National Doctors’ Day is a special occasion meant to unify and inspire community members to rally around their healthcare providers and recognize them for the great work they do. For fundraising teams, this day stirs up questions like:

• Why does this uplifting holiday become divisive among fundraisers? 
• Why do some fundraisers decide to activate a Doctors’ Day campaign and others steer clear and focus on a general Grateful Patient program? 

In this blog post, we will dive deeper into the pros and cons of activating a Doctors’ Day digital fundraising program from a fundraiser’s lens so you can decide if it’s the right addition to your campaign calendar this year.

Pros of Doctors’ Day

Doctors’ Day can be used as a celebratory moment in time when doctors are highlighted for their incredible achievements. Fundraising programs that find great success on this holiday capitalize on three key elements: 

1. They integrate a Doctors’ Day effort into a larger year-round, grateful patient program 
2. They work with their Stewardship and/or Donor Relations teams to thoughtfully recognize the doctors and donors who make contributions to this campaign
3. They use this as an opportunity for Major Gift Officers and Foundation Leadership members to make connections with highlighted physicians and leverage those relationships to learn more about impact, partnership, and opportunities for future philanthropic endeavors 

Your hospital could benefit from Doctors’ Day if…

• You have access to emailing discharged patients in a thoughtful manner that is HIPAA-compliant 
• You have the ability to collect messages of gratitude and appreciation from donors and previous patients and can ensure those messages are successfully delivered 
• You are committed to establishing a program that will run consecutively for more than three years to establish awareness among internal teams and the community 
• You have a program goal to increase internal awareness of the impact of philanthropy and prioritize building connections with physicians and acquiring grateful patients 

TIP: Consider creating a special pin or badge of honor to give to the doctor being honored. Visual awareness and tangible recognition helps Doctors’ Day and Grateful Patient programs internally thrive! 

Cons of Doctors’ Day

Doctors’ Day may not benefit your program depending on your goals and your team’s bandwidth. The investment in building this program can make a difference in the long-term, however, many programs take several years of activation before seeing consistent results. Adding a Doctors’ Day campaign to your program may not be the right fit if these resonate with you:

1. The internal culture prefers to support team members overall and not highlight one specific area of care to honor 
2. You are not able to communicate with previously discharged patients and/or you cannot access patient experience scores
3. Your email platform needs to decrease the amount of unsubscribes it accumulates each month
4. Your donors have shared feedback that their philanthropic priority is to support the cause/patients over directly providing support to caregivers/team members 

How to adapt and meet in the middle

If a Doctors’ Day program doesn’t seem like the best fit for your hospital or health system, there are wonderful customizations you can make to add elements to your calendar year.

• Consider what a program honoring all caregivers at your hospital could look like for internal team members
• Decide if honoring and highlighting outstanding care could be collected from internal team members in addition to the community 
• Determine if Doctors’ Day could be one piece of a larger digital solicitation series to increase engagement with donors and foster relationships with your patients 

TIP: Consider creating a digital fundraising campaign series that uses conditional content for your internal stakeholders and your external stakeholders. Customizing the copy to curate the experience can increase engagement and revenue! 

No matter your choice…

Rallying your constituents to engage with meaningful content should always be integrated into your portfolio in some fashion. Taking time to recognize your doctors by fundraising in their honor can be a meaningful addition to your program. But remember, the activation is only as powerful as their awareness of it! 

If you decide to take the plunge and dive into Doctors’ Day, be prepared to make a splash and ensure all doctors are aware of what’s coming their way. The more internal support you can gain, and the more assets you can provide them, the more success you’ll receive. Building a comprehensive Grateful Patient program, with Doctors’ Day as a key element of a larger program, can revolutionize your results. 

If you are looking for a digital partner to help you with all things Doctors’ Day and Grateful Patient programming, please reach out to us!