be used generously throughout a campaign.

You may need photos or videos (or both) of these patients. Scheduling these shoots with a family can take a while, so set these up early.

Milestone 1—Research and Messaging The first step is to conduct qualitative market research among different constituencies to get a good understanding of how they view the campaign. The marketing agency I work with does this by interviewing people in a conversational manner that allows us to ask follow-up questions based on comments we hear. These interviews are mostly one-on-one but are sometimes conducted with small groups if necessary for logistical reasons. For example, if the campaign committee is to be interviewed and they have an upcoming meeting with time on the agenda, you can interview them as a group.

Identify and invite about 12 or so individuals to participate in interviews. We typically want to hear from hospital administrators, medical and other staff, board members, patients, donors, and community members. We prefer to conduct the interviews as close together in time as possible, for efficiency and to keep up momentum.

Take notes on, but not necessarily record, the conversations. Most people are more willing to speak up if they are not being recorded.

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We ask about their attitudes toward the institution, whether they perceive a need for the services and developments that the campaign may bring, and probe for answers to the question “why is this campaign necessary, and why now.”

Analyze your notes and find common concepts and phrases. Commonalities will help you shape a verbal identity for the campaign. Verbal identity is most importantly a positioning statement, or short paragraph that succinctly articulates the vision, purpose, and meaning of the campaign. In effect, it is an elevator pitch of about three or four sentences. Along with a positioning statement, create a short list of key messages and proof points. Key messages are the core elements from the positioning statement, highlighted and supported by facts (proof points).

This package—the verbal identity—is your campaign in text form, using the words and phrases that will find their way into all your campaign communications. Just as a logo, part of your visual identity, is a quick way for viewers to identify a campaign brand, words and phrases from your positioning statement and key messages are a quick way for readers and listeners to identify your campaign’s brand.

Milestone 2—Campaign Identity: Name and Logo Once your verbal identity is approved and polished, you can begin the process of identifying a name (or theme) for your campaign. Whether you create a name or theme is immaterial. It is simply the words or phrase you will use to identify the campaign. I have seen campaigns use one or the other, both works.

Ideally you will land on a two- or three-word phrase as your name, which can be followed by phrasing such as “The Campaign for Hospital A.” The name should carry meaning, align with your institution’s brand, be inspiring, and—if you are really lucky—provide a call-to-action for donors.

One campaign theme I noticed recently is Community Memorial Hospital’s “CMH: Building Today. Tomorrow. Always.” The campaign story starts with a timeline of significant improvements the hospital has made over the years. I always appreciate a nod toward tradition and a rich history. It especially makes sense around an anniversary, as was the case with this hospital. But the fact that the hospital is always building does not resonate for me as donor.

Why are they building? For what purpose? Is the building necessary? With a slight twist, this campaign name could begin to tell a story: “Community Memorial Hospital: Building Today for Your Tomorrow.” This tweak brings the donor (and patient) front and center of the campaign.

Another campaign name I saw recently is “Giving Hope: A Campaign to Transform Care,” a $500 million campaign for Atrium Health in Charlotte, North Carolina. Campaign literature notes that “Hope is at the center of everything we do,” and the word serves as an acronym for the campaign’s four pillars: Healthier Communities, Outstanding Education, Preeminent Research, and Exemplary Facilities. This is an excellent AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 51

way to wrap a wide range of initiatives into one word, while the same word serves an entirely different purpose in the name. (I am a fan of double meanings.) Furthermore, donors could be encouraged to “give hope” to their neighbors and friends in the community by supporting the health system, and as such Atrium Health has a donor call to action. Brilliant.

The campaign brand would be even stronger if “Giving Hope” were part of or related to the institutional brand for Atrium Health. Scanning the website, I did not see that connection.

Creating a campaign brand that speaks to the campaign purpose, the institutional brand and provides a donor call to action is a tall order, but it can be done. It takes time, creative thinking, and a willingness to persist.

I am not a graphic designer, and I have never created a logo. However, I work closely with people who do, and this is what they have to offer on logo development: clean, simple, legible in digital form, and visually express the central idea behind the campaign brand. And it should work visually alongside the institution’s logo or mark.

