Nurses short-changed in healthcare philanthropy

Editor's Note

According to a first-of-its-kind study from the American Nurses Foundation, nurses receive just one penny of every dollar donated to healthcare, despite being the largest group of healthcare professionals in the US, a November 15 press release from the foundation reports.

Some findings include:

• Private donations to healthcare amounted to $333.3 billion between 2015 and 2022; nurses received just 1% of these contributions, according to the study. 
• Overall philanthropic support for nursing totaled $3.2 billion from 2015 through 2022, including support for nursing education, practice, and associations. 
• About one quarter of the donations to nursing went to foundations, which in turn advance specific priorities including nursing education, training, and nurse-led healthcare.
• Only 3 of every 100 grants for nurses are dedicated to investing in nurse leadership or nurse-led innovation.

The report highlights the need for philanthropic dollars to support other critical initiatives in nursing, specifically supporting the advancement of more nurse leaders, diversification of the nurse workforce, and achieving health equity.