Hospitals and Healthcare Systems
By Kathy Watson, Senior Consultant and Sarah Hartke, Director of Client Services
January 2012
As healthcare continues to be a subject of debate in the halls of Congress, non-profit healthcare institutions confront the strain of increased demand for services, federal mandates for electronic health records and other systemic changes, and decreased reimbursement. As a result, philanthropy is becoming an increasingly important part of the healthcare revenue picture.
Whether for a well-established development program seeking to broaden its constituency or for a startup fundraising operation, Schultz & Williams offers services that help healthcare organizations reach their potential. For example:
- S&W has worked for many years with Main Line Health in suburban Philadelphia. Our engagements have included campaign planning studies for all four of the System’s acute care hospitals, annual giving audits and plans for the System as well as individual hospitals, campaign staffing at two of the units, and campaign counsel and Board training for the others. Through the course of these projects, S&W has helped Main Line Health implement best practices in healthcare fundraising, strengthen the involvement of physicians, enhance the capacity of Boards, shape the case for support, and leverage the latest technologies in prospect identification to make sure the hospitals are reaching out to their natural constituents.
- At Doylestown Hospital (PA), S&W guided our client to success in a $16 million campaign in a very competitive fundraising climate. Although there were two other major campaigns in the community, S&W helped the Hospital to appropriately position itself and made the case that the emergency department benefited every member of the community, thus enabling the Hospital to engage a larger prospect pool.
- Following a comprehensive development assessment at Catholic Health System in Buffalo, NY, S&W is creating a transition plan for introducing a central fundraising function coordinated with local hospital foundations.
In our direct marketing division, S&W Direct offers customized services designed for each client and its unique program requirements. Our strength in developing comprehensive strategies allows every client to understand its donors and prospective donors and to communicate effectively with them, ultimately increasing overall revenue. Our services range from conducting annual giving program audits, to production of multi-channel direct marketing programs, to strategic planning and analysis. Our specialties include:
- Mid-level giving. We’ve worked with many healthcare organizations in developing strategies that enable them to build customized mid-level giving programs that enhance organizational philosophies and strengthen relationships with donors. At St. Mary Medical Center in Bucks County, PA, we helped design a $500+ giving club that incorporated direct mail, exclusive events and opportunities, and personal outreach. In its first year, St. Mary more than doubled the number of donors joining this club.
- Grateful patient analysis and implementation. We’ve worked with many healthcare organizations to maximize response and revenue from their grateful patient mailings. At Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, we were able to significantly increase response rate through creative and strategy changes, while reducing overall costs.
- Increased revenue from existing donor base. S&W has been assisting several healthcare organizations, both large and small, in maximizing revenue while making efficient use of limited budgets. At All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, FL, we launched their first direct mail matching gift opportunity, doubling the overall revenue without increasing costs.
- Designing highly profitable direct marketing programs that maximize revenue from all sources, leveraging multi-channel marketing opportunities. At Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, we integrate email and social media campaigns with their direct mail program. Last year we ran a highly successful “Messages of Hope” campaign, which asked donors, email constituents and Facebook fans to send messages to patients in the Hospital.
Schultz & Williams understands how to effectively highlight and communicate the unique assets of every hospital and health system we work with, allowing them to inspire and engage their constituents, ultimately maximizing the financial resources necessary to support their life-saving and life-changing missions.
Schultz & Williams is a national consulting firm based in Philadelphia providing management, fundraising and marketing consulting for nonprofit organizations, along with full-service direct marketing, database and creative/production services.
