Overview

Understanding the awareness and perception of community members about your community foundation is vital to make efficient and effective decisions. Perspectives Consulting Group, Inc. conducts awareness and perception surveys for community foundations to help them gain a better understanding of how donors and the community perceive their organization. Our studies can help your organization learn what factors are important to your community members and identify areas you would like to improve.
Since the information needs are different for every organization, Perspectives Consulting Group, Inc. focuses on identifying and providing relevant information using a customized research process. Generally, awareness and perception surveys are conducted by telephone. Our research process includes developing a survey tailored to the needs of the organization, conducting telephone interviews with community members, analyzing the results by demographic categories, and presenting the survey results to the organization’s management and staff.

Awareness and Perception Surveys

In the past, community foundations have used awareness and perception surveys to:

• Measure the awareness and perceptions of the community foundation among their community members
• Understand and manage the service and communication expectations of the community
• Identify differences in community members awareness and perceptions by demographic categories
• Understand what community issues are most important to community members

The survey process begins by meeting with the organization to identify the survey objectives. The survey is then developed to address those objectives and meet generally accepted survey practices. Once the survey is approved by the organization, the interviewing process begins. On average, awareness and perception surveys are five to seven minutes in length. Analysis of the data and preparation of the report is completed within a few weeks of interviewing. Once the report is completed, the project personnel from Perspectives Consulting Group, Inc. will present the survey results to the organization’s management and staff. The majority of awareness and perception surveys require between ten to twelve weeks to complete. The cost to conduct this type of research is dependent on the number of surveys to be completed and the length of the survey.

Awareness and Perception Survey Outline

The following outline lists topics that could be included on an awareness and perception survey:

Awareness and Perceptions

• Knowledge of the community foundation and services
• Overall opinion of the community foundation
• Perceptions of the community foundation and the services they provide

Communication Effectiveness

• Where they have seen or heard of the community foundation
• Best methods to communicate

Satisfaction with Organization

• Overall level of satisfaction with the community foundation
• Reasons community members like and dislike the community foundation

Charitable Giving

• Giving patterns to nonprofit organizations
• Willingness to support endowments
• Awareness and interest in donor advised funds and other giving opportunities

Demographics

• Age
• Gender
• Household income
• ZIP code