When online non-profit Avaaz sent me a survey today about what I thought of them, I was really relieved. Generally Avaaz does amazing work using online petitions. But recently, I'd been thrown off by a campaign that seemed totally out of keeping with their mission statement. However, whenever Avaaz does a controversial campaign, their next step is to send around a survey to check not only what their members thought of the campaign, but also to find out where members think Avaaz should be focussing their efforts.   Using a survey this way gives you a chance to actively listen to your donors - and it gives your donors a valuable chance to engage with your organisation.

Avaaz had to think about donor engagement this way perhaps because it's based online. But your organisation can benefit too from their approach. How many opportunities do your members have to give feedback to your organisation? If the opportunities you offer are mostly 'public' ones at programs, fundraisers or AGM's, then you aren't hearing everything your donors have to say.

(Here's the rest of the post, including a list of the best tools to get you started using online surveys)