Digital Fundraising Benchmark Report for Hospitals
Our third annual report — insights from 210 leading non-profit hospital foundations spanning academic, specialty, and community-based systems across the country.
Benchmarks from 37 hospitals. Survey insight from 210 foundations.
The 2023 Digital Fundraising Benchmark Report for Hospitals, produced by Digital Health Strategies in partnership with the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, is the industry’s leading digital survey. Our insights and benchmarks are drawn from survey responses and data from non-profit hospital foundations.
This year, for our third annual report, we surveyed 210 leading non-profit hospital foundations, spanning academic, specialty, and community-based systems across the country. Benchmarks were developed from data sourced from 37 hospitals and hospital systems. The data only includes revenue from email, website and direct mail solicitation campaigns — not events, major giving, planned giving or employee giving.
Top 3 fundraising priorities for hospitals & health systems
Digital grateful patient programs are key to donor growth
86% of respondents with digital grateful patient programs saw more new donors. 93% saw larger first gifts.
55% of hospitals without a digital grateful patient program would like to add one to aid acquisition.
Increased online communication directly leads to increased revenue
60% of hospitals that sent more emails this year than last year saw improved or stable revenue and more major gifts.
58% of hospitals that regularly sent community-based messaging with personal stories saw an increase in gifts above $1,000.
Advanced data modeling can support major gift cultivation
64% of respondents don’t perform major donor modeling or don’t know how effective their models are.
72% of respondents reported their average major gift portfolio is between 50–100+ prospects, underscoring the need for digital tools to support outreach.
What separates growing foundations from the rest
Implement the tools to convert top-of-funnel prospects.
- ~90% of respondents with a digital grateful patient program say they’re seeing improvements in donor conversion and average gift sizes.
- As a percentage of total donors, first-time donors comprised 26% more than last year. Precise targeting and messaging can successfully reach and convert the right prospects.
- First-time online donors are converting 20% faster than donors as a whole, and email provides the ability to engage prospects within 30 days of their care encounter.
Invest in online giving to improve retention and increase gift sizes.
- Only 38% of respondents use targeted outreach to improve retention, and less than 1/3 are using custom retention messaging.
- 46% of respondents don’t ramp up retention messaging for at least 24 months after a gift — a major missed opportunity to re-engage donors before they lapse.
- 92% of survey respondents saw stable or improved year-over-year performance in $1,000+ giving, demonstrating the opportunity to cultivate mid-level donors.
Data is being underutilized to support major donor programs.
- Less than 1/3 of respondents feel they are using major donor modeling effectively.
- 57% of hospitals who increased their email volume this year had increases in major gifts.
- Online gifts of $10,000+ have grown by 150% since 2021, demonstrating that donors are increasingly comfortable giving large amounts online.
Hospital foundation digital fundraising benchmarks
We sourced quantitative data from 37 hospitals across the country to develop benchmarks around donor acquisition, donor retention, and major donor development. Want to benchmark your program? Drop us a line at contact@digitalhealthstrategies.com
Who’s behind the numbers
Survey participants
This survey was sent to members of the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy. Survey responses from 210 participants from the United States are included, spanning small community-based hospitals to large inter-state hospital networks.
Benchmarking participants
Benchmarks were developed from data sourced from 37 hospitals and hospital systems around donor acquisition, retention, and lifetime value. The data was validated and standardized by Digital Health Strategies and only includes revenue from email, website, and direct mail solicitation campaigns. All participants are based in the United States.
Use this checklist to support your fundraising strategy and planning
Acquisition
- Implement a digital grateful patient program to build a prospect list for 2024.
- Develop a comprehensive fundraising calendar to solicit new prospects within 90 days of onboarding throughout the year.
- Blend digital and traditional fundraising communications to engage supporters based on their preferences.
Donor Retention & Upgrades
- Ask more often! Data shows that sending more email equals more money.
- Engage recent donors proactively through regular stewardship to encourage additional gifts.
- Use data to target gift amounts and reasons for giving based on prior behavior and interests. Directly connect donor support to community impact.
Major Donor Development
- Use online channels to increase mid-level and giving society membership: online gift sizes are increasing and email allows for just-in-time messaging to drive upgrades.
- Meet with major gift officers to create a plan for data and digital tools: understand their needs and what insights can make their work more efficient and effective.
The 2025 benchmarks are here.
See where donor retention, mid-level giving, and grateful patient programs stand this year — and how your foundation compares.