You're managing event feedback for a non-profit. How can you do it better?

2 Choose your tools

There are many tools available to help you create and distribute your feedback surveys, such as Google Forms, SurveyMonkey, Typeform, Eventbrite, or Mailchimp. Depending on your budget, audience, and preferences, you can choose the tool that suits your needs and offers the features you want, such as customization, integration, automation, analysis, or reporting. Some tools are free or offer discounts for non-profits, while others require a subscription or a fee. Do some research and compare the pros and cons of different tools before you decide.

3 Design your survey

Once you have chosen your tool, you can start designing your survey. To ensure the best results, keep it short and simple with no more than 10 questions, and avoid jargon or technical terms that might confuse your participants. A mix of question types will allow you to get both quantitative and qualitative data. Additionally, a rating scale is an effective way to measure satisfaction, importance, or agreement with a statement. You can use a numerical or verbal scale to capture your participants' opinions and feelings. Furthermore, an optional comment box will invite your participants to share their thoughts, suggestions, or testimonials in their own words. Finally, before sending it out, test the survey yourself or with a colleague or friend to check for any spelling, grammar, formatting, or logic errors. Make sure it is easy to access, complete, and submit on different devices and browsers.

4 Distribute your survey

The next step is to distribute your survey to your participants. Depending on your tool and event format, you can send an email with a link to your survey or embed it in the email itself. Make sure the email is personalized, friendly, and clear, and explain the purpose and benefits of the survey. You can also share the survey on social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn. Use hashtags, images, or videos to attract attention and encourage participation. Alternatively, you can create a QR code for your survey with a tool like QR Code Generator and display it on event materials such as flyers, posters, banners, or badges. Sending the email within 24 hours of your event will get you the best response rate.

5 Analyze and act on your feedback

The final step in managing event feedback for a non-profit is to analyze and act on it. Depending on your tool, you can use different methods to collect, organize, and visualize your data, such as spreadsheets, charts, graphs, or dashboards. Additionally, you can use Google Analytics to track and measure web traffic, conversions, and goals. To help you make the most of your feedback, consider segmenting your data into groups by demographics, behavior, or preferences. You can also compare your data against goals and benchmarks to evaluate performance and identify strengths or weaknesses. Furthermore, share your data with stakeholders like staff, board members, donors, sponsors, or partners to showcase achievements or solicit support. Finally, use your data to inform decision-making processes and enhance event quality and efficiency. Remember that feedback is a valuable tool that can help you grow and improve as a non-profit manager and leader.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?