Fundraising strategy example for a hospital foundation

What this fundraising strategy template includes

• ContextThe situation, the challenges to solve, and what is deliberately left out.
• Case for supportWhy the organization deserves funding, in terms a donor would repeat.
• Income streamsEach source of income with its current level and target.
• Gift tableThe number of gifts needed at each level to reach the goal.
• Donor stewardshipHow donors are thanked, informed and asked again.
• Campaign calendarThe appeals and events planned across the year.
• Priorities and measuresThree to five priorities, each with an owner, outcomes with a baseline and target, and the initiatives behind them.

Worked example

A complete fundraising strategy for a fictional organization: foundation raising funds for a 480-bed nonprofit teaching hospital and its cancer center.

Worked exampleFundraising strategy

Organization	Foundation raising funds for a 480-bed nonprofit teaching hospital and its cancer center (50 staff)
Ambition	Complete the $90M campaign for the cancer and surgery pavilion by fiscal 2029, with grateful patients and their families becoming our largest source of new major donors.
Horizon	3 years

Context

Where we are and what we are choosing

The foundation raised $27M in fiscal 2026 with 50 staff. It has pledged $90M toward the hospital's $310M cancer and surgery pavilion by fiscal 2029, and $31M is committed, $20M of it from one family. Donors over 70 with board or community ties gave 71% of major gift dollars. The hospital treats 212,000 patients a year, but only 14 physicians introduced a patient or family to the foundation, leading to 61 introductions and $1.9M in gifts. Nine gift officers hold 130 names each. Three events occupy seven staff and cost 58 cents per dollar raised. Just 0.4% of discharged patients give within a year.

Challenges

• $59M remains to be committed in three years, and the donors who carried past campaigns have mostly made their largest gifts already.
• Patients and families are the natural next donors, but physicians hesitate to make introductions because they do not know what the foundation sees or what happens after they refer.
• Events and mass appeals take the time of 16 of our 50 staff and bring in a quarter of income at the highest cost per dollar.

We will focus on

• The pavilion campaign: 17 more commitments of $1M or more, beginning with trustees and the medical staff.
• A grateful patient program built with 90 physician and nurse champions in oncology, surgery, cardiology and orthopedics.
• First gifts from patients, families and employees, with a defined route from a first gift to a gift officer.

We will not

• Development staff rounding on inpatient units, which some peer foundations do. Our first contact comes after discharge and never while treatment decisions are being made.
• A second campaign for the heart institute, which cardiology leaders have requested. It waits until the pavilion is fully committed.
• The golf tournament and the community walk. Together they net $210,000 and take 2,900 staff hours that move to major gifts.

Case for support

The need	Our cancer center was built for 1,900 new patients a year and now treats 3,400. Patients wait a median 11 days to start infusion therapy, and one in five people who need complex cancer surgery is referred to a center 90 miles away because we have no operating room time.
Our response	The pavilion adds 26 infusion bays to the 22 we have, eight operating rooms and a single floor where a patient sees the surgeon, oncologist and nurse navigator in one visit. It costs $310M: $220M from hospital borrowing and reserves, and $90M from philanthropy.
What a gift achieves	$25,000 names an infusion bay. $1M names an operating room. $150 a month pays for a nurse navigator to guide one family from diagnosis through treatment.

Income streams

Stream	Income today	Target	Cost to raise $1
Major and principal gifts, $25,000 and above	$12.0M	$22.0M	$0.11
Annual giving: patients, community and employees	$3.6M	$4.6M	$0.45
Realized planned gifts	$4.2M	$4.5M	$0.07
Corporate and foundation grants	$3.9M	$5.0M	$0.14
Events	$3.3M	$2.4M	$0.58 today, $0.35 target

