By Brian Lacy
Most every college, university or other nonprofit institutions I have ever worked with is eager to find out more about what motivates donors to give, why there are many who do not give or even respond, and what they would like to see the beneficiaries of their gifts doing with the money they give.
Asking for responses to a survey is typically the most efficient way to learn the answer to obtain helpful data. But quite often, the results that are generated from surveys are inadequate for their intended purposes. Development Directors and others reviewing the results may be left with uncertainties because of the limited number of respondents, but also because clarity is lacking in the meaning of the responses that are given.
Why does this happen? Fundamentally, many surveys fall short in precisely targeting the information they need to uncover. This seems to defy common sense. If you want to know what motivates donors to give, don't you just ask them? Well, of course you do. So what is the problem?
To be clear, what happens in a survey is that it takes very precise donor information, generalizes into a few categories, and then attempts to reinterpret the cumulative information that's shared, and generate very precise answers to the questions posed. In doing this, a couple of risks are necessarily taken - relating to the decision about the data to be sought, and then in deciding what categories of responses fit your organizational needs.
Taking these in reverse order, creating categories that the respondents can fit their answers into can cause them to leave out their best answer. That is, given choices A, B, C, or D - if answer E would have been best , but isn't included, the data will reflect an inaccuracy. Also, the categories themselves can be too broad or narrow, and they can also be defined in ways that aren't particularly relevant to your constituency.
Even before getting to the point of the answers available to the respondents, the author of the survey must decide what data will be sought. While this seems easy when you first think of the organization's needs, it becomes much more tricky once you factor in problems with the categories of answers you will receive. For example, if you want to know why there were so many donors who gave in earlier years but not last year, if the range of possible answers all pertain to the economy and changes in leadership at the institution, it may not cover the necessary ground, and you may want to add a few extra questions on this issue.
Before you throw yourself waist deep into a very tricky process, it is very wise to consult with an expert. At Brian Lacy & Associates, we routinely work with the Elusen Network on any matters that involve wordsmithing. The more challenging the project, the more valuable Elusen becomes. Please contact Andrew Thompson today for a free initial consultation on the best ways to begin the process of creating highly effective donor surveys.
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