2022 40 Under 40 Winners

As co-founder and co-CEO of Digital Health Strategies (DHS), Ben has helped dozens of leading U.S. hospitals raise millions of dollars online.
 
Ben launched the inaugural Digital Fundraising Benchmarking Report for Hospitals in collaboration with AHP, analyzing data from regional and national health systems, academic medical centers and specialty hospitals. 

He is a regular presenter on AHP webinars.

Ben serves as chair of the Forum for Healthcare Strategists’ Digital Health Executive Network.

I worked at Blue State, the digital fundraising and engagement agency known for running Barack Obama's Presidential campaigns, and that's where I built my experience as a fundraising strategist and program leader. I saw that there was huge demand in the healthcare market for more of a sophisticated approach to fundraising and donor development, especially at the community level. That piqued my interest so much that I launched a company dedicated to filling the market gap.

I like the kind of work where I can do well by doing good, and where I can bring people together to have a leveraged impact. The COVID-19 pandemic, and the way people came together in an unprecedented way to support front-line healthcare workers and institutions, is a great example of what collective philanthropy can achieve. The giving we generate together supports not only the everyday work of doctors and nurses, but also brings services and innovations to underserved communities, helps drive medical innovation, and secures the future of the health systems we serve.

Several years ago, my colleagues and I began to envision and develop more sophisticated philanthropic programs for health systems with national renown and outsized cultural impact” like Scripps Health, Geisinger Health, and Providence. We came to understand the much greater leverage that a program driven by data insights and tactics borne out in other sectors can have” programs like those raise more philanthropic dollars, but they also build services revenue, patient loyalty, and brand presence.

I'm committed to nurturing and developing talent, both in my own organization and among my clients. Helping the people I work with understand their personal potential, and the kind of impact they can have when they marshal their creativity and drive, is extremely rewarding. This comes from a place of being there for people personally I think I play the same kind of role for many of my friends. We help each other to be our best selves.

Keep your mind open to innovation. Some of the tried-and-true tactics will always work  human nature is what it is  but advances in technology and social change are constantly making new things possible, and the healthcare organizations you work for are looking to you to identify trends and opportunities first so you can help them achieve more.