How do you know if your donors and supporters are getting what they need from their relationship with your organization? After all, you are competing for their support with every other organization in your community—and many around the world, as well.

Once you lose a supporter, you may never get them back. So it’s vitally important for non-profits to stay close with their supporters, ask their opinions, their advice, their preferences and more.

Determining if people are happy with the services you provide, your organization’s mission, and the value they feel they are receiving for their investment (donation) doesn’t have to be difficult. If you’re keeping good databases, you have several ways to reach each of your supporters.

Some people prefer face-to-face interactions. For these folks, an invitation to an open house would be a good way to get started. Once they’re in the door, ask them to fill out a short survey. Some supporters need a more personal approach, such as a one-on-one coffee or lunch. Your invitation could clearly state the reason for the meeting: “We need your feedback. Would you be willing to share your opinions about how we’re doing?”

Other supporters have no time for parties or lunches. Send an email. Still others want to do all of their interactions through social media sites, like Facebook. You could also lure these folks to your website by engaging them through Twitter. Once you have their attention, give them a short survey to fill out.

You can leave it to just a few questions:
1. Would you recommend that your friends donate to our organization?
2. Why or why not?
3. What suggestions for improvement can you offer?

That’s it. Ask your supporters if they’re happy, and they will most likely tell you!

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 22nd, 2011 at and is filed under Nonprofit Management. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.