WASHINGTON, Oct. 5, 2017 – Donations to nonprofit hospitals and health care systems in the U.S. and Canada increased by $63 million during the 2016 fiscal year, totaling $11.675 billion, the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy’s (AHP) annual Report on Giving announced.
“We are excited to see health giving break the $11 billion mark for the first time,” said Steven W. Churchill, MNA, president and chief executive officer of AHP. “The recovery in the Canadian health care development environment from a two-year downturn was also positive news for fundraisers.”
AHP’s annual survey of gifts, pledges and grants shows that total funds raised by health care institutions increased by 5% percent in the U.S. last year to $10.143 billion. Funds increased for the first time in Canada since 2013, by 10% percent to $1.532 billion, the highest amount AHP has reported for Canadian health care fundraising organizations since it started the Report on Giving in 2004.
“During this time of unprecedented change in health care, extraordinary giving is so important to the care we provide to our communities every day. The Report on Giving is encouraging because these dollars translate into life-saving technology, promising new research and the best possible care for our patients,” said Mark Larkin, CFRE, AHP board member and president of the Boca Raton Regional Hospital Foundation in Florida.
The median approximate return on investment (ROI) for Canadian organizations dropped in FY 2016 to $4.07 from $4.20 in FY 2015. The median ROI was $4.06 for the U.S., also a drop from $4.29 in FY 2015 but closer to the $4.05 level in FY 2014.
“Throughout North America, health care organizations are diligently using funds to improve their institution’s ability to serve their communities. A fourfold ROI demonstrates the high standards to which fundraisers hold themselves,” commented Jory Pritchard-Kerr, FAHP, AHP board chair and executive director at Collingwood General & Marine Hospital Foundation in Ontario.