The 2024 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’s benchmarks were compiled using fundraising performance data from a participant pool of 43 hospitals across the country. This participant pool is different from last year’s. As a result, comparisons between this year’s benchmarks and previous editions should be avoided, as variations in the participant pool may impact the data’s comparability.
The data used was validated and standardized by Digital Health Strategies and only includes revenue from email, website and direct mail solicitation campaigns. Revenue from events, major giving, planned giving or employee giving is not included.
Use this report to validate and improve your hospital’s digital fundraising strategy. Our insights are based on the experience and performance of hospitals across the country. They can help you acquire and convert more donors, generate larger gifts, retain donors longer, and identify and cultivate promising major donors.
Top 3 Fundraising Priorities for
Hospitals + Health Systems
MAJOR DONOR DEVELOPMENT
Integration of annual
giving with major and planned giving drives results
79% of foundations with “very well integrated” Annual Giving and Major Giving programs reported increased revenue YOY.
Only 15% of respondents using major donor tools said they work “very well” in helping convert high-value prospects.
RETENTION + UPGRADES
Personalized engagement is key to donor value growth
Online donor retention rates increased 20% YOY, demonstrating the loyalty of digital supporters.
More than 60% of foundations sending personalized renewal and reactivation messages saw increases in revenue.
DONOR PIPELINE
Digital channels are fueling growth
Foundations with digital grateful patient programs were 2X more likely to report increases in new donors than those without.
Volume of new online donors grew 10%, despite a 30% decline in overall donors.
Key Findings
MAJOR DONOR DEVELOPMENT
Actionable data insights are critical to identify and engage high-value segments.
- Major gifts are a top revenue source for most respondents, but 50% more foundations saw a decline in $1k+ gifts YOY, highlighting the importance of mid-level pipeline.
- 75% of respondents reported that their major giving tools were not supporting their organizational goals as well as they want them to.
- Digital channels are a path to major giving, with online gifts of $10K or more increasing nearly 10% vs. the prior year.
RETENTION + UPGRADE
A digital-first approach to timely, personalized communications helps retain existing donors and increase lifetime value.
- More than 60% of foundations that personalize communications based on last gift date saw increased revenue from existing donors.
- New donor acquisition is down, making retention a big opportunity, yet nearly 25% of respondents aren’t tailoring communications based on donor history or status.
- Foundations reporting YOY increases in revenue were 3X more likely to be sending segmented stewardship communications to share the impact of giving.
DONOR PIPELINE
Invest in digital channels to drive new donor growth.
- Almost 60% of foundations with a digital grateful patient program in place reported increases in new donors.
- Acquisition slowed in the past 12 months, but new donor value is increasing.
7% more respondents reported that their average first-time gift amount had increased YOY. - More email correlates to more revenue: 66% of foundations sending a higher volume of emails saw an increase in new donors.
Hospital Foundation Digital Fundraising Benchmarks
We sourced quantitative data from 43 hospitals across the country to develop specific hospital fundraising benchmarks around donor acquisition, donor retention, and major donor development.
Want to benchmark your program? Drop us a line at contact@digitalhealthstrategies.com
Average online gift has more than doubled vs. prior year
Non-profit hospitals saw an annual growth in average online gift of 110% to $373 in 2023
Average annual online donor value has grown significantly
The average 12-month value of an online donor to a non-profit hospital increased 86% to $417 in 2023 and has more than doubled since 2022
Online donor retention continues to improve
Non-profit hospitals saw an average retention rate of 38%, a 19% increase from 2022
Proportion of donors giving online continues to grow
16% of donors to non-profit hospitals are online, a 10% increase from 2023 and 44% increase from 2022
Online revenue has stabilized to 2022 levels
After significant increases in 2023, overall online revenue per foundation has stabilized to 2022 levels, around $257k
Total number of online donations decreased vs. prior years
After significant increases in 2023, overall online donations per foundation has stabilized to 2022 levels, around 270 annually
