Article 1 –Cultivating a Culture of Philanthropy
AHP believes that philanthropy is an essential component in the nonprofit community, particularly in the health care sector, and encourages state/provincial and federal lawmakers to cultivate a culture of philanthropy in health care by:
- convincing and reminding all citizens of their stake in philanthropy and its integrity to our nation’s well being.
- accelerating and encouraging charitable giving by providing tax incentives for philanthropic behavior.
- eliminate any legislative barriers or disincentives to charitable giving.
Article 2 - Support of Nonprofit Health Care Institutions and their Supporting Organizations
AHP believes state/provincial and federal governments should respect and support the role of nonprofit health care institutions in promoting health in their communities and the role of their supporting organizations in raising funds in order for them to carry out their missions by:
- continuing to allow U.S. nonprofit hospitals to qualify for tax exemption.
- eliminating any undue burdens in the financial reporting of fundraising supporting organizations.
Article 3 –Support of Health Care Development Professionals
3.1 Federal and state/provincial support of health care development
AHP believes that to help health care development professionals achieve their full potential in raising funds for their health care institutions, state/provincial and federal policy makers should:
- eliminate barriers to health care fundraisers’ access to and use of patient contact information for fundraising purposes.
- require funding of all federal, state and provincial mandated programs.
3.2 AHP’s support of professional development
AHP is committed to delivering education and evidence-based research in health care philanthropy theory and practice in order to intellectually equip health care development professionals and contribute to the professionalization of the health care development profession. In furtherance of this aim:
- AHP supports CFRE® International in its administration of a certification process based on current and valid standards that measure competency in the practice of philanthropic fundraising.
- AHP supports its longtime professional fundraisers with the opportunity to become an AHP Fellow (FAHP) through successful completion of the two-stage Fellows application process.
3.3 Support of Professional Standards
AHP believes that its members, as representatives of both their employer and their profession, should faithfully adhere to the highest standards and conduct as espoused in the AHP Statement of Professional Standards and Conduct.
Article 4 –Support of Nonprofit Health Care Volunteers
AHP believes that volunteers are critical to fundraising success, as they bring knowledge of the community, peer relationships with prospects, enthusiasm and time. In order to encourage volunteerism in the nonprofit health care sector, AHP asks lawmakers to:
- pass legislation incentivizing volunteering.
- respect the time and commitment of volunteers by eliminating barriers to volunteering.
Article 5 - Accountability and Transparency of Nonprofit Health Care Philanthropy Institutions
AHP believes in standardizing and increasing the transparency of the business practices of nonprofit health care philanthropy organizations in order to help organizations achieve their fundraising goals and help prospective donors make better informed philanthropic decisions. As such, AHP encourages:
- Federal and local lawmakers to provide the funding and flexibility necessary to help all nonprofit health care institutions accurately report their contributions to improving the health of their communities.
- The adoption of its Performance Benchmarking Service Definitions intended to provide standards to calculate the productivity and performance of health care institutions on key measures, including net return on investment, and cost to raise a dollar.
Article 6 – Donor Rights
AHP believes that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public, and that donors and prospective donors should have full confidence in the not-for-profit organizations and causes they are asked to support. To this end, AHP has collaborated in developing a Donor Bill of Rights. AHP supports and encourages each nonprofit health care institution to adhere to the Donor Bill of Rights in its transactions with donors and prospective donors.
Article 7 –Affordable and Accessible Health Care
AHP believes that nonprofit health care institutions play a large role in increasing the affordability and accessibility of individual health care. AHP also believes that any recommendations to make changes or reform the health care system of the United States or Canada should consider the significant contributions made by these institutions.
Article 8 – Coalition Participation
AHP supports the development of proactive strategies to present the health care development perspective on national and federal issues. AHP supports efforts to establish coalitions representing various interests and points of view and thus contribute to the development of sound public policy.
Article 9 –Government Collaboration
AHP believes that the U.S. and Canadian health care systems are community assets comprised of hospital and health related institutions, foundations, volunteers, auxiliaries and the donor communities who invest in health care through philanthropy. AHP welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with any government official/ agency/ department to address the role of philanthropy in the health care system.