Henry Ford, MSU look to raise funds for new hospital


Henry Ford Health’s new campaign comes in the wake of its best fundraising year ever, Vogt said. Last year it raised $72 million, about $10 million more than its previous annual record.

HFH is now also working to raise hundreds of millions of dollars toward the costs of the hospital expansion, with the balance of funding for that project expected to come through a mix of operating profits, bonding and borrowing, Vogt said.

“Certainly, when you have projects of this size … you need to build up staff to support that effort.”

That can be challenging when the average length of stay for a fundraiser at health care organizations nationally is 18-24 months, she said, adding that is something she notes when looking at resumes for potential job candidates.

As it moves into campaign mode, the health system is expanding its fundraising team little by little, not en masse, Vogt said.

“It’s a marathon, not a sprint. I want to be very methodical in our growth and very responsible with our budget … we are extremely efficient in our fundraising.”

Nationally, for large health systems like HFH, a $7 billion integrated system, the cost to raise a dollar is about 19 cents, based on Giving USA research, Vogt said. For its part, Henry Ford spends 9-10 cents to raise $1

Health systems around the country like the Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic and Johns Hopkins often have hundreds of fundraising or development employees on staff, given their larger budgets. In Southeast Michigan, the University of Michigan’s Michigan Medicine is in that ballpark, with more than double HFH’s fundraiser numbers, Vogt said.



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