Charitable Giving for U.S. Health Care Rises a Tepid $241 Million in 2008, While Canadian Charitable Giving Plunges 13 Percent, Association for Healthcare Philanthropy Reports

Charitable Giving for U.S. Health Care Rises a Tepid $241 Million in 2008,
While Canadian Charitable Giving Plunges 13 Percent, Association for
Healthcare Philanthropy Reports

WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Confirming the full impact of
the global recession, philanthropic giving for health care in the United
States grew a tepid 2.9 percent -- or about $241 million -- to $8.6 billion in
2008, while similar donations in Canada fell by a dramatic 12.9 percent, to
total $1.07 billion, according to a new Report on Giving issued today by the
Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP).

"The poor overall results for health care philanthropy shown by the AHP Report
on Giving are a wakeup call for the Obama Administration and Congress," said
William C. McGinly, Ph.D., CAE, president of the AHP. "The hit that wealthy
individuals have taken in the total worth of their portfolios and holdings
during the recession takes huge assets off the table and out of the giving
equation. Compounding this scenario would be the Obama administration and
Congress' attempts to limit the charitable deduction write off, thus dampening
wealthy donors' incentive to give and further reducing charitable
contributions to all philanthropic organizations."

McGinly said, "While technically the recession is or will soon be over, AHP
membership feels its impact will continue to impair giving to health care
institutions for the near future."

Grateful patients, businesses, foundations and other U.S. donors made $8.588
billion in charitable contributions to health care facilities and
organizations in 2008, the AHP's Report on Giving determined. This 2.9
percent increase was about half the growth rate achieved in 2007, when
donations totaled $8.347 billion. Most disturbing was the fact that total
pledges for charity fell 6.2 percent in the latest year, while planned gifts
secured but not paid fell almost 13 percent.

Accounting for much of last year's slight advance in giving was the fact that
most nonprofit hospitals and health care systems in the U.S. closed their
books before the last quarter of 2008, when U.S. gross domestic product
plunged more than five percent. Institutions that closed their books on Dec.
31, 2008, actually saw a 0.2 percent dip in annual giving.

Meanwhile, AHP said Canadian contributions declined to $1.068 billion in 2008,
compared to $1.337 billion in 2007, when annual giving had risen by an
impressive nine percent over 2006 levels.

Individual donors were the largest source of contributions in both the U.S.
and Canada, and in both countries, one fifth of all individual donors were
patients.

In the U.S., more than eight of every 10 donations came from individuals,
whose contributions comprised 60 percent of all philanthropic funds raised by
nonprofit health care institutions last year. One in 10 donations were made
by businesses, including business-sponsored foundations, representing 17.5
percent of all funds raised, down slightly from 2007. Non-corporate
foundations accounted for less than three percent of donors but almost 14
percent of revenues. Other U.S. giving sources, including hospital
auxiliaries, public agencies, and civic groups, accounted for 8.6 percent of
total funds raised in 2008, compared to 7.5 percent in 2007.

"As economic conditions improve, nonprofit hospitals, hospices, clinics and
nursing homes that have steadily maintained their fundraising efforts will be
the first to benefit," said AHP Board Chair J. Gregory Pope, FAHP, CFRE, vice
president of philanthropy for the Saint Thomas Health Services Foundation in
Nashville, Tenn. "These institutions are mainstays of the American health
care delivery system and continue to deserve the support of their
communities."

In Canada, the portion of donations made by individual givers dipped almost 10
percent last year to just under 52 percent of the total. Canadian businesses,
including corporate foundations, supplied about one-quarter of the 2008
funding, about the same as the previous year. Canadian foundations, other than
corporate, contributed 6.3 percent in 2008, also little changed from the
year-earlier level. The AHP Report on Giving noted that, "the biggest change
was other types, such as hospital auxiliaries, public agencies, civic groups,
whose share rose from 7.0 percent to 16.2 percent."

As in previous years, the AHP Report on Giving found that funds raised in the
U.S. for health care institutions in 2008 were largely used to support
construction and renovation of facilities, although to a lesser extent than in
2007, followed by the purchase of equipment, general operations and community
benefit programs.

During the same period, the largest portion of philanthropic funds raised by
Canadian hospitals, 47.2 percent, went for equipment purchases. This was more
than twice the amount for construction and renovation, which was the
next-largest spending category, followed by research and teaching and general
operations.

"Canadian citizens and businesses recognize the importance of philanthropic
giving to show their appreciation for the doctors, nurses, and other health
care professionals who serve us so well every day," said Nancy Hewat, FAHP,
AHP Canada regional director and executive director of the Grand River
Hospital Foundation in Kitchener, Ont. "The challenges we faced last year
have encouraged hospitals throughout Canada to redouble their fundraising
efforts."

The Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, established in 1967, is a
not-for-profit organization whose more than 4,900 members direct philanthropic
programs in 2,200 of North America's not-for-profit health care providers.
AHP's members include fundraising professionals, development staff, public
relations professionals, trustees, marketing professionals, administrators,
and executives interested in health care fundraising. In 2003, AHP launched
its Performance Benchmarking Service, which establishes standard metrics and
industry best practices for fundraising success.

SOURCE Association for Healthcare Philanthropy

Kathy Renzetti, CAE, Vice President, Association for Healthcare Philanthropy,
kathy@ahp.org, +1-703-532-6243