Completing the Circle Candy C. Burnett, CFRE President Huntsville Hospital Foundation

I was teaching a “Philanthropy 101” class to a group of hospital managers recently and had one of those “aha” moments. Here’s what happened:

Although the primary topic of discussion was promoting a culture of philanthropy, I realized as I taught, that such a culture is contingent upon two other important factors: quality and customer service.

Quality in the delivery of health care is mission critical. In today’s environment, it is being monitored, evaluated – and publicly reported – like never before. If our physicians, nurses and other clinical staff care for our patients with strict adherence to quality indicators and regulations, then what happens? In addition to better health outcomes, our patients are satisfied.

Customer service is what keeps our hospitals first and foremost in the minds of our patients – great customer service is what keeps them and their family members coming back when they have health care needs in the future. Again, if our hospital staff can provide not only the best in quality care, but also do so in a timely manner and with compassion and a smile, then you can be sure that our patient satisfaction scores will soar. And who are among our most important donor prospects? Satisfied patients!

Philanthropy benefits when grateful patients give back. In fact, at our hospital we have a grateful patient donor program that is centered around quality and customer service. It’s heartwarming to meet patients and family members who are so grateful for the outstanding care and compassion shown to them during their hospital stay that they not only wish to make a donation, but also encourage others to do so. It makes my heart sing.

The funds we raise through philanthropy provide cutting-edge technology and programs that come full circle to enhance quality and customer service at our hospitals. So as you can see, we need to work hand-in-hand with our clinical staff to ensure that we’re all on the same page, that we support each other’s efforts and that our physicians, nurses, techs, even the housekeepers and food service staff, realize how important they are to us as fundraisers. We can’t do our jobs without their support, and they rely on us even more than they realize.

So as you cultivate a culture of philanthropy at your hospital, be sure to “connect the dots” and show your hospital colleagues how they can positively impact quality, customer service and philanthropy.

Best of luck to you as you complete the circle of care at your hospital!

Warmest regards,
 

Candy C. Burnett, CFRE
Regional Director
AHP Southeast Region

P. S. “Philanthropy 101” is revolutionizing our foundation – the hospital staff now understands who we are, what we do and why it’s important. And we have thousands of advocates telling our story across the hospital campus. We modeled our program after the program at Martin Memorial Foundation (thanks, Rusty, Kelly and Jessica!). Try it – you’ll love the results!

Help us Shape the Future of the AHP Southeast Region!
By Emily Benham, FAHP, CFRE, nominating committee chairman

Additionally, if you have not yet taken a look at this year's AHP Southeast Regional Cabinet, please do so. All of the members of the AHP Southeast regional cabinet are dedicated to serving you, our members, and are committed to providing services and programs that will strengthen our region and help you excel in your fundraising efforts. Please feel free to contact us if we can be of assistance!

Building Best Practices for Health Care Philanthropy Bill Kinard, FAHP Director GHS Children's Hospital

AHP Southeast Regional Conference Sponsorship Opportunities

Sharon Jones, FAHP Regional Director Elect & Sponsorship Chairman AHP Southeast Region

There are numerous sponsorship benefits and great opportunities still available. For a full listing and for more information, please e-mail me.

2nd Annual AHP Southeast Best Practice Awards –
Call for Submissions

John and Buffie Harper AHP Best Practices Award Co-Chairs AHP Southeast region

 Planned Giving: Why Now?
By June Bradham, president, Corporate DevelopMint

II. Endowments – importance in context of financial sustainability

a. Management of competition - With the growing number of nonprofits, competition for philanthropic dollars continues to intensify. Endowments increase the potential to succeed both administratively and in the service the organization provides. Organizations that plan for a strong fiscal future will undoubtedly make their endowment at the top of their strategic priority list.

b. Legacy planning and appeal to donors - Many donors who are interested in giving planned gifts are the same donors interested in endowments; many endowments are begun and continue to grow through planned gifts.

c. Fiscal responsibility - Hospital endowments are increasing while their role in health care institutions’ budget process becomes more important. Even with a modest corpus, the potential for growth in a robust economy is superb. And in a challenging economy, it can be a vitally important part of balancing an organization’s operating budget.

III. Campaigns

a. Complementing capital campaigns - With appropriate accounting and clear goals and expectations articulated, incorporating planned giving into a larger, comprehensive capital campaign is an effective way to raise more money. Using the natural momentum of the campaign to raise long-term dollars through planned giving can be the optimal solution for some groups hoping to raise a stretch goal, while potentially increasing or establishing an endowment.

Planned Giving is a challenge for fundraisers and often elicits uncomfortable grumblings from prospective donors, but the above elements combine to make the time ripe to integrate a planned giving initiative into any development program.

 Strength in Numbers

 AHP Southeast State Report

Want to know what's going on in your "neck of the woods"? AHP's new member-centric Web site includes regional community pages where you can engage in regional dialogue, view AHP regional events and announcements and subscribe to customized regional e-mail alerts. Take advantage of all that AHP offers—both nationally and locally, and visit the AHP Southeast Regional Web page today. You can also read the sucess stories of your "neighbor" institutions, including those in Louisiana, South Carolina and Tennessee. 

  Support the AHP Annual Fund

  AHP Government Relations Update

Health Care Reform

During his State of the Union address on Jan. 27, the President made an appeal to Congress for continued efforts on national health care reform. Although the bulk of his speech focused on other domestic issues, the President vowed not to abandon his health care agenda, cautioning that if changes are not made, both Medicare and Medicaid spending will skyrocket. 

The White House released its health care proposal on Feb. 22 in advance of the health care summit between President Obama and members of Congress. While created independently of ongoing health care reform negotiations between the Senate and House, the proposal reflects many of the compromises discussed between the two chambers of Congress. The proposal does not include restrictions on the tax deductibility of charitable gifts.

The IRS announced the 2010 changes to the value of low cost premiums that charities can provide donors without affecting the tax deductibility of a donor’s gift. A gift is fully deductible and the charity does not need to provide the fair market value (FMV) of premiums/benefits provided, if:

• The fair market value (FMV) of the benefits received does not exceed the lesser of two percent of the payment/gift or $96, or
• The donor gave $48 or more and received a gift or service valued at $9.60 or less, or
• The donor received small items as part of the appeal that were worth a total of no more than $9.60
  

In Georgia:  Hospital Provider Tax – Winners and Losers

The Governor of Georgia has proposed to add a 1.6 percent provider tax on net patient revenue of hospitals. In remarks before the joint appropriations committee, Governor Perdue told legislators he had two choices:  impose this provider tax on hospitals or cut Medicaid provider rates by 16.5 percent. Calculations from the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget indicate 39 hospitals receive a net gain from the tax, 39 break even and 84 are losers. A 1.6 percent provider tax on Georgia hospitals raises $247 million in revenue for the state to use to draw down federal matching dollars, currently a three-to-one match. The hospital community would potentially get back all but $10 million in the form of higher Medicaid reimbursement rates – except the losing hospitals. The amount of dollars returned to a hospital is calculated based upon Medicaid volume. The federal matching dollars will be used to fund other state programs.