How Technology Boosts Your Hospital's Donation Rates

As a hospital development officer, you’re no stranger to shoring up fundraising efforts with software. A tech-focused survey of the nonprofit sector found that healthcare fundraising teams already use an average of 6.2 primary applications, making the healthcare vertical on the higher end compared to other nonprofit categories.

However, technology is constantly evolving, providing new ways for you to connect with donors and raise more for your mission. So even if you already have a robust tech stack, there’s always something to learn. In this article, we’ll explore four areas where tech can support your team’s efforts to fund your hospital and empower better care. 

Smooth and holistic donor journeys

Often, healthcare donors have benefited from your hospital in some way, either through receiving care personally or for a loved one. They’ve felt the impact of your hospital’s work, so they’re likely aligned with your mission.

While this dynamic establishes a patient-to-donor pipeline, you still have to facilitate a smooth transition. Tech tools can help you clear the path and maintain context. Keep these considerations in mind when leveraging tech here:

• Build engagement from the beginning. Your practice can use digital tools to engage patients from their first appointment. Not only does offering two-way messaging, automated reminders, copay alerts, etc. improve the patient experience, but it also lays the foundation for a lasting relationship with the individual, even after they benefit from hospital medical services.
• Take a sensitive approach. This applies to both data and compliance factors (ensure HIPAA compliance when handling patient data and choose tools that encrypt data) and to relationship factors. Make sure your messaging is empowering and optimistic, not trauma-based or coercive. All users should be able to opt in or out at any time easily. 
• Present a united front. Whether an individual is at your hospital campus for a procedure or receiving an email promoting your year-end giving campaign, your institution has a holistic identity. When the patient communications, administration, and development staff are integrated, you can match the timing and tone of your campaigns with patients’ experiences, optimizing the appeal for the best possible delivery.

As with any donor journey, after patients have contributed, express your gratitude. Leverage technology to optimize delivery and scale, but the message should still convey your personal and heartfelt thanks.

Smart AI adoption

Recent research has found that donors are expressing distrust of AI and unease with nonprofits using it. While AI developments are game-changing for fundraising activities, you don’t want to sacrifice the relationships you’ve built with supporters over the years because your team doesn’t do its due diligence.

So, how does your team balance the benefits of AI for fundraising with this skepticism? The answer may look different in practice for every healthcare or nonprofit organization, but it starts with transparency. Be upfront about AI use with donors, employees, and other community stakeholders to win their trust.

For your employees, that transparency is also vital, not just for whether your organization will use AI, but how you’ll implement it. You want to get your staff team on board with this new technology and provide them with a solid framework for adopting it safely. Promptly’s guide to AI technology in healthcare recommends including the following components in your AI usage policy:

• Permitted and prohibited use cases
• Data handling and privacy
• Clinical review requirement
• Transparency and disclosure requirements
• Training and education
• Accountability and enforcement policies

Remember, others are using AI to find your organization too, and your strategy should aim to catch their attention. A key way to do so is by optimizing your digital assets for AI search. When you establish your hospital’s website as an authoritative and trusted source for AI models, you’ll earn visibility for a wider audience and potential new donors. 

Alternate giving methods and legacy gifts

Receiving cash gifts is routine for your organization. You have the tech infrastructure in place for donors to enter their credit card or bank information and transfer their contribution to your hospital. And while this is still a strong channel for funds, don’t let seemingly more complex gifts deter you from receiving diversified contributions to support your hospital.

Your hospital can simplify gift acceptance for non-cash gifts and planned giving with technology. Here are a few specific features for each type:

• Stock gifts: Look for a tech platform that allows you to automatically liquidate stock assets upon receiving them. You can also hold stock gifts for potential growth.  
• Legacy gifts: With the right software infrastructure, you’ll be able to accurately forecast the future receipt of funds and manage planned giving relationships over time, even if there’s staff turnover.

In addition to investing in technology to enable these giving opportunities, promote these ways to give in your marketing materials. You might include an explanation of the tax benefits of DAFs and stock gifts in your donor newsletter or design a special planned giving campaign during August for Make-A-Will month. 

Proactive reputation management

In the same way that your development and patient care teams should collaborate to provide a cohesive transition from patient to donor, your hospital’s reputation is another key area that relies on both the development and medical departments.

Your institutional reputation correlates directly with community and donor trust. Building and maintaining a strong brand with stakeholders not only establishes your hospital as a provider of choice, but it also serves as a donor cultivation strategy.

Technology that tracks and manages your hospital’s reputation can help you understand:

• When to plan fundraising campaigns based on public sentiment
• What areas to prioritize funding for if organizational changes are needed
• What stories to share in promotional materials from positive patient feedback

When patients or other community members share concerns or complaints, having a process to address the issue appropriately and then communicate the resolution back to the patient is a strong start to rebuilding trust and protecting your reputation.

For any tech innovations you implement, consider running trials with small groups of trusted donors to gather feedback on their experience. Getting a few supporters’ perspectives before rolling out initiatives to your entire audience lets you catch any bugs early and ensure alignment with your hospital’s mission and donor preferences.