What questions should a member survey ask?

Why they joined, which benefits they use, how satisfied they are, what they would change and whether they intend to renew, with an open follow-up on each reason.

How do I survey donors without annoying them?

Keep it short, send it after a thank-you rather than an appeal, and explain how the answers will be used.

Can beneficiaries answer by voice?

Yes. Respondents can answer by voice or text in their own language, which helps people who are less comfortable writing.

How are open answers analysed?

The AI codes comments into themes with counts and sentiment, and links each theme to the verbatims, ready for a board or funder report.

How much does it cost?

The first 50 respondents are free. Paid plans start at CHF 45 per month for 150 respondents per month.

Do I need research experience?

No. Describe what you want to learn and SmartInterview drafts the questionnaire and flags biased questions before you send it.

How fast are results available?

Themes update as answers arrive, so you can read the first results the same day.

Surveys and research for associations and nonprofits

Associations and NGOs live on people who give their time, money or trust. Donors stop giving, members don't renew and event participants never become supporters, and almost none of them say why.

No credit card50 free respondentsGDPR & CCPA compliant

How likely are you to give again this year?

12345

Which word best describes our association to you?

Serious, I guess.

Serious as in trustworthy with donations, or a bit distant? What would make you feel closer to the cause, and give again?

50free respondents
to start

2× the data quality, on 2 swiss dialects, at a fraction of the cost

How YouGov collected cost-effective insight →

150k respondents per year, 4x higher quality of open-ended data

BrandTrends drives brand tracking →

1 winning health product concept and pricing out of 4, ready to launch.

Pharmalp positioned a new natural health product →

Kadence

5,450+ interviews cartoon & health product, multi-country, AI quant+qual research

Enhanced customer excellence + cost efficiency through AI-powered research. →

600 respondents, young people insurance usage and expectation, brand attribute.

Yearly insurance awareness, communication, competitor matrix tracking →

2× the data quality, on 2 swiss dialects, at a fraction of the cost

How YouGov collected cost-effective insight →

150k respondents per year, 4x higher quality of open-ended data

BrandTrends drives brand tracking →

1 winning health product concept and pricing out of 4, ready to launch.

Pharmalp positioned a new natural health product →

5,450+ interviews cartoon & health product, multi-country, AI quant+qual research

Enhanced customer excellence + cost efficiency through AI-powered research. →

600 respondents, young people insurance usage and expectation, brand attribute.

Yearly insurance awareness, communication, competitor matrix tracking →

A donor study, from one question to the answer

1. Ask2. Follow up3. Analyse

Live

Survey

How likely are you to give again this year?

12345

Which word best describes our association to you?

Serious, I guess.

AI follow-up

Serious as in trustworthy with donations, or a bit distant? What would make you feel closer to the cause, and give again?

Answering by voice…

The AI asks one more question whenever an answer is vague, in the respondent's language.

Live results

How likely are you to give again this year?n = 289

3.7mean / 5

4%1

9%2

23%3

39%4

25%5

289open answers coded into themes

Wants to see the impact36%

Money is tight24%

Close to the cause21%

Illustrative example with sample data, not a client study.

Nonprofit research asks each group what moves them, what holds them back and what would make them stay: regular donors, one-off givers, lapsed supporters, volunteers and beneficiaries. Campaigns, membership offers and events can then be built on their answers.

SmartInterview sends a short survey by email, link or a QR code on a letter. It adapts the questions to each person's relationship with you, asks a follow-up when an answer is vague and codes the comments into themes. You don't need a research team.

Why research matters for nonprofits

Small teams can't afford campaigns that miss. Knowing why a donor stopped, why an occasional giver won't commit monthly or why event participants never give again tells you where to put limited time and money. It also gives your board and funders evidence in supporters' own words.

Win back lapsed donors with the real reason they stopped
Turn one-off givers into regular supporters
Convert event participants into donors
Prove impact and build trust with your supporters' own words

Participants of a charity run with race bibs

From question to study

Questions we help associations and NGOs answer

Typical situations in this sector, and how we would set up the study for each.

Research objective

Find out why people stopped and who can be won back

Who we ask

Lapsed regular donors

How SmartInterview answers it

One open question, 'What made you stop?', with an AI follow-up: was it about us, or about your own situation?

AI follow-up

What made you stop giving?

Money is tight.Would a smaller monthly amount, or a pause, have helped you stay?

Run this study on your own customers

50 free respondents · no credit card · GDPR and CCPA compliant

Start free →

How it is done today, and with SmartInterview

TodayWith SmartInterview

Regular donors stop giving and nobody learns the reasonA short survey to lapsed donors, with AI follow-ups on each reason

Small teams send a survey, then never read the commentsOpen answers coded into themes automatically, ready for the board

Beneficiaries less comfortable writing are left out of feedbackBeneficiaries answer by voice, in their own language

Event attendees leave without a traceA QR code at the event collects feedback and contact consent

Questions you can answer

1Why do regular donors stop giving?
2What would make an occasional donor give every month?
3Why don't our event participants become donors?
4Do our supporters know what their money funds?
5Which channel and frequency do older donors prefer?

