Kettering Health Foundation Increased Grateful Patient Giving 169% with iWave GPP Solution

After expanding outreach 139%, Kettering Helalth Foundation achieved 89% more gifts and 169% more total giving from its End-of-Year Grateful Patient outreach.

About Kettering Health Foundation

The Kettering Health Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Kettering Health, a faith-based, not-for-profit health system serving communities throughout western Ohio. Through strategic fundraising programs—including a rapidly expanding Grateful Patient Program—the Foundation connects grateful patients and community partners with opportunities to advance patient care, medical innovation, and health services across the region.

Results at a Glance

• Outreach expanded 139% (7,500 → 17,628 prospects)
• Total gifts increased 89% 
• Total giving increased 169% 
• Average gift increased 42% (to $193)*
• Largest first-time gift: $3,000

The Objective: Scale the End-of-Year Grateful Patient Campaign

Kettering Health Foundation set a clear goal: grow its End-of- Year Grateful Patient Program outreach by expanding the number of patients engaged in philanthropic outreach.

In 2024, outreach targeted approximately 7,500 grateful patients. In 2025, that number grew to 17,628.

The expansion strategy included:

• Significantly increasing the email universe
• Aligning direct mail with screening-informed segments
• Evaluating performance across both channels in aggregate

Because email and direct mail influence one another, results were measured holistically rather than by channel isolation.

The Approach: Expand Volume with Segmentation Discipline

As outreach scaled, Kettering used iWave’s Grateful Patient Solution to inform segmentation and prioritize portions of the outreach file.

iWave’s GPP screens patient lists and segments prospects based on wealth and philanthropic indicators, helping organizations focus outreach on patients with philanthropic capacity.

Important context:

• Not all newly added email records were screened.
• Direct mail is more closely aligned with screening results.
• Attribution between channels is complex.
• Isolating the precise lift from screening alone is not possible.

However, screening-informed segmentation provided directional validation that expanded outreach included patients with philanthropic alignment and capacity.

The Results: Increased Giving and Engagement

Why This Matters: Sustained Growth Through Thoughtful Expansion

In healthcare philanthropy, growth is typically incremental and measured. Kettering’s results reflect that reality. By expanding its outreach universe, the organization materially increased total revenue without relying on dramatic spikes in response rates. Screening-informed segmentation supported this disciplined expansion, helping the team scale thoughtfully rather than indiscriminately. The most important takeaway is sustained performance while nearly doubling outreach volume—more prospects engaged, more gifts secured, and more total giving generated.

Strategic Outcome: A Scalable Model for Growth

Kettering Health Foundation strengthened its End-of-Year Grateful Patient Program with a scalable model for growth.  By expanding outreach and applying screening-informed segmentation, the organization increased revenue while maintaining consistent engagement performance. The 2025 results now provide a clear foundation for continued optimization.

Ready to Scale Your Grateful Patient Program?

Kettering expanded outreach 139% and increased total giving 169% during its End-of-Year campaign. The next grateful patient with the capacity to give may already be in your patient census.

Want to capture the gratitude window? Book a call with the team today!

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