Gift table

Gift level	Gifts needed	Prospects needed	Subtotal
$10,000,000	1	3	$10M
$5,000,000	2	8	$10M
$2,500,000	4	16	$10M
$1,000,000	10	40	$10M
$500,000	14	56	$7M
$100,000 to $250,000	60	240	$9M
Under $100,000, community phase	About 2,500	Patients, employees and past donors	$3M

Donor stewardship

Thank-you standard	Gifts are acknowledged within two business days. A gift made in honor of a caregiver triggers a note and a pin for that nurse, physician or team within a week. Gifts of $10,000 or more get a call from the foundation president, and gifts of $100,000 or more a call from the hospital chief executive.
Reporting	Campaign donors receive a construction update each quarter, with a hard-hat tour at $100,000 and above. Donors to named and endowed funds get an annual report on what the fund paid for. Referring physicians are told when a family they introduced has made a gift, if the donor agrees.
Upgrade path	A patient's first gift, usually under $250, is followed by an honor-a-caregiver invitation and a second ask within six months. Donors reaching $1,000 join the leadership circle. A physician introduction or a screening flag leads to a qualification visit from a gift officer within 30 days. Every donor over 65 with five years of giving is asked about a planned gift.

Campaign calendar

When	Campaign	Audience	Goal
Monthly	Grateful patient letter, 60 days after discharge	Recent patients who have not opted out	1.0% first-gift rate
October	Employee giving campaign for the pavilion	6,200 employees and medical staff	30% participation and $650,000
November to December	Year-end appeal	Past donors and the leadership circle	$1.6M
February	Gala, with costs underwritten by sponsors	Corporate partners and major donors	$2.4M gross
April to May	Honor-a-caregiver appeal	Patients and families of the past three years	4,000 tributes and $450,000
May 2028	Public launch of the pavilion campaign	Community, media and all donors	$65M committed at launch
Fiscal 2029	Community phase and donor wall	Donors giving under $100,000	$3M from about 2,500 gifts

Priorities and measures

Priority 1Owner: Foundation President

Close the $90M pavilion campaign

One family has given $20M of the $31M committed. The remaining $59M needs 17 more gifts of $1M or more, and trustees and physician leaders have to commit first for others to follow.

Outcome	Baseline	Target	Due
Cumulative pavilion campaign commitmentsMilestones: $46M by FY27 · $68M by FY28	$31M	$90M	FY29
Pavilion gifts of $1M or moreMilestones: 10 commitments by FY27 · 17 commitments by FY28	5 commitments	22 commitments	FY29
Hospital and foundation trustees with a campaign commitmentMilestones: 80% by FY27	46%	100%	FY28

Initiatives

• Solicit all 38 trustees and the 12 clinical department chairs before the public launch
• Pair each of the top 150 campaign prospects with a gift officer and a volunteer or physician partner
• Publish a naming plan for the pavilion with 140 spaces from $25,000 to $10M
• Hold the public launch until $65M is committed

Targets are illustrative. Adapt them to your baseline before you start.

Priority 2Owner: Director of Grateful Patient Programs

Build a grateful patient program physicians trust

Fourteen referring physicians led to $1.9M last year. Clinician introductions are our largest untapped source of new major donors, provided privacy and the care relationship are protected at every step.

Outcome	Baseline	Target	Due
Physicians and nurse leaders who made an introduction in the yearMilestones: 35 clinicians by FY27 · 60 clinicians by FY28	14 clinicians	90 clinicians	FY29
Qualified grateful patient prospects added to portfolios per yearMilestones: 100 families by FY27 · 170 families by FY28	38 families	240 families	FY29
Major gift income from grateful patients and familiesMilestones: $3.2M by FY27 · $5.4M by FY28	$1.9M	$8M	FY29

Initiatives

• Agree a written protocol with the hospital privacy office on what the foundation receives and how patients opt out
• Train champions in a 45-minute session on making an introduction without ever asking for money
• Place a development officer with each of oncology, surgery, cardiology and orthopedics
• Give each champion a short weekly list of recent patients to review, and act only on those they approve

Targets are illustrative. Adapt them to your baseline before you start.

