Globalization and Other Big Changes Will Force Hospital Fund Raisers to Take New Approaches

Globalization, the rising importance of small businesses, and the growing need for new revenue are some of the trends that will force fund raisers at nonprofit hospitals and health-care organizations to change their approaches, a new report says.

The report, commissioned by the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, examines how high-profile trends are affecting the jobs of fund raisers, the needs and motivations of donors, and the communities in which hospitals and other health groups operate.

Globalization alone, for example, is making itself felt througout health care in numerous ways. Among them:

• The percentage of Americans who were born outside the United States is bigger than it has been since 1920 and those individuals are more likely than people born in the United States to hold a college degree.
• American hospitals are increasingly participating in cross-border partnerships to provide overseas medical facilities or remote diagnostic and other health-care services.
• Patients from outside the United States are increasingly seeking life-saving treatments in American hospitals, making such treatments one of the fast-growing areas of health care.

Those trends point to the need of hospital fund raisers to expand the notion of the patients they seek out to make big gifts in gratitude for services they receive. They also need to enhance their cross-cultural awareness and will increasingly be expected to build relations with potential donors born outside the United States. They might want to show such donors how their contributions can help people in their native countries, the report said.

As government aid continues to fall, and states and cities grapple with record budget shortfalls, nonprofit hospitals and medical centers may be able to form new types of alliances. Among the potential partners: small businesses, which have been an engine of economic growth. Those companies are looking for ways to help their workers receive better health care, especially since many companies have been unable to increase wages.

As a result, nonprofit hospitals may be able to work with small companies to deliver wellness programs and other forms of preventive care, the report says. Fund raisers may play a role in forging such collaboration, a sign of the way in which their jobs will change from traditional efforts to seek gifts and grants from corporations, foundations, and individuals, said the report, “Emerging Trends: The Changing Landscape of Health Care Philanthropy.”