How Children's Health Foundations Can Secure In-Kind Donations

How Children’s Health Foundations Can Secure In-Kind Donations

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Children’s health foundations play a vital role in supporting the well-being and development of children facing medical challenges. These organizations often rely on a variety of resources to fulfill their mission, and in-kind donations represent a powerful avenue to supplement traditional fundraising efforts. Unlike cash gifts, in-kind donations provide tangible goods or services that directly support program delivery, reduce operational costs, and enhance the experience of children and families served.

Securing in-kind donations requires a strategic approach tailored to the unique needs of these organizations. Children’s health foundations benefit immensely from contributions such as medical equipment, toys, and educational tools that improve care environments and patient outcomes. By understanding how to identify, request, and steward these gifts, development professionals can unlock new opportunities to advance their mission.

In this article, we will explore what in-kind donations are, the types most valuable to children’s health foundations, where to find potential donors, and best practices for making the ask. We will also introduce tools that can streamline the process, helping your team maximize impact through smarter fundraising strategies.

Table of Contents

  • What Are In-Kind Donations for Children’s Health Foundations?
  • Types of In-Kind Donations for Children’s Health Foundations
  • Where Children’s Health Foundations Should Look for In-Kind Support
  • How Children’s Health Foundations Should Make the In-Kind Donation Ask
  • Tools and Resources to Help Children’s Health Foundations Get Started

What Are In-Kind Donations for Children’s Health Foundations?

In-kind donations refer to non-cash gifts provided to a nonprofit organization. These can include physical items like equipment, supplies, or products, as well as services such as professional expertise, volunteer time, or event support. Unlike traditional monetary donations, in-kind gifts directly supply the resources needed to operate programs or maintain facilities without requiring the nonprofit to purchase them on its own.

For organizations across all sectors, in-kind donations offer a way to stretch limited budgets and access specialized goods or services that might otherwise be cost-prohibitive. They also foster partnerships with businesses and community members who want to contribute in ways beyond writing checks.

When it comes to children’s health foundations, in-kind donations take on particular significance. These organizations often require specialized medical equipment and supplies to support pediatric care, as well as items that create a welcoming and comforting environment for children and their families. By securing these gifts, Children’s Health Foundations can allocate more financial resources toward direct patient services and innovative programs. In-kind donations thus become a strategic asset that enhances both mission delivery and donor engagement.

How In-Kind Donations Complement Cash Gifts

While cash donations offer flexibility, in-kind gifts provide specificity and immediacy. For example, a donation of pediatric medical monitors from a healthcare technology company directly equips a clinic, whereas cash might be used to purchase such equipment later. Both forms of giving are essential, but in-kind donations often fill critical gaps and reduce procurement timelines.

Moreover, in-kind donations can deepen corporate relationships by aligning a company’s products or services with the nonprofit’s mission. This alignment fosters authentic partnerships that benefit both parties and ultimately improve outcomes for children served.

Types of In-Kind Donations for Children’s Health Foundations

Children’s Health Foundations can benefit from a diverse range of in-kind donations that support their programs and operations. Below are some specific examples that illustrate the breadth and impact of these gifts.

Medical Equipment and Supplies

Donations of pediatric medical equipment, such as monitors, wheelchairs, or specialized beds, are invaluable. These items directly enhance the quality of care and comfort for young patients. Additionally, supplies, including bandages, gloves, and sanitizers, help maintain a safe and hygienic environment, thereby reducing infection risks.

Toys and Games

Providing toys, games, and creative play materials helps children cope with stress and anxiety during medical treatments. Such donations can brighten hospital rooms and create positive distractions that support emotional healing.

Online Learning Tools

Educational software and digital learning platforms enable children to continue their studies while hospitalized or recovering at home. These tools support cognitive development and help maintain a sense of normalcy during challenging times.

Snacks and Nutritional Products

Healthy snacks and nutritional supplements can improve patient well-being and provide significant comfort. These items are especially important for children with dietary restrictions or those undergoing treatments that affect appetite.

Furniture and Facility Supplies

Comfortable furniture for waiting rooms, play areas, and patient rooms enhances the environment and the overall experience for families and staff. Meanwhile, donated cleaning supplies ensure that facilities remain safe and sanitary, which is critical in healthcare settings.

Professional Services and Skilled Volunteer Work

Beyond physical goods, services such as legal advice, marketing support, or transportation can be donated to build organizational capacity. Skilled volunteers can assist with event planning, IT support, or patient engagement initiatives, providing cost-saving benefits and expertise.

Where Children’s Health Foundations Should Look for In-Kind Support

Identifying potential sources of in-kind donations requires a strategic approach. As a result, children’s health foundations should begin by researching companies with corporate social responsibility programs that align with their mission of improving children’s health and well-being. Many businesses prioritize community impact and seek partnerships with nonprofits that reflect their values.

Below is a list of companies known for their in-kind giving programs that align well with the needs of children’s health foundations:

Clorox

Clorox often donates cleaning supplies and disinfectants, which are essential for maintaining sterile environments in healthcare settings. Their support helps children’s health foundations uphold high standards of hygiene and safety.

IKEA

IKEA provides furniture donations that create comfortable, child-friendly spaces in hospitals and clinics. Their products help transform clinical environments into welcoming areas for children and families.