Milestone 3—Case for Support Your case for support is the heart center of your campaign. It is the statement of truth for campaign priorities, purpose, and outcomes. It must be visually appealing so that readers are encouraged to read through it. And when they reach the end, they must be so inspired that when you finally make an ask, they are eager to be part of your story and to give.

Naturally, the campaign brand leads the way in your case for support. Weave those key messages you crafted back in Milestone 1 throughout your case. Employ those powerful words and phrases you learned while conducting qualitative research. Below is an outline: Cover–Campaign name and logo

Introduction—The overarching purpose of the campaign Priority 1—What and why Priority 2—What and why Priority 3—What and why Priority 4—(Please! No more than four priorities) what and why Join us—The ask Back cover—Contact details and institutional logo The text should have many entry points, such as subheads, bulleted lists, boxed or shaded copy, and sidebars. In fact, patient stories should be embedded as sidebars to the priorities that the stories amplify. Use declarative sentences.

Maintain an active voice. Write to convince, engage, and inspire.

Because the purpose of design is to encourage your audience to read the text, at my agency we write—and get approval on—the text before moving to design. I know that many graphic designers are in the habit of working up designs with dummy copy, but it is far more efficient to create a layout with approved text. The headlines and subheads are real and can be appropriately sized, the content can be matched with relevant images, and text can be trimmed or extended to fit. You avoid multiple rounds of messy text edits, which can easily introduce errors in the copy.

Your case needs to be highly visual and appealing to open and continue through. This means layering in a variety of beautiful and compelling images that cause a reader to feel.

You want the reader to react. Emotion leads to inspiration, which leads to giving. Strong photos and graphics (along with well-written copy) will get you there.

Consider format. Depending on the intended use of your printed case, you may want a pocket folder on the inside back cover. If you want to display a beautiful rendering of a new space, you may want to add a page that folds out, giving you the extra space necessary to incorporate a large rendering.

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Once your case for support is finished, you are ready to implement the other materials you need. By using your case as the starting point for appeals, a microsite, video, and other means of communication, your marketing will have a cohesion that reinforces a donor’s confidence in your organization and its initiatives.

Milestone 4—Supporting Materials Where you go from here depends on your campaign’s needs. There are many options to consider.

Microsite—our campaign will need a landing place on the web. Without this, your campaign will not appear valid to many donors and prospects. Health organizations we have worked with tend to prefer to create a thin (meaning not a lot of pages deep) site separate from their organizational or foundation site. Because a microsite has modest functionality, it can be built with simple and commonly available software, such as WordPress.

Video—This media is so captivating that it is becoming a best practice for campaigns. It should be short (three minutes or less), focus on a patent story, and not fear having a strong emotional draw. The video script should be pulled from your case for support. You can show it at campaign events, push it out via email and social media, and post it on your website.

Communications Plan—Ideally you will push out messages to various audiences on a regular cadence. You also may want to leverage celebratory moments, such as National Nurses Day (May 6), National Doctors Day (March 30), and National Cancer Prevention Month (February). Your campaign should be part of your regular magazine or newsletter. It should be noted onsite with signage. These opportunities to reach prospects and donors need to be organized in a plan that is straightforward, easy to follow, and ensures you appropriately message all your audiences. You must stay on track; you need a plan.

Major Gift Package—As an item left with a prospect following a donor meeting, a major gift package should be flexible and provide more details than the case for support on your priorities.

By flexible, I mean that you may want separate “mini cases” for each priority so that your major gift officers can customize the package before their meeting with a prospect. For example, if your prospect is only interested in pediatric initiatives—and that is one of four campaign priorities, you can bring only the pediatric “mini case,” loaded with details on your plans, and thus focus your prospect’s attention on their interest. It shows respect for the prospect’s time and avoids watering down your message with superfluous information. A flexible package that can be customized by removing or adding inserts makes your gift officers’ jobs easier.

Now you have the why and how of branding your next capital or comprehensive campaign.

