Using Donor Surveys for Insights
How to Unlock the Voices That Fund Your Mission
If you're trying to retain donors, build authentic relationships, and raise funds more effectively, there's one tool that’s often overlooked: donor surveys.
Surveys aren’t just about feedback—they’re strategic insight tools that can reshape how you connect, communicate, and grow support.
Let’s break it down like a pro:
1. Why Conduct Donor Surveys?
Most NFPs focus heavily on outbound communications: telling stories, asking for donations, sharing impact. But great fundraising is a two-way conversation—and surveys are how you listen.
Surveys help you:
Understand motivations – Learn why people give. Is it a personal story? Shared values? A loved one’s memory?
Improve donor experience – Find out if your donation process is confusing or if your thank-you emails are hitting the mark.
Uncover giving potential – Identify donors who might be open to monthly giving, major gifts, or legacy donations—but you just haven’t asked.
Tailor communication – One-size-fits-all messaging doesn’t work. Data helps segment donors by interest, frequency, and engagement style.
Show you care – Asking for opinions builds trust. Donors feel valued and heard.
💡 A survey says: “Your voice matters.” That’s the beginning of a strong relationship.
2. Types of Donor Surveys & When to Use Them
There’s no one-size-fits-all here. Different surveys answer different questions depending on where your donors are in the journey:
A. Welcome Survey
📌 When: 1 week after a donor’s first gift
📌 Why: Capture their initial motivations while it’s fresh. Helps tailor future content.
📌 What to ask:
What inspired your donation?
Would you like to receive project updates or impact stories?
Do you prefer email or social media?
B. Engagement or Satisfaction Survey
📌 When: Mid-year or post-campaign
📌 Why: Get a pulse check. Are donors happy, confused, inspired, frustrated?
📌 What to ask:
On a scale of 1–10, how connected do you feel to our work?
How easy was the donation process?
How can we improve your experience?
C. Lapsed Donor Survey
📌 When: 12–18 months since last gift
📌 Why: Understand why donors have stopped giving and how you might re-engage them.
📌 What to ask:
What influenced your decision to pause giving?
What would inspire you to reconnect?
Would you like to hear from us less or in a different format?
D. Annual Insight Survey
📌 When: Once a year
📌 Why: Gather big-picture insights on interests, satisfaction, and future support.
📌 What to ask:
Which of our focus areas do you care most about?
What would make you feel more involved?
Would you consider leaving a gift in your will?
3. What Questions to Ask (and Why)
Here’s the golden rule: Keep it short, intentional, and focused.
Use a mix of:
Closed questions: (e.g., Yes/No, rating scales, multiple choice) for clean, quantifiable data.
Open-ended questions: Let donors share their story in their own words.
Examples:
Motivation: What inspired your gift?
Reveals emotional triggers for future messaging
Preference: How would you like to hear from us?
Respects communication boundaries
Feedback: What would you improve about our process?
Shows you care; highlights friction points
Program Interests: Which areas of our work resonate with you most?
Enables better segmentation
Connection: How connected do you feel to our mission?
Helps measure relationship strength over time
🎯 Tip: Don’t overwhelm. Stick to 5–10 questions max.
4. Tools That Work for NFPs
These tools are cost-effective and easy to use, even with limited time and resources:
Google Forms – Free, clean design, and integrates easily into emails or webpages.
Typeform – More engaging UX, ideal for mobile-first audiences.
SurveyMonkey – Great if you want logic paths or pre-built templates.
Bloomerang / Keela / Kindful – CRM platforms with survey tools that link results directly to donor profiles.
Mailchimp / EmailOctopus – Simple ways to embed surveys in your newsletters or automations.
💡 Pro tip: Start simple. Google Forms is often more than enough for small NFPs.
5. How to Increase Response Rates
People are busy—so make it easy and worthwhile for them:
Be clear about why you’re asking: “Help us serve you better.”
Set expectations: “This will take 3 minutes tops.”
Offer an incentive: A digital thank-you, impact report, or entry to win a small prize.
Send a reminder: A gentle follow-up 3–5 days later can boost responses by 25–40%.
Share back what you learned: “Based on your feedback, we’re updating our impact report to be more visual.”
6. How to Use the Data (Don’t Let It Die in a Spreadsheet!)
Once you gather insights:
Share with the team: Fundraisers, comms, program staff—everyone should learn from donor voices.
Update personas: Adjust your ideal donor profiles based on new data.
Segment lists: Start grouping donors by interest, engagement level, giving frequency.
Inform campaigns: Let data shape your next ask. Use their words, not yours.
Identify upgrade potential: Who’s ready to become a monthly donor? A volunteer? A legacy giver?
🧠 Data is only powerful when you use it.
7. Common Pitfalls to Avoid
🚫 Surveying too often – Don’t fatigue your list.
🚫 Asking vague or leading questions – Stay neutral and specific.
🚫 Ignoring responses – If you’re not going to use the data, don’t collect it.
🚫 Sending from a generic “no-reply” email – Personalise your outreach and make it warm.
Key Takeaway
Donor surveys are relationship deepeners and strategy definers.
They help you hear directly from the people who care most about your work. When you truly listen, your communications become more relevant, your campaigns more effective, and your community more connected.