The Fundraising Confidence Survey and Collaboration

Last week, we launched volume 4 of our Fundraising Confidence Survey, and if you haven’t completed it yet, I urge you to do so. It’s a short survey, 14 questions plus three demographic queries, so it should take no more than five minutes to complete. 

I know you get asked to complete a lot of surveys, but our survey is for our sector. It gives us a lot of great data that we don’t get from anywhere else about a simple but often overlooked aspect of fundraising: How you are doing? Are you feeling confident? Anxious? What challenges and opportunities do you see out there?

I’m a numbers guy – MBA in finance and a CPA. No doubt about it, a numbers guy. Pure numbers and data can tell us a lot. But equally important are your personal, subjective views about what’s happening in the profession. Taken together, the collective thoughts and opinions of our members count for a lot and offer critical insight into the profession and the sector.

That’s why organizations like LinkedIn for Nonprofits want to work with AFP using the data from these surveys. We are proud to partner with LinkedIn for Nonprofits on a new publication chock full of guidance and insights on fundraising overall and using LinkedIn for your development efforts. Look for an announcement on that publication later this week.

We also use the information from our research, like the aforementioned Fundraising Confidence Survey, as well as our Compensation and Benefits Report, when we’re working with the media, with legislators and regulators, with foundations and corporations and others. When we paint an accurate picture of the fundraising environment, we can pinpoint the key challenges and opportunities you’re facing and, in turn, highlight the actions and changes that the government, the media and others can make to help us. THIS is why your input is so important.

And, of course, collaborations, such as our partnership with LinkedIn for Nonprofits and many other organizations, mean our message gets out to an even wider audience. 

So, can I count on you to take five minutes out of your day to complete the Fundraising Confidence Survey? Feel free to pass it on to your colleagues as well. Also, if you’re a chapter leader, we’d love it if you would alert your chapter membership to it as well.

You’ll be seeing a story about the data from this survey in October, just before our leadership conference, AFP LEAD, kicks off in person in Indianapolis on Oct. 18 – 20. 

Thanks in advance for completing the survey, being a member of AFP, and remaining committed to ethical, effective and inclusive fundraising. And, as always, feel free to drop me a line anytime with comments or questions via email at mikefromafp@afpglobal.org or on Twitter at @AFPMikeGeiger.

Mike Geiger, MBA, CPA