A smart and strategic approach to branding can supercharge your fundraising effort, elevate your organizational brand (reputation), and foster confidence among your donors and prospects.

Strong, clear messaging can make the job of developing campaign communications easier and consistent, which is crucial to success, and well-executed collateral will support the efforts of your major gift officers and other fundraisers.

If possible, give yourself sufficient time to fully develop your brand, messaging and materials.

Your efforts will pay off in the long run. You only have one chance to make an impression on a donor or prospect, and you want to make the most of it.

Lori Woehrle, former president of the Washington, DC, chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, is a writer and brand strategist for Leapfrog Group LLC, thinkleapfrog.com. (Not affiliated with the healthcare safety organization.) She is a frequent speaker and is writing a book on marketing for fundraising.

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Inside the Minds of Donors

By Brenda Solomon, EdD, CFRE

U

nderstanding how your donors learn can help you engage their passions and purpose for giving. How do you interact with your donors? What is your first step in approaching them? Identifying what’s behind people’s decision-making processes can strengthen your donor-engagement strategy. Understanding how a person responds to receiving information is an excellent way to help you recognize the best way to connect with a donor. When I was

recruited to become a development officer at a university foundation over 20 years ago, my instinctive response was that I couldn’t ask people for money. But then I realized I’d really be connecting with donors on an issue we both care about—which, at the time, was education.

Initially, I simply told donors about the university’s needs. If they decided to support the university, that would be great. If they did not, I encouraged them to provide referrals of friends, family, or

AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 54

neighbors that would help the university. This same philosophy has served me well in working for another university, a celebrity veterans nonprofit foundation, and now with HonorHealth.

the information from ATLAS to identify how donors process information in real-life situations, which ultimately shapes their decision-making, including whether to give.

Throughout my career, I have always sought opportunities to create a deeper connection with my donors that would bring in more significant gifts. After raising $60 million for Oklahoma State University, $24 million annually for the Gary Sinise Foundation, and $4-$15.4 million annually for the last 6 years at HonorHealth, these deep connections are epitomized through donor learning experiences.

These learning experiences are driven by my educator instincts stemming from my former education faculty member background. These instincts told me that donors want to learn more about and develop deeper relationships with HonorHealth. To help donors do that, as a healthcare fundraiser, I need to understand the best way to relate to donors and focus on their needs. As fundraisers, we are responsible for learning about donors’ concerns, interests, and goals. Only then can we connect their passions to our healthcare system’s fundraising priorities.

Why is using ATLAS so powerful? Simple—it allows me to instantly initiate and implement a donor-centered approach. This is a unique approach. Instead of starting with a focus on the gift, my initial focus is on the donor.

Because ATLAS can be completed quickly and its feedback is immediate, donors instantly learn something fundamental about themselves— they learn about how they learn. The learning strategy descriptions provided by ATLAS are so clear, valid, and reliable that 92% of the thousands of people who have taken it confirm that it accurately describes them. Importantly, this learning strategy preference applies not only to your immediate donation situation but also to all the situations in your donor’s life.

Fundraisers Are Educators Too As healthcare fundraisers, we work with a population that likes to learn and be the first to know about new technologies, healthcare innovations, and innovative care and treatment.

However, before they give, donors need to understand why they should give, and it is our job as fundraisers to educate them. To do this effectively, we must understand how donors think and what motivates them to give. In my work as an adult educator, I frequently used an assessment instrument called ATLAS (Assessing The Learning Strategies of AdultS). I have added this valuable instrument to my fundraising toolkit. ATLAS is powerful because it encourages people to think about how they learn—a process known as metacognition. Importantly, it quickly identifies their preferred learning strategies in approximately one minute based on their responses to a brief set of five questions. I use

Consequently, you give your donor a personal gift they can use throughout their lives before you ask them for a monetary gift to your organization. Using the ATLAS instrument to assess donors has helped me create clear donorengagement strategies. At first, I thought using the ATLAS might distance me from the ask.

Instead, it helped me personalize the fundraising process and keep everyone focused on the goal of a gift. Adapting the learner-centered approach, I practiced as an educator has made me more donor-centered and better able to identify donors’ passions and propensity to give.

