Complete GivingUSA Foundation Survey on Major Donors

As a fundraising professional, you know the importance of effectively engaging with major donors. You also know that the future of fundraising depends on adjusting to changes in the pool of major donors, especially as we see new types of donors emerge, and/or as major donors use new approaches. We invite you to participate in an essential study designed to help fundraising professionals embrace this opportunity to adapt their practices.

This research is a partnership between the GivingUSA Foundation and the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University. It seeks to specify the predominant qualities of new and emerging types of major donors – e.g., younger donors, donors focused on measurable outcomes, donors with diverse identities, or other qualities – and to redefine effective practices for engaging and stewarding these emerging donors.

To achieve this goal, we need your help. We want this research to incorporate the diverse opinions and experiences of practicing fundraisers, so we ask you to please click the link to complete a brief survey by 10/15/23.

The survey will likely take approximately 20 minutes, though you do not have to complete it all in one session. It contains questions about your own fundraising experience, your views on the primary qualities of “new” kinds of major donors (however you define “major”) and the approaches they take to giving, the challenges you face as you engage new donors, and your recommendations based on these experiences. Your responses to the survey are confidential and anonymous, unless after completing the survey you opt to be contacted by researchers to provide additional help.

This research will produce findings and recommendations that we believe will be of tremendous value for fund development programs and nonprofit organizations across the sector. And your insights and input are crucial if we want to create this value for the future of fundraising.

If you have questions about the study before deciding whether to participate, please email Mandy Sharp Eizinger at sharpama@gvsu.edu.