Wayfair

Similarly, Wayfair offers a wide range of furniture and home goods that can be used to furnish patient rooms, waiting areas, and administrative offices. Their donations contribute to a more supportive atmosphere for care delivery.

Gerber

Gerber donates nutritional products and snacks tailored for infants and young children. These donations support the dietary needs of pediatric patients and promote healthy growth during treatment.

Danone

Danone provides specialized nutritional supplements and snacks that cater to children with medical dietary requirements. Their contributions enhance overall patient care and comfort.

Publix

Publix supports nonprofits through food donations, including healthy snacks and meal items. Their community engagement aligns with efforts to nourish children undergoing medical care.

Hasbro

Hasbro donates toys and games that help children cope with hospitalization and medical procedures. Their gifts foster joy and distraction, which are essential for emotional healing.

Build-A-Bear

Build-A-Bear offers stuffed animals and comfort items that provide emotional support to children facing health challenges. These donations create a sense of companionship and security.

Philips Healthcare

Philips Healthcare donates advanced medical equipment and technology that improve diagnostic and treatment capabilities. Their support directly enhances clinical outcomes for pediatric patients.

3M

3M provides medical supplies and safety products that help maintain infection control and patient safety. Their donations are critical to operational excellence in healthcare environments.

How Children’s Health Foundations Should Make the In-Kind Donation Ask

Making a thoughtful and strategic ask for in-kind donations is essential to building lasting partnerships with corporate donors. A well-crafted approach demonstrates professionalism, aligns the nonprofit’s needs with the company’s goals, and makes it easy for businesses to say yes.

Here’s how you can do so:

Start by personalizing outreach efforts. Research the company’s mission, past giving history, and values to tailor your message. Highlight how your organization’s work complements their CSR objectives and community impact priorities.

Clearly articulate what specific items or services you need and explain how these donations will be used to benefit children and families. Providing concrete examples helps donors understand the tangible impact of their support.

Communicate the benefits to the company, such as increased visibility through event recognition, enhanced community goodwill, opportunities for employee engagement, and potential tax incentives. Emphasizing mutual value strengthens the case for partnership.

Offer flexible giving options to accommodate different donor capacities. This might include physical product donations, gift cards, sponsorship of events, or provision of professional services. Flexibility increases the likelihood of securing support.

Finally, make it easy for donors to follow through by providing a detailed wish list, shipping instructions, and a dedicated contact person. Clear communication and responsiveness throughout the process foster trust and encourage repeat giving.

Tools and Resources to Help Children’s Health Foundations Get Started

Leveraging dedicated tools can significantly streamline the process of identifying and securing in-kind donations. Many companies have established donation programs with specific application procedures, but these opportunities are often scattered across multiple platforms and websites, making it difficult to track on your own.

Using a centralized resource saves time and effort by aggregating information about corporate giving programs, eligibility criteria, and application links. This enables children’s health organizations to quickly uncover companies whose CSR initiatives align with their missions.

For example, Double the Donation offers a comprehensive corporate giving program database that includes thousands of verified programs, covering in-kind donations, grants, and workplace giving. This platform empowers nonprofit professionals to identify high-value corporate partners and manage relationships effectively, giving them a competitive edge in securing critical resources.

Wrapping Up & Additional Resources

Securing in-kind donations is a strategic way for children’s health foundations to enhance their programs, reduce costs, and deepen community partnerships. By identifying specific needs, researching aligned corporate donors, and making thoughtful asks, nonprofits can unlock valuable resources that directly benefit children’s health and well-being.

Utilizing tools like Double the Donation’s corporate giving database streamlines the process, saving time and expanding access to high-impact opportunities. Taking these first steps empowers your team to build sustainable in-kind donation strategies that support your mission and amplify your impact.

Maximize Your In-Kind Donation Potential with Double the Donation

Corporate sponsorships and in-kind donations are critical to the success of nonprofit events and programs, but sourcing the right partners can be time-consuming and overwhelming. Double the Donation streamlines the entire process, helping your team find, secure, and manage corporate support with ease.

With our industry-leading corporate giving database, you can quickly identify companies that offer financial sponsorships, in-kind donations, and corporate grants, giving you a data-driven edge in building meaningful partnerships. Raise more with corporate grants and in-kind gifts; get a demo today!

Explore different healthcare fundraising strategies for hospitals and other facilities.

9 Proven Healthcare Fundraising Strategies For Better Care

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Your healthcare facility works hard to give your patients the best care possible, so it’s only fair that you get some of that love and devotion in return — with fundraising!

Healthcare fundraising is instrumental for securing the necessary staff, equipment, and facility renovations your organization needs to function at maximum capacity. However, many hospital fundraising teams are in the dark about how best to organize their efforts, rally their supporters, and jumpstart a steady flow of donations.

We know how busy your schedule is, so we’ll make this brief: below, you’ll find everything you need to know about healthcare fundraising, including top strategies that no medical institution can do without!

First, we’ll review the basics of healthcare fundraising. Then, we’ll take a closer look at each of these strategies:

  1. Overcome common healthcare fundraising challenges.
  2. Maintain a clean CRM for your healthcare fundraising.
  3. Incorporate corporate philanthropy into your healthcare fundraising.
  4. Develop a top grateful patients program.
  5. Host healthcare fundraising meetings about your hospital foundation.
  6. Send targeted healthcare fundraising communications.
  7. Create a stellar healthcare fundraising online donation form.
  8. Teach donors about legacy giving.
  9. Check in with donors and recognize generosity.