What is ATLAS (Assessing The Learning Strategies of AdultS)?

Assessing The Learning Strategies of AdultS (ATLAS) identifies a person’s learning strategy preference. It is easy to use and can be completed in approximately one minute.

Learning strategies are a person’s techniques or skills to accomplish a specific learning task.

ATLAS is a valid and reliable instrument for identifying the three groups of Navigators, Problem Solvers, and Engagers. “It can help AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 55

• Navigators are focused learners who prefer a

well-planned, structured learning environment complete with feedback that allows them to monitor their progress and remain on course.

• Problem Solvers are learners who rely heavily

on the critical thinking strategies of generating alternatives, testing assumptions, and practicing conditional acceptance. Problem Solvers prefer a learning environment that promotes creativity, trial-and-error, and handson experimentation.

• Engagers are passionate learners who love to

learn, learn with feeling, and learn best when they are actively engaged in a meaningful manner with the learning task. Personal growth, increased self-esteem, helping others, and working as part of a team for a worthwhile project are emotionally rewarding and will motivate Engagers to embark upon and sustain a learning experience.3

learners become aware of how they initiate a learning task. Research has shown that “there are clear patterns in the learning strategies which people have a propensity to use when initiating a learning activity.”1 The three learning strategy preference groups differ in how they seek to accomplish a learning task. “The Navigators and Problem Solvers initiate a learning task by looking externally from themselves at the utilization of resources that will help them accomplish the learning. Engagers, on the other hand, involve themselves in the reflective process of determining internally that they will enjoy the learning task enough to finish it.”2 Thus, Navigators and Problem Solvers initiate their learning from the cognitive domain, while Engagers begin in the affective domain.

How Can I Get ATLAS? The ATLAS author allows you to use it at no cost and has made it available on his website at www.conti-creations.com/atlas.htm. The website offers an online, self-scoring version of ATLAS and various support materials for ATLAS’ use.

These include a copy of the items for ATLAS, information on the validity and reliability of ATLAS, and a single-page, tri-fold copy that you can download and use.

You have two easy ways to print copies of ATLAS to use with your donors. One way is to simply download the tri-fold copy of ATLAS from the website and print it. This version of ATLAS is printed on both sides of a single sheet of paper and then folded in thirds to create a flyer-like document. Consider using colored paper to make the instrument look more distinctive.

Arrows on the sheet will lead your donors from one question to the next, finally revealing their learning strategy preference in about one minute.

This tri-fold sheet is all that the donor needs to quickly identify their learning strategy preference.

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A second method involves a little more effort but allows you to be more creative. First, go to the ATLAS website and capture the text for the five questions and for the description of the ATLAS groups. Then, print these on a card or sheet of paper. One option here is to put the questions on one side of the paper and the group descriptions on the other. With another option, you can make the completion of ATLAS more interactive by putting the questions on one card and each learning strategy group on a separate card. The scoring of ATLAS is as follows: Navigator = Item 1a + Item 2a; Problem Solver = Item 1a + Item 2b; Engager = Item 1a. After your donor has answered the five questions and scored the responses, you can hand the donor the card with the description for the identified learning strategy group.

Regardless of the method used, your first question to the donor upon finishing ATLAS should be: “Do you think that this description fits you?” Experience with ATLAS demonstrates that this will spark an immediate and spirited discussion. Best of all, chances are (a 92% probability) that your donor will immediately begin to reflect positively on this general description and give you concrete examples of how it is true. This can provide you with valuable insights on how to further personalize your ask.

Understanding Your Donors ATLAS is simple and easy to complete. How do I determine which people fit in which category?

When I suggest that people take it, I make it fun, casual, and brief; ATLAS is an excellent icebreaker for beginning the meeting. ATLAS quickly tells me if the donor is an Engager, a Navigator, or a Problem Solver, and it stimulates a lively discussion as the donors reflect upon themselves.

Importantly, this puts a laser-like focus on the donor and announces that this meeting will be donor-centered. Using ATLAS with a donor creates another bond and confirms that person’s preferred learning strategy, which is helpful when making the ask. It is just a tool, but I have used it effectively throughout my fundraising career.

