Advancement · Grants & Funding

Ask your supporters
what keeps them involved

Donors, volunteers, families and neighbors stay when they feel welcome, know where the money goes and can fit the work around their lives. A short survey each year tells you which of those is slipping and how people want to hear from you. Print it from your statements, enter the results, write what you will change and print a notice that closes the loop.

Add a survey roundWhat you get
$12one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $12

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Grant writer’s desk, $49 for 60 items.

Survey rounds

The worked example is made up: a PTA where meeting times are slipping, a library friends group that prefers texts and a small youth league with few answers. Saved on this device only.

Loading the survey round form. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Advancement · Grants & Funding$12 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A record per survey round: who you asked, invited and answering, the percent who plan to stay involved, each statement’s percent agreeing now and last round, channel preferences, what you heard and will do, and five practice checks; the response rate, lowest and falling statements, the preferred channel, a printable survey and a you-said, we-did notice.
Who it is for
Development, volunteer and community engagement staff, PTA and booster officers, and nonprofit board members who look after a base of supporters.
Format
Browser tool with a saved record per round. Prints the supporter survey, a you-said, we-did notice, one round’s results, every round in a table or a blank form; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$12 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Grant writer’s desk ($49) and the Advancement Suite pass ($99), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Grants & Funding space in Caveat Advancement.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Write four to eight statements.
  2. Print the survey or copy it into a form.
  3. Enter counts and percents.
  4. Write what you heard and will do.
  5. Print the notice for supporters.

Add a survey round

Listening to your supporters

What a supporter survey is forBelongingDo they feelwelcome?Do they feelthanked?ClarityDo they know wherethe money goes?FitDo times and tasksfit their lives?ReachWhich channel dothey actually read?What a supporter survey is forBelongingDo they feel welcome?Do they feel thanked?ClarityDo they know wherethe money goes?FitDo times and tasksfit their lives?ReachWhich channel dothey actually read?
The stay-involved figure is the one to watch; the statements tell you what moves it.

Keep the same statements

A statement asked the same way each year becomes a trend line. Change the wording and you lose the comparison. Add new statements when something new matters, and leave the last round blank for them. A drop of ten points or more between rounds is worth a conversation with a few supporters before you decide what it means.

Small numbers, rough signals

A survey answered by 15% of the people you invited mostly hears from your most involved supporters. With under 30 answers, a single person moves a percent by several points. Read small rounds as a starting point for conversations, not a verdict, and share what you will do so the next round is worth answering.

Sources

  1. Dillman, D. A., Smyth, J. D., and Christian, L. M. (2014). Internet, Phone, Mail, and Mixed-Mode Surveys: The Tailored Design Method, 4th edition. Wiley.
  2. Association of Fundraising Professionals. Fundraising Effectiveness Project: donor retention reports (afpglobal.org).
  3. Points of Light and AmeriCorps. Volunteering and civic life in America research (americorps.gov).
  4. Feedback Labs. Closing the loop with the people you work with (feedbacklabs.org).

The worked example is made up, including the organizations. The 60%, 70%, 15%, 10-point and 30-answer thresholds are working rules stated on the page. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.