Priority 3Owner: Director of Annual Giving

Turn patients and employees into first-time donors

Only 0.4% of discharged patients give and 39% of annual donors renew. First gifts feed both the community phase of the campaign and the future major gift portfolio.

Outcome	Baseline	Target	Due
Discharged patients who make a first gift within 12 monthsMilestones: 0.6% by FY27 · 0.8% by FY28	0.4%	1%	FY29
Employee giving participationMilestones: 18% by FY27 · 25% by FY28	11%	30%	FY29
Annual donors who give again the following yearMilestones: 43% by FY27 · 47% by FY28	39%	50%	FY29

Initiatives

• Replace the generic appeal with a letter signed by the leader of the department that treated the patient
• Offer honor-a-caregiver giving online, by mail and in discharge materials
• Run the employee campaign through payroll deduction with a captain in every department
• Add a second-gift ask and a monthly option six months after a first gift

Targets are illustrative. Adapt them to your baseline before you start.

Priority 4Owner: Vice President of Development Operations

Move staff time from events to major and legacy gifts

Three events keep 42 cents of each dollar and occupy seven staff. One sponsored gala can net more than all three do today, and the freed time goes to research, portfolios and planned giving.

Outcome	Baseline	Target	Due
Event cost per dollar raisedMilestones: $0.5 by FY27	$0.58	$0.35	FY28
Net income from eventsMilestones: $1.4M by FY28	$1.4M	$1.6M	FY29
Documented planned gift intentionsMilestones: 215 commitments by FY27 · 255 commitments by FY28	180 commitments	300 commitments	FY29

Initiatives

• End the golf tournament and the community walk after their fiscal 2027 editions
• Secure underwriting of gala costs from five corporate sponsors
• Reassign four event staff to prospect research, portfolio support and planned giving
• Include a planned gift option in every campaign proposal to a donor over 65

Targets are illustrative. Adapt them to your baseline before you start.

Copy example as text

Blank fundraising strategy template

The same structure with a prompt in every field. Copy it, or download it as a Word or Excel file.

Your planFundraising strategy

Organization	[Describe your organization in a few words, with its size]
Ambition	[One sentence on where you want to be at the end of the plan]
Horizon	[How long the plan runs, for example 12 months]

Context

Where we are and what we are choosing

[Where things stand today: the facts that make this strategy necessary]

Challenges

• [A problem the strategy has to solve]
• [A problem the strategy has to solve]

We will focus on

• [Something you are choosing to concentrate on]
• [Something you are choosing to concentrate on]

We will not

• [Something you are deliberately leaving out]
• [Something you are deliberately leaving out]

Case for support

The need	[Your the need]
Our response	[Your our response]
What a gift achieves	[Your what a gift achieves]

Income streams

Stream	Income today	Target	Cost to raise $1
[Stream]	[Income today]	[Target]	[Cost to raise $1]
[Stream]	[Income today]	[Target]	[Cost to raise $1]
[Stream]	[Income today]	[Target]	[Cost to raise $1]

Gift table

Gift level	Gifts needed	Prospects needed	Subtotal
[Gift level]	[Gifts needed]	[Prospects needed]	[Subtotal]
[Gift level]	[Gifts needed]	[Prospects needed]	[Subtotal]
[Gift level]	[Gifts needed]	[Prospects needed]	[Subtotal]

Donor stewardship

Thank-you standard	[Your thank-you standard]
Reporting	[Your reporting]
Upgrade path	[Your upgrade path]

Campaign calendar

When	Campaign	Audience	Goal
[When]	[Campaign]	[Audience]	[Goal]
[When]	[Campaign]	[Audience]	[Goal]
[When]	[Campaign]	[Audience]	[Goal]

Priorities and measures

Priority 1Owner: [Role accountable for this priority]

[Name the priority in a few words]

[Why this priority matters now, in one or two sentences]