These essential fundraising tactics can save your healthcare facility time, energy, and money so that you can get back to doing what you do best: saving lives. Take a breather from your daily duties and follow along with us; we promise to make it worthwhile!

Click here to learn about our favorite healthcare fundraising strategy: matching gifts.

Healthcare & Hospital Fundraising at a Glance

Before diving into strategizing a new fundraising program or reaching out to donors or sponsors, a refresher may be in order. If you’re new to healthcare fundraising in general or have been delegated fundraising responsibilities for the first time, understanding the broader environment will be invaluable.

We recommend exploring Graham-Pelton’s complete introduction to healthcare fundraising, which answers these questions and provides valuable context for newcomers:

Why do healthcare institutions fundraise?

Graham-Pelton’s guide explains the importance of fundraising like this: “Healthcare fundraising […] enables growth, allowing institutions to expand access, fund research, secure life-saving equipment, and more.”

For context, while payment for services makes up a majority of revenue for many (but not all) healthcare institutions, it rarely covers all expenses. The operating margins of many US hospitals are quite tight, making the growth of operations, services, and programs extremely difficult without sustained increases in funding, as well. Smart healthcare fundraising strategies that deliver strong ROIs can go very far in building an institution’s capacity.

How does fundraising revenue fit into their broader revenue structures?

For hospitals and other institutions, fundraising is just one of many revenue streams. According to the guide linked above, they break down into five general categories:

  1. Payment for medical services (by patients, insurance companies, and governments)
  2. Sales (primarily food and goods)
  3. Grants (from governments and foundations)
  4. Donations (from individuals and sponsors)
  5. Endowments and other investment income

Everything besides payment for medical services could be considered fundraising revenue. Within that category, grants, donations, and investment income are generally considered part of healthcare development, a more specific form of revenue generation. The exact structure can vary greatly based on a range of factors, for instance, if a hospital is a research institution. It’s important to note that most fundraising activities are conducted by an associated hospital foundation rather than directly by the institution itself.

This diversity and the complexity of healthcare fundraising mean that many institutions turn to experts to help develop new and improved fundraising or development strategies. Healthcare fundraising consultants are often the right (and safer and more efficient) choice for these organizations. It’s highly recommended to consider hiring external, objective, and compliance-minded partners to help your institution improve its fundraising.

With this context in mind, let’s take a look at some of the specific healthcare fundraising strategies to keep in mind as you audit your current efforts, lay out a strategy, or begin defining your consulting needs.

1. Overcome Common Healthcare Fundraising Challenges.

In the realm of healthcare fundraising, the journey to securing vital funds is often fraught with unique challenges. While the overarching goal is to gather resources for better health services and research, hurdles can impede the process. Understanding these common challenges is crucial for developing effective strategies to overcome them:

A list of common healthcare fundraising challenges (as explained below).

  • Misconceptions about services: Often, potential donors have preconceived notions or misunderstandings about the services healthcare organizations provide. For instance, a hospital specializing in pediatric care might be perceived as only serving certain age groups or conditions, thus limiting its appeal to a broader donor base. Addressing these misconceptions through clear, transparent communication is essential in aligning donor expectations with the organization’s capabilities.
  • Data privacy and prospect research challenges: Healthcare organizations must ensure a delicate balance between complying with data privacy laws like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and conducting detailed prospect research. Effective fundraising often relies on identifying potential donors with the capacity and affinity to give. However, regulations limit the use of patient data, making it challenging to personalize fundraising strategies and gather adequate data on potential donors. This can hinder the ability to develop targeted fundraising approaches and build meaningful donor relationships.
  • Ethical concerns regarding facilitated access: Donors might expect preferential treatment in healthcare services as a quid pro quo for their donations. This is known as facilitated access and raises ethical questions, as it can lead to inequities in access to care. Establishing clear policies with donors about the non-transactional nature of their contributions is vital for upholding the integrity of the healthcare system.
  • Donor stewardship complexities: Nurturing relationships with donors, also known as donor stewardship, is crucial but can be particularly complex in the healthcare context. Donors to healthcare causes often have personal stories or emotional connections to the issues at hand. This necessitates a more sensitive, individualized approach to communication. Balancing the emotional aspects with professional stewardship practices makes healthcare donor stewardship an intricate challenge.


In addressing these challenges, healthcare fundraising professionals must adopt a multifaceted approach, combining sensitivity, adherence to regulations, and strategic communication. Recognizing and tackling these issues is key to building a robust, ethical fundraising framework.

2. Maintain A Clean CRM For Your Healthcare Fundraising.

A customer relationship management (CRM) system is the backbone of any fundraising operation. In healthcare fundraising, where relationships and data sensitivity are paramount, the importance of a clean and well-maintained CRM cannot be overstated.

You’ll want to develop robust prospect profiles within your CRM, making it easier to get to know your donors. For each individual, you’ll want to gather data such as:

  • Contact details
  • Basic demographic information
  • Past philanthropic giving to your organization
  • Involvement in other philanthropic organizations
  • Political affiliations
  • Real estate holdings

You can affiliate each donor with a particular donor persona, too. Creating donor personas involves researching and identifying common characteristics among potential donors, such as demographics, motivations, and giving history. For instance, potential major donors may have given large donations to similar organizations or have real estate holdings. Meanwhile, a potential legacy donor may consistently give to your organization and have a high giving capacity.

