Want to do a survey?

Sure you do!

But what kind?

There are several types of surveys you can use in fundraising. They all look pretty much the same, and each type can be valuable. But they are extremely different in their purpose and how they work.

Here’s the scary part: Surveys can really go off the rails if you aren’t super clear about which type you’re doing. Or if you try to mix two or more types. You’ll get messy, unusable data that could really hurt you in the long run.

Here are four distinct types of survey that you might consider using in your fundraising program. Spoiler alert: While all four types can be good, the fourth is really amazing!

1. Research survey

This type of survey is meant to give you a statistical picture of your donor file things like demographics, attitudes, and preferences. A research survey can give a good picture of who is on your file, what they know and don’t know, what they believe, and more. This can help you shape your messaging and campaigns and really improve your fundraising results.

A quantitative research survey must be statistically rigorous. That starts with choosing which donors will be contacted for a well-rounded look at the file. Questions carefully constructed to minimize the types of bias that can creep into opinions. Often, the research includes not only written surveys, but phone surveys and sometimes even focus groups. Don’t do this on your own, unless you have a lot of training and experiences with research! Get professional help.

2. Customer feedback survey

You’ve taken a few of these yourself. They are designed to give you an idea of how well you are connecting with donors and their satisfaction with their relationship with your organization and your service.

This type of survey can help you uncover areas of strength and weakness so you can make improvements. It is usually less statistically rigorous than a research survey, and is designed to uncover areas of hidden trouble and opportunity. It is usually timed so people get a survey immediately after a transaction of any kind.

3. Motivational survey

Sometimes called “fake surveys,” these are not research at all. They are meant to engage donors on your shared values, leading toward a donation. They often ask extremely softball questions. (“Cancer is bad: yes or no?”) The goal is to get people saying “yes” (or in some cases “NO!”) on a certain topic – then they ask for a donation on that same topic, and it will be natural for someone to say yes to that!

This type can be an effective fundraising tool for some organizations, especially those engaged in advocacy and other areas of controversy. Motivational surveys do not yield any valid opinion information.

4. Supporter Connection Survey

The best for last!

There’s nothing wrong with the first three survey types. They can be helpful and important for some organizations. But the Supporter Connection Survey can change everything for your program, both short and long term.

The Supporter Connection Survey focuses on one donor at a time: what they have to say and how they think about your cause and the values they share with you. You get this information one donor at a time – it tells you almost nothing about how your entire donor file thinks. While you’ll get statistical-looking data (44% said X, 32% said Y, 24% said Z), but the only usable information you have is what each donor said about their own thoughts.

You now have information you can reflect back to that donor in the form of micro-personalization. Example: Say one of your questions was about why they care about your cause, and one of the possible answers you supplied was “I care because I suffered through poverty as a child, and I know what those kids are going through.”

For the donors who selected that answer, you can have a variable field in your next appeal that goes like this:

I know you care about this project, because in the survey you sent us recently, you told as that you suffered through poverty as a child. You know what these kids are going through.

You’d have a version for each answer to that survey question, plus a default version for those who haven’t yet returned a survey or didn’t answer that question.

So powerful!

But that’s not all the Supporter Connection Survey can do for you. It can boost revenue:

Short term revenue: Donors who take the survey are shown to be more responsive to your subsequent fundraising. That means a jump in response rates right away. Also, you can (and should) include a one-time ask, so the survey itself directly raises funds.

Middle term revenue: The survey typically has a question designed to encourage donors to significantly upgrade their giving. This helps uncover donors who have been giving below their capacity, boosting your mid-value and major donor file. There’s sometimes also a question that invites donors to become monthly donors. That means steady revenue and superb donor retention on those who sign on.

Long term revenue:  Here’s the big money part of the Supporter Connection Survey: A question that asks about including your organization in their will. This is the best-known way to get those planned giving leads. The impact on future revenue (5+ years in the future, mostly) can be HUGE.

Versions of the Supporter Connection Survey are widely used in Australia and New Zealand. It is still rare in the rest of the world. Now is the time for you to get working on your Donor Connection Survey!

Discover how the Supporter Connection Survey will help you create an amazing pipeline of legacy, major donor, and monthly giving leads that will powerfully boost short-term and long-term revenue. Download your free ebook: 5 Easy Steps to Your Game-Changing Donor Survey.

Related Blog Posts:

• How the Supporter Connection Survey Transformed This Fundraiser Forever
• Your To-Do List for Skyrocketing Income in the Coming Years
• The Donor Survey that Can Shape Your Annual Fundraising Plan