Case Study (1) - Benchmarking In Strategic Planning
CentraCare Health Foundation
Mr. Mark Larkin, CFRE, Vice President, Development
Download the handout and listen to the audio from CentraCare's presentation at the 2009 AHP International Conference on how this benchmarking participant applied metrics to more than double fundraising revenue. Mark Larkin outlines how he changed the conversation with his executive suite to integrate philanthropy into the health care organization's strategic plan in order to grow CentraCare's philanthropy program. This sessions covers: Benchmarking Made Easy - How to track and report data for better results; Benchmarking for Better Management - Using the data as a program evaluation tool, including evaluating staff; and How to get the most out of your participation, including maximizing the tools available.
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Case Study (2) - Re-thinking old standards leads to increased productivity
Glens Falls Hospital Foundation
Mr. Raymond Agnew, CFRE, Executive Vice President
When Ray Agnew came to health care in 1998 after 18 years in higher education, he was surprised by the lack of standards and tracking, not only in his organization, but also in the health care development field. He immediately set about putting procedures in place internally, but he had no idea how they “stacked-up” with others in the industry. When the AHP benchmarking program was being formed, Agnew jumped at the chance to measure Glen Falls’ performance against its peers.
An invaluable internal process. Agnew and his foundation team found the process of collecting data thought-provoking. It forced the foundation to re-evaluate how it was tracking progress and results, and it uncovered many inconsistencies and “glaring holes.” “We were not holding ourselves accountable as well as we should. We didn’t have standards and goals, for example, for the number of prospects we were qualifying, or the number of proposals going out. We were paying lip service to the fact that we were ‘seeing a lot of people’ but we needed to really quantify it,” said Agnew.
Re-thinking old standards. When comparing the foundation’s data to other organizations’ in the benchmarking program, Agnew was struck by the limiting nature of the traditional industry standard “cost to raise a dollar.” “The organizations that seemed to be the most efficient were usually not the ones raising the most money. If we raised $15 million at 20 cents on the dollar that might look great; but if we spent 40 cents and could raise a billion dollars – we’d go for that billion every time!” said Agnew. The foundation now relies on other benchmarking metrics to evaluate effectiveness.
Better reporting leads to greater accountability. As a result of the AHP benchmarking process, Glen Falls Hospital Foundation has significantly changed the way it reports its results. The foundation now provides meaningful statistics – not just a number of how much money was raised. Agnew is able to show measurable financial changes and account for deliverables every month. The foundation board of directors has welcomed the improved tracking and reporting. The foundation has also injected this new information into the hospital’s way of thinking by showing colleagues that they are serious in the development field.
Improved decision making. The AHP benchmarking tools have helped Glen Falls to better allocate resources, and to provide credible justification for those decisions. For example, when the foundation was at the beginning of the AHP benchmarking process, it had just hired a temporary campaign assistant to help handle major gifts for a short period. After analyzing the benchmarking data, the foundation realized that in order to achieve its goals, it needed to keep this person on staff full-time.
As a final note, Agnew shared, “The AHP benchmarking standards have been created after lengthy review by a peer group of best-practice health care development organizations. The data and decision-making instruments now available through this program need to be the tool of choice among health care professionals if they are serious about achieving their objectives.”