By creating robust profiles and affiliating them with common donor personas, you can tailor your outreach and focus your efforts on areas likely to drive impact. After building constituents’ profiles, regularly update and clean your CRM to ensure the data is accurate, so you can engage donors with relevant fundraising appeals.

3. Incorporate Corporate Philanthropy Into Your Healthcare Fundraising.

Corporate philanthropy has been trending like crazy in recent years. Not only does it benefit organizations in the healthcare, nonprofit, and education fields, but it also generates positive publicity and employee engagement within active companies.

That’s why to get a leg up in your healthcare fundraising feats, it’s always smart to seek partnerships with corporations known for their philanthropic history and variety of giving initiatives.

For healthcare organizations, corporations can give you philanthropic support by:

  • Sponsoring a healthcare-related fundraising event.
  • Investing in a capital campaign to raise money for specific hospital needs like new MRI machines or a hiring budget for more nursing staff.
  • Doubling their employees’ contributions to your organization via matching gifts.

As our favorite healthcare fundraising strategy, offering matching gifts is a reliable way to tap into corporate philanthropy and diversify your revenue streams. Watch this video for some tips for elevating your approach to corporate giving:

In addition, the whole point behind cause marketing is to encourage mutually beneficial relationships between corporations and fundraising organizations. For example, the ever-popular Red Nose Day collaboration with Walgreens has raised millions of funds to support impoverished children.

When approaching a corporation with a sponsorship proposal, remember to sell its team on a specific cause connected to the business. For instance, a company could screen employees to see if a large percentage are affected by a particular health concern or take an employee poll on a medical cause they would be interested in supporting. Essentially, the more you frame your pitch to highlight the corporate benefits of your healthcare fundraising partnership, the faster you’ll have them on board and committed.

Explore other popular corporate philanthropy examples to inspire your healthcare fundraising strategies.

4. Develop a Top Grateful Patients Program.

Although many hospitals already solicit donations from grateful patients, organizing a program around that specific purpose can do wonders for your healthcare fundraising. Grateful patient programs allow patients to express their thanks to a physician or facility that played a meaningful role in their treatment.

Not to mention, grateful patient programs can bolster your hospital’s reputation for patient care and attention, leading to more major donations. For example, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta offers an exemplary Grateful Families program that allows patients and their families to honor caregivers with a financial gift, share their testimonials, and engage in peer-to-peer fundraising. In addition, the Boston Children’s Hospital encourages families to honor loved ones with memorials and planned giving opportunities.

While assembling your grateful patient program, answer the following questions:

  • How will your program be managed? Develop your program’s prospect research and solicitation pipeline and arrange frequent check-ins with your team members.
  • Who are your grateful patient program team members? Recruit an integrated healthcare staff including doctors, nurses, hospital administration, and a development committee with major and planned giving officers.
  • What are your budgetary concerns? Map out areas of your program that may require more financial support than others.
  • How will you screen prospects and organize donor data? Invest in top data management software and conduct daily patient screenings to analyze giving factors.
  • What are your recruitment strategies? Get to know individual patients and devise a personalized solicitation game plan for current and discharged prospects.

To spread the word about your program, publish the opportunity on your website and create easily accessible materials like brochures around your hospital.

To boost healthcare fundraising results, create a grateful patient program brochure like this.

Finally, remember to treat your patients as people first and donors second by respecting their healthcare information privacy. Always handle your solicitations tactfully by consulting the HIPAA guidelines for getting a patient’s written consent on using their medical data for fundraising or promotional purposes.

Keep in mind that these are uniquely complex fundraising programs. They require careful messaging, extensive data compliance, and more steps that often don’t come onto your radar in other fundraising contexts. The healthcare fundraising experts at Graham-Pelton identify these key components of effective grateful patient programs:

  • Compliance
  • Patient Experience
  • Case for Support
  • Cross-Department Coordination
  • Fundraising Resources
  • Ongoing Measurement and Maintenance

According to Graham-Pelton, institutions (not just development departments) need to master the relational, analytical, and operational domains of these programs—i.e. their programs should be holistic, cross-departmental, organized, compliant, and patient-first. It’s highly recommended that hospitals partner with fundraising experts to develop, improve, or audit their grateful patient programs.

Overall, curating a powerful grateful patient program can help your hospital efficiently manage prospects and boost healthcare donations.

5. Host Healthcare Fundraising Meetings About Your Hospital Foundation.

When it comes to healthcare fundraising, hospital foundations are your medical institution’s advocates, go-getters, and best friends all rolled into one.

For those unfamiliar with the role of a hospital foundation, these nonprofits act independently to generate support for local hospital needs. As an isolated entity, these organizations usually have their own fundraising agenda and board of directors separate from the medical facilities they assist.

Hospital foundations commonly:

  • Oversee healthcare donations and hospital endowments.
  • Organize annual or capital campaigns for general or specific projects.
  • Host fundraising events on behalf of a hospital.
  • Provide educational scholarships to up-and-coming healthcare professionals.

