Can nonprofit hospitals do both well and good?

This study demonstrates a significantly positive association between corporate citizenship and financial performance in a sample of nonprofit hospitals in Massachusetts. Without demonstrating causation in either direction, the analysis shows that the nonprofit hospitals in this study can simultaneously do well for themselves financially, and good in terms of the benefits provided to communities. That is, they perform better financially as they spend relatively more on their community benefits initiatives. This may reflect the same relationship found in numerous studies of corporate citizenship and financial performance in business firms. Namely, that business advantages accrue to firms through their practice of good corporate citizenship. Implications of the findings for public policymakers and for decision makers in nonprofit hospitals are considered.