It’s a delicate balance for nonprofits. You want to bring in as much money as possible for your cause, but advertising, campaigning, and hiring takes money. How do you bring in funds without spending more than you need to? Try conducting a series of charity surveys and get valuable information from your donors, volunteers, partners, and recipients.
How to use surveys for nonprofits
From website message testing to fundraising events, the information you receive is important for the success of your organization. Here are a few ways to use our charity survey templates to gain useful feedback.
- Volunteer satisfaction. How did your volunteers like their experience? Find out when you ask for volunteer feedback. Subjects such as training, relationships with their co-volunteers and supervisors, and overall satisfaction with the experience can mean the difference between your volunteers continuing to support your cause and moving on to something else. Ask questions like, “How appreciated did your volunteer supervisor make you feel?” and, “How easy was it to get along with the staff at this organization?” to get the information you need to keep your valuable volunteers happy, fulfilled, and coming back.
- Donor feedback. Donor satisfaction is extraordinarily important to keep that cash flow positive. Make sure you’re giving them the best experience as they support your organization, and find out what you can improve to keep their donations coming in. Send a donor feedback survey with questions like, “How clearly did our organization explain how your contribution will be spent?” and, “How clearly did our organization explain our fundraising goals?” to help determine the best steps to take to help your donors feel their money is appropriately used and appreciated.
- Fundraiser event planning and feedback. Before your fundraising event, use an event planning survey to collect contact information and get a better understanding of funding sources, demographics, staffing, and more. After the event, send out a fundraiser feedback survey to discover areas your organization excelled in, and where you could improve your efforts. Questions like, “Overall, were you satisfied with your experience at our fundraiser, neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with it, or dissatisfied with it?” and, “Was the cost of attending our fundraiser too high, too low, or about right?” will help you understand your attendees’ event experience.
- Volunteer recruitment. What’s the best way to find new volunteers? How do you get the word out? Once you garner interest, how do you get them in, train, and retain them? Ask your volunteers questions like, “How likely are you to recommend this organization to others as a place to volunteer?” and, “How likely are you to continue volunteering at this organization?” to get ideas and insight on how to improve your communication and outreach to potential volunteers.
- Market Research. Send out an online poll to discover specific needs from your target community. A market research survey isn’t just for for-profit enterprises, even charities can benefit from a market study before launching new initiatives. Do you need to collect data for a research project? A questionnaire can be vital understanding what your potential constituents think.
Nonprofit survey samples
Maximize your time and operational efficiencies by leveraging SurveyMonkey’s methodologist-certified sample questions. You’ll be able to create your online survey in a matter of minutes. SurveyMonkey also gives you access to the survey tools you need to easily deploy and analyze your nonprofit survey—empowering your entire organization to make smarter decisions. And we take survey security seriously, so rest assured knowing your data and insights are safe with us.
Past and predicted donations survey template
This quick, 3-question survey asks the participant about the organization types and frequency of donations over the last 12 months.
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Donor feedback survey template
This feedback questionnaire can be used after a fundraising event, campaign, or membership renewal. The 10-question survey includes subjects such as cost, communication, and improvement suggestions.
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Fundraising feedback survey template
Questions about volunteer recruitment, fundraising goals, and communication methods are presented in this 6-question survey.
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Volunteer feedback survey template
Designed specifically for nonprofit volunteers, this 10-question survey asks about training, appreciation, and overall satisfaction about their volunteering experience.
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Nonprofit organization information survey template
This is a general, 7-question survey exploring the organization’s number of employees, funds raised, 501(c)(3) status, and more.
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