It’s your obligation as part of your fundraising strategy to give your hospital foundation a hand by hosting informative meetings to showcase their brilliant efforts.

With these meetings or luncheons, your hospital can clarify fundraising options and meet face-to-face with interested prospects. In return, donors learn how to channel their gratitude toward the medical programs that they’re most passionate about.

From these interactions, hospitals can also determine areas of interest for constructing effective fundraising campaigns or events like charity auctions that address specific healthcare concerns.

6. Send Targeted Healthcare Fundraising Communications.

Once your medical institution lands a generous donation, your healthcare fundraising team should prioritize donor stewardship. You can grow donor relationships by initiating personal healthcare communications.

Your fundraising team can strengthen outreach and send valuable information by segmenting donors within your donor management software.

For example, donors should receive frequent updates on how their gifts have helped staff and patients, while prospects should receive news about programs that match their areas of interest. For instance, a former breast cancer patient may be particularly interested in supporting a fundraiser for the cancer ward. Furthermore, inform former patients when their medical team is honored for fundraising contributions.

Get the most out of your donor communications by doing the following:

  • Share stories about your healthcare facility, physicians, or patients.
  • Use emotional, eye-catching visual media like photos, videos, and infographics.
  • Provide examples of how a donor’s support directly influenced your healthcare fundraising.
  • Make donors feel part of something bigger by casting a long-term healthcare fundraising vision.
  • Encourage donors to contact you with questions or concerns about donating.

Throughout all communications, focus on connecting donors with your fundraising efforts and, more importantly, emphasizing their value to your organization.

7. Create A Stellar Healthcare Fundraising Online Donation Form.

When was the last time your healthcare institution revamped its online donation form? If it’s been a while, it’s imperative that you understand how much this tool can make or break your healthcare fundraising.

For starters, online donation forms accomplish a variety of tasks that make your healthcare fundraising efforts outrageously easier like:

  • Receiving online donations and securing more matching gifts by featuring an employer search tool.
  • Reaching a wider audience by offering an accessible and shareable donation option.
  • Collecting donor data to document preferred giving methods and average gift amounts.
  • Tracking fundraising results to assess your virtual outreach.

In addition, your online donation form can be key to accepting annual fund gifts or capital campaign gifts via a fundraising webpage.

How to Design a Donor-Ready Online Donation Form

When crafting an outstanding online donation form, it’s best to keep the design details as simple as possible to attract and retain donors, such as:

  • Sticking to one page with minimal (yet effective) branding.
  • Limiting the number of steps it takes to complete the form.
  • Optimizing your online donation form for mobile or tablet use.
  • Providing suggested giving amounts to accelerate the process.
  • Allowing donors to share their gifts on social media platforms.

A cluttered or unresponsive layout can deter donors from following through with a donation. By offering an easy-to-navigate platform and more giving options to fit individual needs, your healthcare institution can make online giving a rewarding experience. 

Then, embed the online donation form into foundation materials like digital brochures, e-newsletters, emails, and more with the URL link.

How to Encourage Corporate Philanthropy With Your Online Donation Form

Tap into corporate philanthropy by including a matching gift search tool on your online donation form!

A mockup of a healthcare donation page with an embedded matching gift search tool

If your healthcare fundraising team is unfamiliar with matching gift search tools, let’s look at our matching gift widget on Mercy Corps. Here’s how the process works:

  1. The donor enters their employer’s name to discover whether they have a matching gift program in place.
  2. If the company is listed, the donor reviews the company’s matching gift ratio, types of eligible organizations, and employee eligibility guidelines.
  3. If eligible, the donor fills out a form to initiate the matching gift process.
  4. The company confirms the donation with your healthcare organization.

Even better, you can leverage auto-submission to cut out a few of these steps. When a company uses CSR software that integrates with Double the Donation, their employees can let our software submit their match requests on their behalf.

In essence, make the most of your online donation form with a killer design and matching gift search tool to provide donors the luxury of multiple giving options to your medical institution.

Click here to learn more about leveraging a matching gift database for your healthcare organization's fundraising.

8. Teach Donors About Legacy Giving.

Legacy giving, also known as planned giving, enables donors to make a lasting impact on healthcare organizations. Your organization should educate donors about the benefits and processes of legacy giving, ensuring their generosity continues to support vital healthcare services and research for future generations.

Legacy giving involves donors committing to contribute a major gift, often from their estate or financial planning. It provides long-term financial stability, enabling healthcare entities to plan and execute future projects with confidence.

Common forms of legacy gifts include bequests in a will, life insurance policies, trusts, and retirement plan assets. Each method offers different benefits and considerations, and here’s how you can educate donors on these opportunities:

  • Informative Sessions and Materials: Providing detailed brochures, webinars, and workshops can demystify the process of legacy giving. These resources should cover how to set up legacy gifts, tax benefits, and the impact of these gifts on healthcare services and research.
  • Personalized Meetings: Address individual donor’s questions and concerns, providing a personalized approach to their unique financial situation and philanthropic interests.
  • Success Stories and Testimonials: Share stories of how legacy gifts have contributed to significant advancements in healthcare to illustrate the impact of these donations. Whether through video or written content, these can inspire others to leave their mark.

By providing clear and inspiring guidance, healthcare organizations can communicate the profound impact each donor’s legacy can have. This not only secures long-term funding but also ensures that the donor’s philanthropic vision is honored and fulfilled.

