Giving to nonprofit health care institutions in the United States during fiscal 2013 increased more than 3 percent compared to 2012 and more than 20 percent since the low point of the recession in four years ago and exceeded the gross domestic product (GDP) in the United States.
The Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP) released its annual Report on Giving for Fiscal Year 2013, tracking total funds raised, return on investment and cost to raise a dollar for member organizations in both the United States and Canada. Some 242 organizations in the U.S. and 49 in Canada submitted data on fundraising activities during the 2013 fiscal years.
Fundraising totaled $9.217 billion for U.S. nonprofit hospitals, medical centers, health care systems and related facilities, up from $276 million from the $8.941 billion in the previous year. The total is $1.5 billion more than the $7.644 billion raised in Fiscal Year 2009 during the depths of the Great Recession. In Canada, donations were up 7.5 percent, totaling $1.528 billion, more than $100 million higher than the previous year and almost a third higher than the recession’s low point of $1.068 billion.
“These hopeful figures demonstrate the generosity of thousands of donors in the United States and Canada,” said Steven Churchill, president and CEO of AHP.
Falls Church, Va.-based AHP represents nearly 5,000 members in North America. Combined totals for the U.S. and Canada indicated more than $10.7 billion raised, increasing annual donations by more than $380 million. AHP will publish its full Report on Giving with detailed analysis in November, free to organizations that provided data.
Hospitals and health systems that invest in philanthropy continue to see at least a $3.50 return for every $1 invested, Churchill said. Return on investment (ROI) in Canada was pegged at $3.83 for every dollar spent on philanthropic activities versus $3.55 in the U.S. The cost to raise a dollar was 26 cents in Canada while in the U.S. it was 28 cents.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in both countries rose by 2 percent or more for the second consecutive year, AHP noted while economic indicators and other measures of people’s wealth were up. In the U.S., the S&P Index gained 19 percent compared to 9 percent in 2012 while after-tax income for Canadians grew by 2.4 percent, similar to 2012.