With an understanding of how donors learn, I am better equipped to resolve donors’ questions, concerns, or objections. The following are examples of how I have used ATLAS to get inside the minds of donors and connect with them to personalize their giving.

Problem Solver: During COVID, as a healthcare fundraiser, I recognized the challenges facing nursing staff, including burnout, recruitment, and attrition, impacting patient care and outcomes.

One patient shared both his negative and positive nursing experiences at our hospital.

When listening to his feedback, he shared his background as a former chief executive officer implementing a nurse mentor program. The donor and I visited with our Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), and we developed a test program, measured pre/post-nurse feedback, tracked our attrition numbers, and provided a report to the donor. Initially, the data was not favorable, and the system began to invest more time in our preceptors and their ability to mentor new nurses. Several new nurses shared they chose to work at HonorHealth because of this innovative program. The test program was so successful that the donor provided additional gifts to implement the program on two other campuses.

This donor was obviously a Problem Solver.

Although at first glance, some fundraisers may think he was a complainer, by getting to know the donor as a critical thinker who wanted to find a solution to a problem, I was able to involve him on a higher level. Honorhealth nurses were beneficiaries of this fantastic gift and program.

Navigator: I also worked with a focused donor who preferred a well-planned structured learning environment as they provided support for our K-9 program. This donor was very involved in wanting to know about the program and asked that I provide feedback regarding where the K-9s and their handlers were to be housed. They were specifically interested in their location so that they could monitor if the K-9s and handlers were at campuses in town.

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I recognized these requests for information as the Navigator’s desire for order and structure, and for instructors who outline objectives and expectations, summarize main points, give prompt feedback, and provide schedules. This information enabled the donor to monitor the program’s progress efficiently and effectively.

Engager: At HonorHealth, I worked with two passionate female donors who love to learn and especially with feeling. One donor was in her 50s, and the other was 96 years of age. They both were interested in being actively engaged in a meaningful manner and focused on helping others. After meeting each other, they decided to collaborate to support two of our worthwhile community programs, which allowed them to work as a team that provided them each an emotional reward. They both learned about our Forensic Nursing Program and our Desert Mission Food Bank (DMFB). The younger donor asked to be mentored by the older donor as they learned together about each of the programs.

Through their learning experience, they provided salary support for three years to hire a director for the Forensic Nursing Program. This unique program provides exams by 34 of our specially trained nurses for women who have been sexually assaulted, abused, or sexually trafficked. The program was the only Forensic Nursing Training site west of the Mississippi. Their investment in the position served as a catalyst to create an income stream to sustain the director’s position.

Additionally, the women came together to purchase a truck for the DMFB to conduct grocery recovery at local supermarkets to take to the food bank for distribution to those in our community who have no food. These sustained learning experiences inspired both to continue to give freely.

The Double Gift The impactful 1905 short story by O. Henry, The Gift of the Magi, can inform us of the power

of a gift. In the story, a young husband and wife had only been married for a year. They had little money, and their living conditions were barely adequate. However, what the young couple lacked in luxury, they made up for in compassion for each other. For a secret Christmas gift, each of the young couple sold their most precious possession to buy something beautiful for the other. The story teaches us the valuable lesson of loving and caring for others. The most priceless gifts are those given from the heart.

In the spirit of The Gift of the Magi, before you ask for a monetary gift, give your donor a personal everlasting gift of the knowledge of their learning strategy approach, creating the double gift of an exchange between you and the donor. This will not only be very professional, but it will also be educational for both you and your donor.

In development, we are often so busy looking for the next gift that we do not or cannot find the time to reflect on our work. Evaluating our successes and failures can be challenging but an important exercise. ATLAS is an instrument that can help us in this reflection because it is a tool that immediately puts the focus on the donor.

All donors are not alike and do not give for the same reasons. Equipped with knowledge of the donor’s preferred learning strategies, you can help them envision how their gift can be applied, and you can be alerted to the stimuli that will motivate them to action.

