Patient mailings are quite simply one of THE best acquisition tools you can use as an NHS charity. And if you’re not doing them, for whatever reason, then I implore you to think again. Strategically they are one of the best tools you can use to grow your database quickly, see an immediate return. They have a very low cost per acquisition and they have a brilliant ROI which other charities would kill for!

I’ve been doing past patient mailings for over 13 years. More than 50 patient mailings later, here are some surprising insights:

1. Our Past Patient mailings never had an ask in them. This was one of our agreed golden rules to get the hospital to agree. Now with the introduction of GDPR, an ask wouldn’t get past the legitimate interest test.
2. In the early days we were only permitted to mail broad swathes of patients with zero segmentation. E.g. Patients who have visited the hospital in the last 3 months. The letter was generic referencing “treatment” and “the hospital” and didn’t reference a specific department or clinician. These averaged an income of £10,605.
3. In time we were allowed to introduce department-specific mailings.The mailing volumes were of course much smaller, and the data-pull process was significantly more complex so required more time from our hospital colleagues to make them work. The department-specific mailings were extraordinarily successful and raised on average double the amount of the generic mailings with an average income of £20,694.
4. Our best ever patient mailing raised £161,400. Without an ask! This department-specific mailing had a response rate of 10.1% and an average gift of £121. This wasn’t our highest average gift but this mailing generated a few major gifts, hence the incredible amount raised.
5. Our highest response rate to a past patient mailing was 16.7% This was a Urology mailing. It “only” raised £2,125 but was “only” sent to 150 patients - this was a mailing where the clinician wrote to his patients personally.
6. When you involve clinicians in planning for patient mailings, they get so excited about results - they enjoy the thrill of fundraising and get closer to your team.
7. Now whenever starting a new appeal, I would always start with a recruitment patient mailing. I would then write to all responders to tell them about the impact we have already made in “their” department and invite them to an informing event to hear from “their” clinician about fundraising needs.
8. The hospital remains resolutely supportive of patient mailings because of the results they achieve. The key to making a success of mailings is to work closely with the Patient Experience / Engagement Team. They see the patient mailings as enhancing the work they do.

If you’re struggling with getting your hospital on board with patient mailings then prioritise your hospital relationships first. Cultivate relationships with key people. Share a case study with them from another hospital which has taken the leap and ask what their concerns are. NHS culture is very risk-averse and hospitals are always looking over the garden fence at their peers for reassurance that they have permission to do something.

Most importantly, remember that past patient mailings are just one “sliver” of a comprehensive Grateful Patient Fundraising Programme and should be interwoven with other tactics for best results! The magic happens after you have recruited patients when you start to connect them with clinicians who are firmly supportive of fundraising - after you have done the ground work to start building a culture of philanthropy in your hospital.