9. Check In With Donors and Recognize Generosity.

In healthcare fundraising, actively engaging with and recognizing donors’ generosity is essential for long-lasting relationships. Regular updates on the organization’s progress, upcoming events, and how their contributions make a difference keep donors connected and engaged.

eCards, in particular, offer a flexible, cost-effective way to express gratitude and acknowledge contributions. eCardWidget’s guide to charity eCards explains that they can be easily customized to reflect your healthcare organization’s brand and the donor’s impact, and their digital nature allows for immediate and environmentally friendly recognition.

Build relationships with your healthcare donors by sending thoughtful eCards like this example.

Using an eCard site, send cards when someone gives a sizeable donation or when someone is celebrating a birthday or other milestone. Recognizing milestones in donors’ lives or their history with the organization adds a personal touch to these communications. When possible, include updates on your organization’s achievements and the direct impact of their donations.

Beyond eCards, organizing appreciation events and offering public acknowledgment (with the donor’s consent) in newsletters or on social media can further celebrate and appreciate their support.

However you approach it,  combining regular, personalized contact with thoughtful recognition initiatives will empower your healthcare organization to foster ongoing engagement with donors, encouraging continued support.

Additional Resources For Better Healthcare Fundraising

There’s no doubt that healthcare fundraising is a group effort that requires a lot of sweat, creativity, and grit. However, with the right fundraising strategies up your sleeve, it can also be fun and rewarding for both your hospital and donors. Have a blast with your healthcare fundraising by aiming for even bigger donation goals with these powerful tactics!

For more game-changing resources, dive into these additional resources:

Our matching gift software can elevate your healthcare fundraising revenue. Click here for a demo.

7 Key Steps for Championing Your Grateful Patient Program

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One of the most rewarding perks of working at a healthcare facility is the meaningful relationships your staff members form with patients. In return for the help and life-changing treatment they received, it’s only natural for patients to seek an outlet for expressing their thanks.

That’s where grateful patient programs come in! This top healthcare fundraising strategy allows patients and their families to honor your hospital’s staff, an area of care, or a clinical program with a generous donation.

Through grateful patient programs, donors can make tangible contributions that directly impact the quality of your patient care, such as by giving funds for a cancer research program, a new MRI machine, or even resources to build a new wing.

That’s why we’ve got your back by outlining seven essential steps for supercharging your grateful patient program.

But before walking through how to connect and earn these vital donations, let’s begin by answering a few basic questions about grateful patient programs. 

Discover how to double patients' donations with matching gifts. Download our guide.

Grateful Patient Programs: FAQ

Grateful patient programs have a lot in common with other types of fundraising initiatives. However, due to the delicate nature of patient relationships, there are a few key differences that healthcare organizations should be aware of when launching their program. 

What is a grateful patient program?

Nonprofit consultant Graham-Pelton offers this definition of grateful patient programs as a starting point: “A grateful patient program consists of all the steps and resources that a healthcare institution uses in order to consistently secure grateful patient donations as an ongoing initiative.”

Essentially, a grateful patient program is a donation program offered by hospitals and healthcare organizations. While these organizations are unlikely to turn down small or mid-sized donations from patients, grateful patient programs usually target individuals who have the potential to be major donors. As such, these programs consist largely of strategies for stewarding relationships with patients. 

What are the benefits of a grateful patient program?

Grateful patient programs enable patients to express their gratitude to the hospitals and healthcare organizations that helped them. These donations usually go to programs and services dedicated to treating patients with similar conditions to what they experienced. 

For hospitals and other healthcare institutions, grateful patient programs are often a core part of their fundraising strategy. These programs enable hospitals to fund the life-saving services they offer, such as buying new equipment, furthering research, and keeping their staff employed. 

What are the elements of a successful grateful patient program?

As we go through how to launch your grateful patient program, we’ll review why each step is essential to your hospital’s success. However, a few core elements of functioning grateful patient programs to highlight beforehand include: 

  • Supportive staff. Ensure your entire team is aware of and supports your grateful patient program. Create lines of communication between doctors and other medical staff with your fundraising team. When your staff sees your grateful patient program as necessary for your hospital’s continued operations and ability to provide a high level of care, they’ll be more likely to proactively assist fundraisers. 
  • A positive patient experience. Patients are far more likely to participate in a grateful patient program if they are, in fact, grateful for the care they received. Speak with patients about their experiences at your hospital to ensure they receive high-quality treatment, compassion from your staff, and convenience in accessing care.  
  • Purposeful results tracking. As with any fundraiser, monitor your results to identify your current strategies’ strengths and weaknesses. Ensure your team tracks metrics such as donor acquisition, repeat donations, response rates to donation solicitations, and patient feedback in response to fundraising requests. 

Additionally, your grateful patient program must follow all privacy and compliance regulations. Keep patient data secure and follow HIPAA requirements to show respect for patients, protect their privacy, and avoid compromising your hospital’s standing with state and federal standards.  

1. Gain Support for Your Grateful Patient Program

While we hope you’re as enthusiastic about grateful patient programs as we are, remember that not everyone on your hospital staff will be ready to support your program right off the bat. Many members of your team may not be aware of or even have doubts about grateful patient programs, and your first step is to get influential members of your hospital’s leadership on board.

