Strategic Professional Development. The survey asked which skills listed in 5 core job areas – if improved – could help the most.
2016 Survey Results from Nonprofit Professionals
24 Nonprofit Skills the Pros Want to Improve
This important survey on nonprofit skills is about your use of techniques to help you manage your job more efficiently–and get more done.
Do you agree or disagree with the results? We value your comments.
Who Participated: Executive Directors, Directors of Development, Board Members, Grant Writers, Communications Directors and Program/Project Managers (among others) responded to the survey. Their nonprofits worked in a number of different areas including:
- 54%. Education
- 46%. Community development
- 42%. Human and social services
- 42%. Youth programs
- 33%. Economic opportunity
- 33%. Poverty and social justice
- 29%. Health services
- 25%. International development
- 12%. Environmental sustainability
Final Results on Nonprofit Skills: The greatest percentage of respondents felt they needed the most help the following areas:
1. Marketing and Communications. I need help with:
- 54%. Increasing active engagement with our donors and supporters.
- 48%. Identifying specifically what potential supporters are looking for, where they look for it, and how the ask for it.
- 48%. Writing regular, effective donor email newsletters.
- 46%. Collecting compelling stories from our programs to share with donors.
- 42%. Clearly articulating what our organization does in a sound bite.
Respondents can receive the help they are looking for here:
2. Online Donations and Fundraising. I need help with:
- 60%. Building our mailing list by getting website visitors to subscribe to our newsletter.
- 59%. Optimizing our site so that potential donors find us first (SEO).
- 55%. Learning effective online fundraising techniques.
- 45%. Developing website landing pages that quickly call donors to action.
- 50%. Determining the best things to ask donors for that will lead to a commitment.
Respondents can receive the help they are looking for here:
3. Grant Development. I want to be better prepared for contacting donors by:
- 57%. Learning how to better develop a program/project that is attractive to donors.
- 52%. Learning how to better design monitoring and evaluation plans.
- 50%. Being able to better identify potential donors for funding the project.
- 44%. Learning how to better design a program/project that is manageable.
- 44%. Identifying activities proven to solve community need.
- 43%. Conducting a needs assessment to determine specific, verifiable community need.
Respondents can receive the help they are looking for here:
4. Internet & Technology needs at your nonprofit. We need to be:
- 59%. Learning effective ways to convert website visitors into new subscribers.
- 55%. Modernizing our website to be more engaging for visitors and quickly call them to action.
- 53%. Modernizing our website to be mobile friendly for visitors with tablets and smart phones.
- 53%. Learning how to manage and regularly update our website.
- 47%. Developing a website for our organization.
- 45%. Developing an effective email newsletter program.
Respondents can receive the help they are looking for here:
5. Marketing with a Google AdWords Grant Program:
- 74%. We would like to learn how to get a $10K a month Google AdWords grant.
- 44%. We need to train a staff person to start using and manage a new AdWords account.
Respondents can receive the help they are looking for here:
Professional Development Conclusions. Based upon reviewing the nonprofit skills options listed in the survey, respondents then analyzed their professional development needs for the balance of 2016.
Are you considering participating in a training program this year?
- 68%. Yes
- 32%. No
If I could participate in a training program I would like to focus on:
- 54%. Grant development.
- 48%. Online donations and fundraising.
- 46%. Marketing and communications.
- 38%. Website development and management.
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Take the Survey Now! We will continue to fine tune the results.
We look forward to your insights and comments!
Sincerely,
Tim Magee