30 Essential Charity Survey Questions

By weaving together input from donors, volunteers, beneficiaries, and the wider community, a charity can make informed decisions about its operations and offerings, refining delivery, communications, and recruitment. To assist you in your efforts, below you'll find a collection of 30 sample questions segmented across six essential areas that charities might explore in their own surveys. These measure: the needs and satisfaction of beneficiaries, the donor experience, volunteer engagement, programme effectiveness, internal processes and culture, and public perception and branding.

Using questions such as these, your charity can take strides towards not only quantifying its impact but also bolstering its relationship with all stakeholders. More than a mere fact-finding mission, carefully crafted surveys are powerful instruments for nurturing trust and enacting meaningful change. Good luck in your endeavours. 

Example questions for a charity survey

Beneficiary needs and satisfaction

1. What services or programmes have you accessed from our charity?

2. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the relevance of our programmes to your needs?

3. Are there any unmet needs that you think we should focus on?

4. How could we improve our current services or programmes?

5. Would you recommend our charity to someone in a similar situation?

Donor experience

6. How did you first hear about our charity?

7. How easy was the donation process?

8. Were you satisfied with the frequency and content of updates about how your donation was utilised?

9. What motivates you to continue donating to our charity?

10. Are there any aspects of the donation process that you think need improvement?

Volunteer engagement

11. What motivated you to volunteer with us?

12. How well were your skills utilised during your volunteer experience?

13. Were the expectations and responsibilities clearly communicated to you?

14. Would you volunteer with us again in the future?

15. Is there any additional training or support that would enhance your volunteer experience?

Programme effectiveness

16. Which of our programmes have you participated in or observed?

17. Was the programme's impact clearly demonstrated to you?

18. How could the programme be made more effective?

19. What do you consider to be the most and least successful aspects of the programme?

20. Are there any additional programmes you would like to see us offer?

Internal processes and culture

21. How well do you think our charity embodies its stated values?

22. Are decision-making processes transparent within the organisation?

23. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the internal communication?

24. Do you feel your opinions and suggestions are valued?

25. Are there areas within the organisation's culture that you think could be improved?

Public perception and branding

26. How would you describe our charity to a friend or colleague?

27. Do you think our charity is effectively reaching its target audience?

28. How do you perceive our social media presence?

29. Are there specific aspects of our public image that you think should be improved?

30. What other channels or partnerships could we use to enhance our visibility?

In a hurry? Use a survey template

Get up and running quickly with our non-profit survey templates. Each comes pre-populated with example questions, and can be used as presented or adapted to your unique needs.