By Stephanie Kirk

The current fundraising landscape has brought a major pain point for many fundraisers — a decline in acquisition of donors. 

Many hospitals haven’t been immune to the challenge. In fact, regionalized donor base and reach have built an added layer of complexity to the problem. Unlike many national brands, the sky isn’t the limit in terms of available, viable audiences for most hospitals. 

The current limitations don’t mean you should cut acquisition completely. They’ve just required fundraisers to take a step back and shift approach. This can look like leaning into cultivation and lapsed recapture to drive retention and reactivation rates. Here’s a look at some of the tactical and strategic shifts for accelerating results. 

Lean Into Lapsed Recapture 

Since traditional acquisition hasn’t been performing at its historical levels, many of our clients are leaning into lapsed recapture and patient acquisition. 

Rather than investing more into list purchases, spend resources on donors who have had a relationship with the organization by strategically targeting lapsed audiences. Even deeply lapsed audiences have responded better than traditional acquisition in the current landscape.  

Test Wealthier Carrier Routes 

If your hospital is mailing into smaller regions, try testing small panels of carrier routes in wealthy ZIP codes. Although prospects in this area might not have previously given or aren’t popping up in a co-op database, their carrier route indicates that they have the capacity to give on a higher level than a standard acquisition audience.  

Rather than sending a standard acquisition package, test high-touch formal packages to these clusters in hopes that they can move into mid- and major audiences down the road.  

Due to the cost, this tactic couldn’t ever replace traditional acquisition. But, it’s a great supplemental tactic and strategic move to build relationships with donors who are more likely to move up the pyramid. 

Prioritize The Period After Acquisition 

Donors who give their second gift within the first year are more likely to be retained. Therefore, while investing in acquisition is extremely important it’s equally important to emphasize stewardship and cultivation. 

For the donors acquired in the high-wealth carrier routes, add them into your mid-level prospecting lists for stewardship and cultivation. Because these donors have the capacity to give larger gifts, you should add them to your call and screening lists to start strengthening those relationships. Personalized notes and phone calls go a long way for mid-level prospects. 

The current fundraising landscape has made acquisition a challenge, but hospital fundraisers who can lean into lapsed recapture, test new audience targeting and prioritize stewardship can drive long-term retention rates and growth. 

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Stephanie Kirk is vice president, client strategy at RKD Group in Dallas, Texas. Her email is skirk@rkdgroup.com

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