With the support of your hospital administration, board members, and CEO, your healthcare fundraising team can form a dedicated group to plan, manage, and promote a successful grateful patient program.

Here is an overview of the roles various team members might play: 

Grateful Patient program roles for various staff members are listed and written out below.

  • Hospital administration and board members can lend support for advancing healthcare fundraising initiatives associated with your grateful patient program. These individuals can help plan activities and allocate funding to get your program off the ground. 
  • Major and planned gift officers will conduct prospect research, organize donor data, and cultivate lasting donor healthcare bonds. Ensure your gift officers coordinate with the rest of your fundraising team to help strategically plan events, adjust outreach, and secure major donations. 
  • Doctors and nurses can act as ambassadors for your grateful patient program once you’ve gained support from higher-up authorities. Be conscious that medical personnel may be uncomfortable with directly soliciting gifts from patients or families. To help ease the burden, encourage your physicians to only provide information about your grateful patient program to those who express a specific interest in giving back to your hospital. Keep lines of communication open so staff can quickly call in a member of your fundraising team to answer patients’ questions and ensure medical team members can focus on providing care. 

To gain buy-in from these teams, do your research and be ready to present data that demonstrates the impact your grateful patient program has the potential to make. 

Additionally, the clearer you can be about the specific role each team member will play, the better. After all, doctors are far more likely to support a program if they understand that their main role is to alert your fundraising team to interested patients rather than having to make a sales pitch to their patients themselves. 

2. Create Grateful Patient Protocol for Your Hospital

As mentioned, you may have trouble attaining some staff members’ buy-in for your grateful patient program. Often, medical personnel’s concerns stem from worries about how fundraising may impact patient treatment. When will fundraisers approach patients? Will patients feel pressured to donate? Are doctors expected to share patient medical information with your fundraising team?

Approach these concerns seriously, and enforce guidelines that resolve delicate issues associated with your fundraising program to set hospital staff and fundraisers’ minds at ease.

Specifically, to ensure your grateful patient program has a smooth implementation, your fundraising team must address potential challenges early by establishing policies that reflect:

  • Compliance with HIPAA guidelines and dedication to protecting patient privacy (see section 5)
  • A set of protocols to establish when and how major gift officers or other fundraisers may approach a patient
  • A set of protocols to establish when and how physicians and staff can advocate for the grateful patient program
  • A clear, open line of communication for physicians and staff to address concerns

By acknowledging these factors in your grateful patient program, you can foster an environment where hospital staff and fundraisers treat contributors as patients first and donors second. If you have doubts about the right way to approach one of these topics, meet with board members, doctors, and other relevant parties to gather first-hand insights and ensure they are part of the decision-making process. 

3. Provide Access to Grateful Patient Materials

In an ideal situation, a patient will express their desire to give back to your hospital without prompting. In reality, many patients may want to give back somehow but never vocalize their gratitude to the right people.

To draw attention to your giving initiatives, your healthcare fundraising team should create grateful patient materials easily accessible in the form of easy-to-grab materials, like brochures or pamphlets, to be placed in the hospital.

The image shows an example grateful patient program brochure with placeholder text for the information.

Doctors and nurses should be aware of where these materials are so they can provide them to patients as needed. Medical staff may feel discomfort talking to patients about fundraising, and educational materials serve as an easy way to continue the conversation without turning your doctors and nurses into fundraisers. 

To make the giving process easier, your hospital should also look into creating a page on your website about your grateful patient program. Incorporate online donation tools for patients to make contributions. These virtual giving tools can provide donors with a fast and convenient way to support your grateful patient program with capabilities like:

When investing in new fundraising technology, check whether online giving tools already integrate with your existing nonprofit CRM or fundraising software. Software that integrates with your current system will be easy to implement, prevent data silos, and create less work for your team.

4. Screen Prospects for Your Grateful Patient Program

It’s no secret that hospitals that target donors with high giving potential are more likely to see a return on their investment. After all, while every donation helps, a grateful patient program only pays for itself when it brings in major gifts. 

That’s why it’s imperative for your healthcare organization to leverage prospect research resources. Prospect research involves analyzing potential donors’ finances and charitable tendencies to determine their capacity and affinity for making a major gift. 

Your fundraising team only has so many major gift officers, and screening patients allows hospitals to allocate their resources by identifying constituents who have the affinity and the ability to give a significant donation.

Typically, hospitals use the following two strategies to conduct prospect research for their grateful patient programs:

The differences between third-party and in-house wealth screening services are listed below.

  • Prospect screening services. Partner with a wealth screening service to gather data about patients’ past donations, real estate purchases, political donations, and other markers of wealth. External partners reduce your team’s workload and may have access to databases your hospital does not. However, sharing patient data with third parties may cause privacy concerns. 
  • In-house research team. Additionally, your organization can form an in-house research team. These professionals are enlisted by your hospital for the sole purpose of performing prospect research screenings. To set up this team, you will need to hire and train staff to conduct research and purchase access to necessary information databases. 

Once your hospital’s fundraising team has identified key prospects, craft targeted communications to pique their interest in your grateful patient program.

5. Emphasize Patient Well-Being in Your Grateful Patient Program

Hospitals can be stressful places, even for patients who receive the best possible care and leave with great results. Without question, your medical institution’s highest priority should be treating patients and ensuring they have as positive an experience at your hospital as possible. 