Outcome	Baseline	Target	Due
[Metric you will track]	[Where it is today]	[Where it should be]	[When]
[Metric you will track]	[Where it is today]	[Where it should be]	[When]
[Metric you will track]	[Where it is today]	[Where it should be]	[When]

Initiatives

• [A project or action that moves the outcomes above]
• [A project or action that moves the outcomes above]
• [A project or action that moves the outcomes above]
• [A project or action that moves the outcomes above]

Priority 2Owner: [Role accountable for this priority]

[Name the priority in a few words]

[Why this priority matters now, in one or two sentences]

Outcome	Baseline	Target	Due
[Metric you will track]	[Where it is today]	[Where it should be]	[When]
[Metric you will track]	[Where it is today]	[Where it should be]	[When]
[Metric you will track]	[Where it is today]	[Where it should be]	[When]

Initiatives

• [A project or action that moves the outcomes above]
• [A project or action that moves the outcomes above]
• [A project or action that moves the outcomes above]
• [A project or action that moves the outcomes above]

Priority 3Owner: [Role accountable for this priority]

[Name the priority in a few words]

[Why this priority matters now, in one or two sentences]

Outcome	Baseline	Target	Due
[Metric you will track]	[Where it is today]	[Where it should be]	[When]
[Metric you will track]	[Where it is today]	[Where it should be]	[When]
[Metric you will track]	[Where it is today]	[Where it should be]	[When]

Initiatives

• [A project or action that moves the outcomes above]
• [A project or action that moves the outcomes above]
• [A project or action that moves the outcomes above]
• [A project or action that moves the outcomes above]

Priority 4Owner: [Role accountable for this priority]

[Name the priority in a few words]

[Why this priority matters now, in one or two sentences]

Outcome	Baseline	Target	Due
[Metric you will track]	[Where it is today]	[Where it should be]	[When]
[Metric you will track]	[Where it is today]	[Where it should be]	[When]
[Metric you will track]	[Where it is today]	[Where it should be]	[When]

Initiatives

• [A project or action that moves the outcomes above]
• [A project or action that moves the outcomes above]
• [A project or action that moves the outcomes above]
• [A project or action that moves the outcomes above]

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How to adapt it

1. 01

   Start from the hospital's capital and program plan. Agree with the chief executive and finance what share philanthropy will fund and by when, so the foundation's goal is a commitment the hospital has built into its budget.

2. 02

   Settle the privacy rules first. Work with the privacy or compliance office on what patient information the foundation may receive, how patients opt out and who audits it, and put that in writing before any outreach.

3. 03

   Define what clinicians are asked to do. An introduction is their whole role, and they should hear back on what happened to every family they referred.

4. 04

   Build the gift table for the campaign and test the top rows against named prospects, including how much rests on a single family.

5. 05

   Measure every event by net income and staff hours, and decide which to keep before setting the staffing for major gifts.

6. 06

   Give the employee campaign its own participation target. Staff giving is modest in dollars but it is the first thing major donors and physicians ask about.

How to run it

A plan only works if it is reviewed on a rhythm. This is the cadence the example assumes.

Check-in	Outcome owners update progress and confidence weekly.
Review	Priority owners review outcomes and unblock initiatives monthly.
Reset	Leadership revisits priorities and targets quarterly.

Tability keeps this cadence for you. Each priority becomes an objective, each outcome a key result with its baseline and target, and each initiative a tracked task. Owners get a check-in reminder and the plan shows what is on track.

Track this plan in Tability

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Common mistakes

• Launching a grateful patient program as a mailing list, without clinician champions, and judging it on the response rate to a letter.
• Asking physicians to solicit their patients. It puts the care relationship at risk and most will refuse to take part again.
• Announcing a capital campaign publicly while one donor accounts for most of the total and the rest of the table is untested.
• Keeping every event because each has a loyal committee, while gift officers carry portfolios too large to visit.