of first time online donors
Non-profit hospitals saw a 10% increase in first-time online donors in 2023
of donors giving $10k+ online
10% more donors annually gave $10k or more online in 2023
Full survey results
1. What was your approximate total fundraising revenue over the last 12 months?
2. Since this time last year, has your fundraising revenue … ?
3. How much of your fundraising comes from … ?
4. Over the past 12 months, the average number of emails you’ve sent per constituent is:
5. Compared to last year, the volume of emails you’ve sent per constituent has…
6. Which of the following kinds of email communications have you sent over the past 12 months? (Select all that apply)
7. The average number of direct mail pieces you’ve sent per constituent is:
8. Compared to last year, the volume of direct mail you’ve sent per constituent has…
9. Over the past 12 months, your number of new donors has …
10. Over the past 12 months, your first-time gift amount has …
11. Over the past 12 months, your number of gifts over $1,000 has …
12. Over the next 12 months, what are the top three priorities for your organization? (Choose 3)
13. How integrated are your annual giving and major giving programs?
14. What is your average gift officer portfolio size? (The number of donors and prospects in each gift officer’s portfolio)
15. Which tools do you use to identify major and planned giving prospects? (Select all that apply)
16. Please rate how well your major and planned giving tools are supporting your organizational goals.
17. Which uses of AI and machine learning are you using in your fundraising program? (Select all that apply)
18. Which are the most common channels through which you communicate with your major donors and major giving prospects? (Select your top 3)
19. What tactics do you use to retain donors and prevent them from lapsing?
20. How long do you wait until you classify someone as a lapsed donor?
21. What tactics do you use to reactivate lapsed donors?
22. In your fundraising communications, which of the below most closely aligns with how you position the role of philanthropy at your health system? (Select one)
23. Which of the following messaging tactics do you frequently use in your donor communications? (Select all that apply)
24. Which fundraising campaigns do you conduct each year? (Select all that apply)
25. Which CRM do you use to manage donor information?
26. What online donation platform do you use?
27. What email marketing system do you use for donor communications?
28. Do you have a digital grateful patient program in place?
29. If you have a grateful patient program (digital or direct mail), where do you store your non-donor patient audiences?
30. Please rate how well you feel your marketing and fundraising tools are supporting your organizational goals.
Methodology and Participants
Survey Participants
This survey was sent to members of the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy. The results from that survey, compiled with data from the work of Digital Health Strategies, were used to develop this report. Survey responses from 123 participants from the United States are included in this report. These organizations span from small, community-based hospitals, to large inter-state hospital networks.
Geographic presence of survey participants
39%
urban
communities serving a principal city
of a metropolitan area
33%
suburban
communities serving within a metropolitan
or micropolitan area
28%
rural
communities outside of a
metropolitan area
Survey Participants: System Size
13%
small
hospitals <100 beds
26%
medium
hospitals 100-499 beds
55%
large
hospitals 500+ beds
Benchmarking Participants
Benchmarks were developed from data sourced from 43 hospitals and hospital systems to develop specific hospital fundraising benchmarks around donor acquisition, retention, and lifetime value. The data used was validated and standardized by Digital Health Strategies and only includes revenue from e-mail, website, and direct mail solicitation campaigns. Revenue from events, major giving, planned giving or employee giving is not included. All participants are based in the United States. The participating organizations span from small, community-based hospitals, to large inter-state hospital networks.
Get Ready for 2025
Use this checklist to support your fundraising strategy and planning.
MAJOR DONOR DEVELOPMENT
- Segment audiences by gift size and recency with a focus on encouraging $1K donors to join your giving societies and build your mid-level pipeline.
- Develop targeted planned giving communications for high-value donors to deepen commitment and boost key revenue streams.
- Identify data partners that can provide actionable data insights to inform next best actions and enhance prospect outreach efforts.
DONOR UPGRADES + RETENTION
- Use donor data to personalize your communications based on gift history and fund interest to improve donor retention and lapsed reactivation.
- Send regular digital stewardship communications to donor audiences to provide “real-time” updates on the impact of their gifts and encourage further support.
- Ask donors for an extra gift during year end and offer highly engaged audiences new opportunities to support your work. Even modest gifts boost revenue, deepen your relationship with the donor and enhance their lifetime value.
DONOR PIPELINE
- Implement a digital grateful patient program to drive up to 2x higher patient-donor conversion rates.
- Solicit patient prospects using email to reduce costs, increase efficiency and enable more rapid communications following care encounters.
- Target online audiences with higher ask amounts. Average first-time gifts from online donors are increasing and initial gift value is highly indicative of donor lifetime value.
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