Understanding how a person responds to receiving information is another way to help fundraisers recognize the best way to connect with a donor for the good of the healthcare system. Getting inside the donor’s head to reveal their learning strategy preference can be a double gift for both you and your donor.

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Endnotes 1

Conti, Gary J. “Development of a User-Friendly Instrument for Identifying the Learning Strategy Preferences of Adults.”

Teaching and Teacher Education 25, no. 6 (2009): 889.

2

Conti, “Development of a User-Friendly Instrument,” 891.

3

Conti, Gary J. “Development of a User-Friendly Instrument for Identifying the Learning Strategy Preferences of Adults.”

Teaching and Teacher Education 25, no. 6 (2009): 887–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2009.02.024.

Conti, G. J., & McNeil, R. C. “Learning Strategy Preference and Personality Type: Are They Related? “ Journal of Adult Education, 40 no. 2 (2011): 1-8.

Brenda Solomon EdD, CFRE serves as Vice President, Major Gifts, HonorHealth Foundation (HHF). In previous roles, she worked with national donors that care about higher education and veterans raising $60 million for Oklahoma State University (OSU) and helping raise $24 million annually for the Gary Sinise Foundation. She received her doctorate from OSU, a master’s from Loyola Marymount University and a bachelor’s from California State University Northridge and became a Certified Fundraising Executive in 2022.

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Money Mindset

By Jenny Mitchell, CFRE, CEC, DMA

M

oney Mindset—your unique set of beliefs and attitudes about money­—is the single biggest barrier to success for fundraisers.

Professionals can learn about capital campaign best practices and can study books to learn about how to ask for money. The most glaring error people make as fundraisers is assuming that everyone has the same relationship with money that they do.

This is not the case. Everyone has a very personal and subconscious relationship with money. It starts with the stories they heard at their kitchen table growing up. Stories like, “Money doesn’t grow on trees,” or “Rich people are rich because they save their money, not because they spend their money.”

Fundraisers walk this very fine line between managing the relationship and managing the financial value of the portfolio of donors. One part of the job is tied to building powerful connections with donors and the other part is tied to Excel spreadsheets and possible and probable gifts.

And so begins the Fundraiser Money Tango: Money is important. No! It’s the gift that’s important.

Money is power and those who pay get a say.

No! Impact is more important than money.

Money moves mission forward. No! And how dare you say the size of the gift matters.

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Sound familiar? No wonder there is so much confusion when it comes to money for fundraisers.

Scarcity and Fear The nonprofit sector perpetuates an overarching scarcity mindset when it comes to money.

Nonprofits budget on shoestrings, and they struggle to invest in anything that isn’t directly tied to mission.

The fear drives a scarcity mindset: charities fear that the money will run out, or that donors will stop giving. An example of this hyper focus on scarcity rather than abundance is the fact that board of directors spend hours discussing expenses in the budget, while glossing over the opportunities for revenue. The term “donor fatigue” is a direct result of scarcity mindset thinking: an assumption that the flow of available money for the mission will somehow be turned off at some future date.

The sector buys into the belief that fundraising is hard, and that the only option is to work tirelessly towards some random (and possibly unattainable) target in the clouds to be successful.

Shifting the Sector’s Relationship with Money It’s not money that is the problem in the sector, it’s our relationship with money that must be altered. Rather than teaching boards how to build relationships to support the major gifts program, start by teaching boards to notice their own personal relationship with money.

Once an individual can identify their core values around money, then they are able to realize that not everyone does money the same way they do. People choose to spend their money in alignment with their values: education, self-improvement, status-related purchases, philanthropy, or experiences. You can learn a lot about someone when you understand that how they do money is how they do everything in life. What an opportunity for a professional fundraiser!

Why is the public so concerned with overhead for charities? Because many people still hold a core belief that money raised for charity must be spent in a “pure way” and that donor dollars cannot be wasted. Money becomes so precious that spending it becomes hard to do.

Leadership teams that cling to the statement, “100% of their donations goes directly to programming,” do themselves a disservice.

If there is no money allocated for supporting stewardship, donations become unsustainable in the long term.