Grateful patient programs rely on positive patient relationships to succeed. Treating patients to the best of your ability is not just the right thing to do—it also helps your hospital secure future funding. 

To create an environment where patients feel safe, respected, and valued, in your grateful patient communications, your healthcare facility should always:

  • Respect patient privacy. Patients’ medical concerns are between them and their doctors. When reaching out to patients for donations, fundraisers shouldn’t discuss their health, treatment plan, or ongoing medical concerns. 
  • Align donation opportunities with expressed interests. Covering health-related expenses can be stressful for many people. Ensure you only extend donation requests to patients who have an interest in giving. 
  • Seek organic opportunities to reach out to prospects. Look for moments when donors are likely to feel generous. For example, if a physician is being recognized for an achievement at your hospital, the physician’s former patients are prime prospects for making a contribution in the physician’s honor.
  • Creating a strict solicitation timeline. Follow-up materials should only be sent after a patient has been discharged. Determine how long after a visit to send materials about your grateful patient program. For instance, if recovery from a procedure takes two weeks, you might solicit the patient three weeks after their stay to ensure everything with their treatment is wrapped up.

Use your CRM to track patient data related to fundraising, allowing you to personalize your outreach and connect donors with giving opportunities they are likely to be interested in. 

That being said, the best way to honor patient well-being during healthcare fundraising is to adhere to The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). A legal measure, HIPAA guarantees patient protection for confidential medical information against use in a hospital’s healthcare fundraising or promotions.

As such, respect patients’ privacy by not discussing the following HIPAA-defended items with donors’ medical teams:

  • Diagnosis
  • Nature of service
  • Medical treatment

Additionally, have a plan in place for when a patient withdraws their permission to use their medical records in a previous agreement with your hospital. These patients are unlikely to have a high affinity for giving and should not be contacted for further donation solicitations unless they have specifically noted otherwise. 

6. Open the Door to Healthcare Fundraising Matching Gifts

Implementing a stellar grateful patient program is an accomplishment, but there is another way for your hospital to maximize those funds: adding matching gifts to your healthcare facility’s fundraising strategy.

Matching gifts allow your grateful patients to use their employer’s matching gift program to double their contribution to your hospital! For instance, if a patient donates $2,000 to your organization, they may just need to fill out an application with their place of work to have their employer donate an additional $2,000, earning your hospital a total of $4,000 from one donor. 

Your medical institution can easily set up and promote this donation goldmine. All it takes is for you to incorporate a matching gift search tool into your grateful patient donation process.

Include a matching gift database search tool on your grateful patient online donation form. That way, patients can check their matching gift eligibility while making a donation. Some patients may even have employers who enable matching gift auto-submission. 

Auto-submission is the latest technology in matching gifts and allows employees to have their matching gift applications completed for them. Here is a breakdown of how this technology helps donors:  

To get started with matching gift auto-submission, your hospital or healthcare-related organization just needs to invest in matching gift software. Donors who qualify for auto-submission can then opt into the process to have their match applications filled out for them, while other match-eligible donors will be prompted to take the next steps to participate in their employer’s corporate matching program. 

Make the donation process even easier for patients with matching gift auto-submission. Discover auto-submission.

7. Track Your Grateful Patient Program’s Progress

Last but not least, the success of your grateful patient program relies on how you monitor its progress. With careful and continuous tracking, you can identify places of improvement to tweak to improve your program and better serve your hospital and its patients.

Medical institutions should establish clear goals and criteria for how their grateful patient program should develop based on metrics like:

  • ROI
  • Number of donors
  • Response rate
  • Retention rate
  • Average gift size

While big-picture results determine whether your program is a success, you can make targeted improvements by tracking more granular data. As part of your program, have your fundraising team take note of:

  • How long it takes to convert a prospect to a grateful patient donor. Roughly how many conversations does a major gift officer need to have with a patient before they make a donation? How long should you wait after a patient’s discharge to reach out with fundraising requests? Do any patients contact your team to inquire about donations, or does your team start the majority of donation conversations? 
  • The response rate to different grateful patient communication strategies. Whenever you implement a new strategy for reaching out to patients, document your approach and patient response rates. You may be able to attain data directly by surveying long-term donors about their thoughts on different strategies, but much of your data will be observational, such as noticing if response rates change or become increasingly positive or negative. 
  • The response quality to different grateful patient stewardship techniques. Once patients have expressed interest in your grateful patient program, they have entered the stewardship phase of your engagement. Have major gift officers document their meetings with prospective supporters in their donor profiles. Then, use this information to determine both individuals’ and your donors’ response as a whole to various relationship-building strategies. 

To maintain a better grip on these factors, use a robust nonprofit CRM software solution. This technology will save your healthcare fundraising team a lot of stress while managing your grateful patient program’s growth.

More Resources for Grateful Patient Programs

The bond between patients and healthcare staff is like no other; it requires hard work, respect, and communication to ease patients’ discomfort and make them feel safe and cared for during their time at your hospital. Encourage your patients to help others receive the same exceptional care they did by making a personal donation to your grateful patient program.

For more must-know tips on how to boost your healthcare fundraising, check out these additional resources:

Start off your grateful patient program right with matching gift software. Check out 360MatchPro and start doubling donations! Request a demo.