HELP! HOW DO WE HANDLE FREQUENT REQUESTS FOR
CONTRIBUTIONS?
If your office is like many with which I have consulted, you
receive numerous requests for monetary contributions or donations of
toothbrushes, toothpaste, stickers, toys for children or, occasionally, even
for the donation of dental services. The
people seeking donations and contributions are often patients or parents of
patients, and it may create a touchy situation to simply respond, “No.” Most of the projects for which they are
soliciting funds are worth your support; however, your practice cannot meet
every request.
What to do? Answer:
establish a Benevolent Fund (BF) in your office. Decide an amount per year you can afford to
give as monetary contributions or in the form of donated items. Include that amount as a line item in the
annual budget for the office. It might
be tracked on the monthly Profit and Loss Statement as a Marketing expense or
as an Administrative cost. Keep in mind
that Marketing expenses typically are allotted 2% to 5% of net collections
while Administrative costs may require 7% to 11% of net collections.
Doctor, the second step to ease the burden of having to
decide on-the-spot, at-the- moment whether or not to contribute when asked, is
to choose a seasoned staff member to administer the Benevolent Fund. Name a person familiar with your preferences
for charitable projects, one who can tactfully refuse when a patient is insisting
the office must make a donation to his/her pet charity. When asked, you can direct the solicitor to
the Administrator who knows the balance of funds available and can either make
arrangements for the contribution/donation or tactfully explain funds are
depleted for the year.
With a BF set up and a staff member in place to administer
it, you have unobtrusively told the person requesting a contribution several
positive things: (1) Your practice is a charitable one that sets money aside
each year for donations. (2) You,
doctor, consider giving back to worthy projects in your community so important
that you have designated a staff member to facilitate contributions. (3) If budgeted funds are depleted for the
year, the solicitor has no reason to just consider you too stingy to contribute
to his/her project. Funds have simply
been spent.
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