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Q. Who Qualifies for the Nonprofit Research Assistance Program?
A. An organization qualifies if they meet the following criteria:
- Located in and serving one or more of the following counties for the Southwest Michigan Program: Allegan, Barry, Berrien, Branch, Cass, Calhoun, Kalamazoo, Kent, Ottawa, St. Joseph, or Van Buren. For nonprofits in Southeast Michigan you must be located in and serve one or more of the following counties: Oakland, Livingston, Genesse, Lapeer, Macomb, Wayne, or Washtenaw counties.
- Total revenue of less than $500,000 or if government or grant funded, unrestricted funds of less than 10 percent of the total operating budget.
- Have not previously conducted research due to limited resources or lack of staff expertise.
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Q. What type of research does the program support?
A. The research project will support up to $5,000 of market research services:
Each of our research projects are customized to the individual organization's needs. Research that could be conducted as part of the Nonprofit Research Assistance Program could be either a community survey, a stakeholder survey or strategic planning.
Click the links below to see what each of the surveys could accomplish for a nonprofit organization:
Community Surveys
Stakeholder Surveys
Strategic Planning
Q. How can research help my organization?
A. Each organization is unique, as is each of our research projects. For illustrative purposes, sample objectives are listed below.
Some research objectives that could be accomplished for a nonprofit organization:
- Measure the awareness of your nonprofit among local residents.
- Explore the perceptions of your nonprofit among local residents.
- Determine what human service organizations and programs local area residents use or would use if they needed assistance.
- Understand how local area residents perceive human service needs and issues like early childhood development, crisis intervention, parenting, education, respite services.
- Identify any unmet needs or services that could be provided by your nonprofit over the next few years.
- Measure the key factors related to how stakeholders perceive the performance of your nonprofit.
- Explore what motivates stakeholders to contribute to your nonprofit, and what impacts loyalty and growth in contributions.
- Evaluate stakeholders' experiences with your nonprofit, and benchmark those experiences to other charitable giving.
To read what past recipients of the Nonprofit Research Assistant Program think about the research grant they received click here.
Q. When is the research conducted?
A. The 2009 research project will be conducted between August 31 and December 4, 2009. For more information about project schedules, click here.
Q. How to Apply?
A. The application process for 2009 has ended. Please feel free to contact us at if you have any questions about the program, or if you would like to be included on the mailing list that will announce the program details.