I once heard a board chair—on a public launch of a major campaign—describe fundraising campaigns as “painful.” Can you guess what her core beliefs were about money? That asking for money is hard, and that it is physically painful to do it. Until the chair comes to terms with her own deeply held beliefs about money, she will not be able to bring up the subject of money with friends and prospects. This chair is wellmeaning but will continue to subconsciously sabotage the efforts to raise funds for the campaign. In coaching we often say your beliefs drive your actions which drive your results. No results? Go back through to understand what is driving your beliefs.

Another example of money beliefs clouding judgement can be found in congregants of religious organizations. Since giving to charity (and to the institution) is ingrained into the activities of these organizations, you would expect positive money values to prosper. But religious giving can get mired behind core beliefs about giving as a responsibility, turning the act of tithing into a righteous act. And if you don’t tithe? You are a terrible person!

Context Staff members will remember the first time they invite a donor to make a gift that is more than their entire mortgage. For staff, that number was astronomical. For the donor, that was the right ask. One simple mindset shift to make is to think of gifts as percentages. What would a 10% gift AHP Healthcare Philanthropy Journal|Fall 2023| 62

of your annual salary look like? And what would that same gift as a percentage look like for this donor? The goal is to provide some context for the money, rather than thinking of it in absolute terms. This helps staff compute the size of the gift in their heads.

Money Stories I remember the time one of my favorite donors said to me, “Just because I make a million-dollar gift to your charity does not mean I like paying for parking.” Even though he had money, he still had strong values on what he chose to spend his money on. He would regularly tell me about what he learned from his parents about the importance of money. Money was not to be wasted on things like parking, especially if there was free parking available within a short distance. Staff members can make assumptions about people of high net worth. Better to ask than assume.

Conclusion Get clear on your own personal relationship with money. Your personal money mindset evolved from the stories you heard growing up around the kitchen table. “A penny saved is a penny earned. Money is the root of all evil.” Step away from the money stories you have incorporated as “truths” into your life. Ask yourself, “is this true? Or is this a story?”. Notice when you get uncomfortable. This is a good indicator that there is something in your core values that is not aligned.

Money is a tool. People project emotions onto money. Money itself is inert. And remember that money does not corrupt. People corrupt. Start noticing the narratives surrounding you about money. Rather than “I can’t afford that,” consider “I choose not to purchase that now.” Those small shifts in language have a big impact on how you relate to money. Lean in. Seek to understand the discomfort—and what it represents—so you can heal your personal money wounds.

Fundraisers have an opportunity to help people rewrite their old stories to become more generous, to give more to the causes they care about, and realize their vision for a better world.

Rarely, people do not have the money. Often, they “don’t see themselves as that kind of donor.”

Help donors to give more by offering ways of giving that appeal to their money mindsets: cash versus assets or multi-year pledges versus gifts of stock. It’s not your place to tell donors how to give, but you can absolutely speak about ways other donors who had the same concerns addressed these issues. How can you speak to their money profiles in a way that will benefit your organization and your fundraising success?

That’s the goal.

My first career was as a professional musician.

As a musician, my motivations were never focused on money. This money mindset followed me when I transitioned into raising money for pianos as a professional fundraiser. My money mindset had to shift to be successful at my fundraising job. Getting clear on my own beliefs about money and taking a money archetype assessment course has made me a much more successful fundraiser.

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Take a listen to those kitchen table stories you grew up with, and ask yourself: is money helping me on my journey to becoming a successful fundraiser? Or is it a barrier?

Money mindset intersects socio-economic status, lived experiences, identity, friendships, and self-worth. It’s time to unpack and identify the beliefs that are no longer serving you so that you can get back to raising money for your mission.

Jenny Mitchell is an executive coach and professional fundraiser. Jenny’s company, Chavender, assists clients, across Canada and the US, to inspire their donors and achieve their fundraising goals through personalized fundraising coaching and training. Before completing her CFRE, Jenny trained as a classical musician and earned her Doctor of Musical Arts. She brings her creative approach, her drive for excellence, and her passion for people to the world of nonprofits. Connect with Jenny Mitchell at chavender.com.

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