Demonstrating Value for Your Asthma Program

An estimated 25.9 million people, including 4.2 million children, have asthma.

Question: What is a funder?

Answer: Any decision-maker involved in determining the funds your program has access to. Examples: government and foundation grant makers; hospitals; insurers; department or division directors; boards of directors; city councils or mayors; and CEOs.

Now, more than ever, your program’s services are needed. With increased competition for limited funding, it is critical that you are able to clearly articulate your program’s value to both your community and potential funders to secure the resources you need to maintain a sustainable program. A value proposition will help you convey the value of your program and raise the funds you need.

What is a Value Proposition?

A value proposition is a tool to help you communicate the unique value and benefits of your program to funders. It demonstrates that the health outcomes a program creates and the economic savings a program generates outweigh the program operating costs. Whether you are starting a new pilot project or you are a part of a well-established program, value propositions are effective tools for securing future funding.

While your program’s value proposition consists of many pieces, you will need to provide a quick summary when you approach a funder for the first time. In 30 seconds or less, you should express the value your program will provide to your community and the cost to run your program. This is called your value proposition statement. You should strive to ensure your value proposition statement is clear, concise and irresistible.

Here are two examples of short, to-the-point value proposition statements:

Program A:

  • For $18,441 my program will reduce hospitalizations by 58 percent for 13 pediatric patients and will generate $257,230 in health cost savings over the next 3 years.

Program B:

  • For $368,820, my program will reduce hospitalizations by 58 percent for 270 pediatric patients and will generate $5,144,600 in health cost savings over the next 3 years.

Once you grab your funder’s attention with your value proposition statement, you will obtain their buy-in by demonstrating what you will deliver and how you will track your program’s progress.

Building Your Program’s Value Proposition

To get started, we need to discuss five components of your program that will help you build a powerful value proposition. No two asthma programs are alike. As you review the examples we provide for each component, keep in mind that your program will likely be different and it will be up to you to determine how best to tailor your value proposition to your program. The five components of your program that will inform your value proposition are:

  • Target Population – Who you serve
  • Program Activities – Services your program will offer
  • Health Outcomes – Improvements in health resulting from services your program delivers
  • Program Costs – What it will cost to manage, deliver and evaluate your program
  • Healthcare Savings – Avoided medical costs resulting from services your program delivers

Program evaluation is essential to secure funding and maintain sustainable programs. Potential funders will want to know how your program plans to be held accountable. There are many ways to perform program evaluation. Done right, program evaluation not only provides accountability for your program, but adds value and provides insight about your efforts by measuring whether goals are met and strategies are working. To learn more about program evaluation, visit the Network's Webinars and Podcasts.

As you work through developing your value proposition, we recommend that you use the Value Proposition Kit which includes worksheets that will help to define the components of your program, the metrics you will use to evaluate your program’s success and your Value Proposition Statement.

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