A SNAPSHOT OF PHILANTHROPY IN OUR COMMUNITY
November 6, 2017– Stratford, ON – Earlier this year the Stratford Perth Community Foundation (SPCF) partnered with the University of Waterloo Community, Health, Environment, Communications (CHEC) Initiative to create and disseminate a survey that collected pertinent donor demographic information in order to capture a snapshot of philanthropy in Stratford, St. Marys and Perth County.
Dubbed the Stratford Perth Donor Survey, other partners in the project included the United Way Perth-Huron, Stratford Festival, Stratford General Hospital Foundation, Stratford-Perth Humane Society, and the Stratford-Perth Family YMCA. Participation from all of the organizations provided the basis for a well-rounded synopsis of the donor base in our region
The project partners helped distribute the survey through public relations communications and social media and hundreds of donors from the community participated. A comprehensive summary was promised once the data had been reviewed and compiled.
“The survey revealed some interesting information about the makeup of the donor base in our region,” shares Tracy Van Kalsbeek, Executive Director of the SPCF. “Although we were already pretty sure of it, the survey confirmed that our donors are more mature, well-educated and tend to support charities that have a positive impact within the community.”
Other highlights included that donors wanted to see their donation being used effectively and did not want to see waste within their favourite charities and not-for-profit organizations. The two most popular methods of communication were e-newsletters and social media. Adds Mimi Price, CEO of the YMCA Stratford Perth, “Notably our donors did not want to receive expensive mailings from the charities of their choice, instead opting for communications via the web so that money could be saved and put towards achieving organization goals and objectives.”
Data from the survey will be housed on the new myPerthHuron site – an online community trends indicator system to help track our local community well-being and vitality. “Not only will this information be available to the public, it will also help guide donor retention and loyalty strategies, cater more appropriately to the needs and wants of our donors and provide a better basis for the strategic goals of our local charities – all so that we can enhance services for our community,” notes Ryan Erb, Executive Director of United Way Perth-Huron.
Questions about the Stratford Perth Donor Survey can be directed to Tracy Van Kalsbeek at 519-271-1503 or tracy@spccf.ca
