I’m getting a lot of questions about questions — the ones you should ask donors or other supporters of your work in surveys.
First, yes, surveying your donors a couple of times a year is a great idea. It not only gives you information you can use to adjust your programs and how you market and fundraise for them, but surveying also demonstrates that you actually care what your donors think!
What questions do you include in your donor surveys? We’d love to hear some of them, so please add yours to the comments on this post (click over if you are reading this in your email).
Need some help getting started with your own survey? I like the advice presented here:
Ask the Donor—Where Do Donor Surveys Fit in Your Work?
Donor Survey Questions (this is a Word doc)
Are You Asking the Right Questions in Your Fundraising Survey?
What shouldn’t you ask?
I am not thrilled with questions that ask for information I think the charity should already have, like how many times I have given to an organization or how long I have been a donor. If the survey is otherwise anonymous, these kinds of questions can work, but if I am giving you my name, my assumption is that you already have my giving history (or should). I prefer questions that get at why the donor supports you and their satisfaction with your work and communications with them.
What about your favorite survey questions for donors? Please share in the comments.