Who you can reach

Current, occasional and lapsed donors from your CRM, by emailMembers of your giving club or associationEvent participants and volunteers, with a link or QR code on the daySupporters without email, through a QR code on your postal mailing

What you can learn

Why people give, and why they stop

Personal connection, trust or habit, and the moment when giving stopped, separated into reasons about you and reasons about their own lives.

What a membership or monthly offer is missing

Whether the offer is clear, whether the amount feels fair and which single change would make people join.

Trust, channels and frequency

Whether supporters know what the money funds, and whether they want news by email, post or at events, monthly or twice a year.

Research methods for this industry

Message testing Customer research Brand tracking Concept testing

How SmartInterview works for nonprofits

1
Define the business decision
Name the decision: a campaign to launch, a membership offer to change, a service to improve or a strategy to set.
2
Generate the survey
Describe the decision in one sentence. SmartInterview drafts the questionnaire, scores its quality and flags leading or double-barrelled questions before anyone answers.
3
Recruit the target audience
Invite members, donors and volunteers from your own lists by email or link, reach beneficiaries with a QR code, or survey the public through a panel.
4
Collect quantitative and qualitative answers
Structured questions give the numbers. When an answer is vague, the AI asks a follow-up, by voice or text, in the respondent's language.
5
Analyze segments and open-ended feedback
Open answers are coded into themes with counts and sentiment, and every theme links back to the verbatims behind it. Compare segments side by side.
6
Turn insights into recommendations
Export the findings, the themes and the quotes to the team that has to decide, as a report or a spreadsheet.

Example studies

A group reviewing survey results on a tablet

Illustrative study design

Why occasional donors don't join a monthly giving club

Challenge

A charity relies on a monthly giving club for stable funding, but most donors give once a year and its annual charity run brings participants who rarely give again.

Research design

A 10-minute survey sent to five CRM segments, with routing by relationship to the charity. It includes a concept test of the club offer, AI follow-ups on why lapsed donors stopped and what the offer is missing, and a comparison of three appeals on the same scale.

Respondents

Club members, donors above and below an annual threshold, lapsed regular donors and charity run participants.

Business decision

Offer a flexible monthly amount that can be paused, and follow up every run with a personal thank-you and an invitation to join the club.

Key insights

Occasional donors want to keep the freedom to give when they choose more than they object to the amount
Run participants feel close to the cause but have never been asked to give beyond the event day

Nonprofit research topics teams search for

Donor survey questions

Ask why donors first gave, what they know about your work, how they prefer to hear from you and what would make them give again. SmartInterview probes vague answers like 'it's a good cause' to find the real motivation.

Why donors stop giving

Lapsed donors often mention money, feeling unappreciated or not knowing what their gift changed. Ask them directly in a short survey and let the coded answers show which reason applies to your organisation.

Volunteer satisfaction survey template

Cover onboarding, the tasks given, recognition, time commitment and intent to continue. SmartInterview drafts the template from your goal so a small team can send it the same day.

How to measure the impact of a program with beneficiaries

Ask beneficiaries what changed for them, in their own words, alongside the indicators your funders track. Voice answers in their language make it easier for more people to take part.

Association member satisfaction survey

Ask which member benefits people use, which they ignore and what would make membership worth renewing. Coded open answers show which benefits to promote and which to rethink.

How to test a fundraising appeal

Show two versions of an appeal to supporters, measure which one makes them more likely to give, and ask why. Running the test before mailing protects the budget of the real campaign.

Brand perception survey for a charity

Ask which words describe your organisation and how it compares with similar causes. The AI follows up on single words like 'serious' to learn whether people mean trustworthy or distant.

Nonprofit survey tool for small teams

A small team needs a tool that writes the questionnaire, sends it and reads the answers. SmartInterview does all three, and the first 50 respondents are free.

Pricing

Choose your respondent volume

Pro and Ultimate prices update instantly as you change the number of respondents per month.

300 respondents / month

CHF 79

Pro / month

FREE

CHF050 respondents included

1 member
50 respondents
Automated survey design
AI-powered analysis & dashboard
Share surveys via link, WhatsApp or QR code

Get started for free

RECOMMENDED

PRO

CHF79/ month

starting at 150 respondents

Everything in Free, plus:
Access to 300 respondents per month
Up to 3 members
Email invitations
Client / externals collaboration
AI-powered analysis of open-ended responses

Get started· CHF 79

ULTIMATE

CHF149/ month

starting at 500 respondents

Everything in Pro, plus:
Access to 500 respondents per month
Up to 5 members
Qualitative interview transcription
Advanced coding & categorisation
Company branding
Remove SmartInterview branding
Executive report with results (PDF)

Get started· CHF 149

ENTERPRISE

Let's talk

Everything in Ultimate, plus:
Unlimited members
Custom respondent volumes
Custom integrations
Dedicated support
Security & procurement review

Whether you collect one respondent this month or ten next quarter, you only pay for what you use. Your respondent credits are valid for 3 years.

Frequently asked questions

A survey run by an association or NGO to hear its members, donors, volunteers or beneficiaries about their motivations, satisfaction and expectations.

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