What do Donors Want?

This article from The Nonprofit Quarterly is an excellent overview summary of the current research asking and answering that question, while keeping in mind the most important question, "How well does our program fulfill our mission?"

An excerpt.

“When Sigmund Freud asked, “What do women want?” he probably didn’t anticipate the firestorm his question would incite. Some thought the question absurd in its assumption that women could be categorized like butterfly species or wine varietals. Others believed the answer to be patently obvious: Women want what men want. Case closed.

“What’s clear is that Freud’s inquiry has become a cautionary tale about what can happen when seemingly well-intentioned questions miss their mark, eliciting eye rolling (“Don’t we already know this?”) or head scratching (“The question doesn’t take into account the complexity of what it’s studying”).

“That doesn’t stop these questions from popping up, though.

“What do donors want?” seemed to be the question behind a series of grants that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation recently awarded to two private consulting firms to encourage more philanthropy, particularly among high-net-worth individuals. One $3 million grant was given to Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors to develop tools, share knowledge, and disseminate best practices designed to increase giving and impact. Bridgespan received the other grant, in the amount of $5 million, to develop several products, including interactive web tools designed to help donors make better decisions about their investments.

“Reactions to the Gates Foundation grants varied. Some were pleased to see such a powerful show of support for enhancing philanthropic giving. Others thought this money would have been better spent on addressing more pressing needs, particularly at a time when many nonprofits are in dire straits financially. And there were a lot of people who were unsure about the value of these new resources, given the surfeit of research that already exists about philanthropy, including well-funded studies by think tanks, universities, consulting firms, and foundations exploring everything from why people give to why they volunteer.

“In short, many wondered: Do donors want more information about nonprofits and, if so, what kind? And if they have it, will it change their minds about what they support?”