WASHINGTON, D.C., (December 12, 2011) – In order to enhance the credibility and performance of nonprofit health care fundraising executives, directors of the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP) have confirmed the appointment of a seven-member council to work with the health care philanthropy sector to establish and maintain high standards of practice.
The newly-appointed members of the AHP Health Care Philanthropy Standards Council are:
- Chair – David L. Flood, president of Meridian Health Affiliated Foundations, Neptune, N.J.
- Mendal A. Bouknight, vice president of philanthropy, Piedmont Healthcare, Atlanta, Ga.
- Arthur M. Brink, Jr., FAHP, CFP, vice president/chief philanthropic officer, Martin Memorial Foundation, Stuart, Fla.
- John J. Gantner, executive vice president and chief financial officer, Meridian Health, Neptune, N.J.
- James F. Normandin, president of Memorial Medical Center Foundation, Long Beach, Calif.
- Pearl F. Veenema, FAHP, president and chief executive officer of Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation, Hamilton, Ont.
- Sandra Wilson, vice president and chief financial officer, Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation, Hamilton, Ont.
“Realistic and reliable standards reflect the values and principles of our calling,” said William C. McGinly, Ph.D., CAE, president and chief executive officer of AHP. “As the leading association of development professionals working on behalf of nonprofit health care institutions, AHP has a responsibility to implement performance measures that will enhance fundraising’s accountability and credibility, and foster public trust and transparency.”
Building on the success of AHP’s Performance Benchmarking Service and annual Report on Giving, a core component of this initiative is the publication of an AHP standards manual to communicate the definition of terms developed by AHP practitioners. The manual will provide a set of standards that unify practitioners across the field of health care fundraising, from the classification of revenue sources and expenses to measuring the impact of philanthropic programs and various management and operational approaches.
The AHP Health Care Philanthropy Standards Council will review the benchmarking survey and the manual to ensure the accuracy and relevancy of their reporting tools. All council members are senior level development professionals or chief financial officers of an AHP member organization.
The movement to establish more uniform sets of standards for health care philanthropy is one key element of AHP’s Strategic Plan for the years 2011 through 2015. The association also intends to strengthen and more widely disseminate the knowledge base of core to executive-level fundraising competencies among its members and engage them more actively in developing leadership skills for the betterment of the profession and the health care institutions they serve.
The Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, established in 1967, is a not-for-profit organization whose more than 4,700 members direct philanthropic programs in 2,000 of North America’s nonprofit health care providers.
Hospitals, health care systems and related facilities for which AHP members raise charitable funds provide essential, comprehensive medical services to their communities, as well as wellness programs, mobile health vans, mammography screenings, hearing and eye exams, and other community-based health care services. AHP members include fundraising professionals, development staff, public relations professionals, trustees, marketing specialists, administrators and executives interested in health care fundraising.