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How and Why to Ask Big Donors for Feedback

April 19, 2016 | Read Time: 1 minute

When officials at American Farmland Trust noticed a few years ago that the organization’s biggest donors weren’t getting the same opportunities to provide feedback as its other donors, they sprang into action.

These days, the trust sends out a donor survey every spring along with its annual report.

Feedback from top donors has helped the group understand their concerns and motivations, and the survey itself, which you can download below, has inspired some donors to give again.

Some of the open-ended questions, like one about what motivates them to contribute, are particularly useful. And a big bonus: American Farmland Trust officials recently learned through another question that nearly a dozen of its big donors have included the trust in their estate plans.


About the Author

Maria Di Mento

Senior Reporter

Maria directs the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s annual Philanthropy 50, a comprehensive report on America’s most-generous donors. She writes about wealthy philanthropists, family and legacy foundations, next generation philanthropy, arts organizations, key trends and insights related to high-net-worth donors, and other topics.