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Annual Development Survey

2020 Fundraising Data

Each year, the AAMC conducts a national benchmarking survey to measure the impact, costs, and staffing of fundraising at its member medical schools and teaching hospitals. This survey helps medical school deans and teaching hospital CEOs assess the effectiveness of their institutional development programs. Through the survey’s annual compilation and analysis of data, medical schools and teaching hospitals can also identify philanthropic trends useful for development planning and management.

Survey Results

Key Results

Key results from the 2020 survey of 122 institutions (reporting 2019-2020 gift year data) as of Aug. 26, 2021.*

Overall philanthropic support

  • $83.3 million: mean total philanthropic support per institution in 2019-2020
  • 3.3% decrease from $86.2 million per institution in 2018-2019
  • $111.5 million: mean total philanthropic support from private institutions
  • $58.9 million: mean total philanthropic support from public institutions
  • $36.0 million: mean total philanthropic support from medical schools
  • $108.6 million: mean total philanthropic support from teaching hospitals
  • $129.0 million: mean total philanthropic support from joint programs

Fundraising costs and return on investment

  • $8.4 million: mean fundraising cost per institution
  • 5.5% decrease over 2018-2019
  • $0.12: median fundraising cost per dollar raised
  • $8.18: median return on investment per dollar invested

Gifts of $1 million+

  • 1,683 gifts over $1 million and 243 of these gifts were greater than $5 million

Campaigns

  • 52% of all institutions were involved in a fundraising campaign in 2019-2020
  • $240 million: median campaign goal of medical schools
  • $625 million: median campaign goal of teaching hospitals
  • $1,000 million: median campaign goal of joint programs

Scholarships

  • $1.77 million: median total support raised for medical student scholarships per institution
  • $2.2 million: median scholarship support raised from private institutions
  • $1.6 million: median scholarship support raised from public institutions

*Note: The data in this infographic provide insights into the COVID-19 pandemic’s initial impact on fundraising for AAMC-member institutions.

Watch the 2020 AAMC Development Survey Webinar


Data Access Requirements

Data Confidentiality Policy: The salary data collected for individual positions at an identified institution are classified by the AAMC as confidential. All other survey data are classified as restricted. All data are securely stored by the AAMC. The restricted data are released with institutional identification to participating institutions but are not made available to the public.