6 Ways to collect demographic data for your nonprofit

It’s important for charitable organisations to have a firm understanding of their impact, especially in how it relates to equity, diversity and inclusion. To follow and understand the breakdown of your impact, you need demographic data. 

However, gathering necessary demographic data, whether age, gender, race, sexual orientation, income level or any other variable can sometimes feel elusive. Below are six simple ways to collect demographic data for your nonprofit.    

1. At fundraising events

Fundraising events are a great way to build support for your organisation.  of the most reliable ways to achieve such a goal. But, that’s not all they’re useful for. Fundraising events can prove particularly helpful when it comes to collecting demographic data for your nonprofit. 

This can be realised through the check-in process. For an event of such magnitude, it’s necessary to know who’s in attendance and ensuring that the attendants sign in is a good way to gauge attendance. This typically involves them providing their name and other necessary details that you deem noteworthy. 

The efficiency of this method of demographic data collection is that it gives you insight into the nature of your (potential) donor base.

2. Through grant applications

The grant application is where applicants make their case for funding or support. It can include project information and plans of action, thereby demonstrating that the organisation has the structure in place to make optimal use of the funds to achieve a positive impact.

A grant application has various components – one such is the information about the organisation or applicant. This is the perfect opportunity to collect the demographic you need to help define your impact and gather detailed information about the recipient, their mission and target communities.

3. In grant reports

When nonprofits receive support from funders, they’re obligated to communicate their progress to the funding organisations. A grant report is a document that informs grantmakers of how the grant recipient used the funds and what the result of the various projects are. Grant reports demonstrate accountability on the part of the grantee, help the grantmaker make sense of the effect of their support and make a compelling case for continued funding.

Grant reports are effective when it comes to collecting demographic data because they contain findings about the people served by the nonprofit’s projects. It’s an ideal channel to collect demographic data on the community the grant is serving. 

4. In the board of directors’ annual reports

The annual reports of charitable organisations are also a good way to collect data. These reports detail the internal workings of the organisation and normally contain information about the board of directors. Facts about their age, gender, race, religion, background and others shed light on how diverse the board of directors is. 

This type of information matters to stakeholders. 

5. In email surveys

Another effective way to collect demographic data for your nonprofit is an email survey. It’s a trusted method of data collection popular for its convenience for respondents. Email surveys are simple to use because the targets are mostly your community whose contacts you already have; reliable feedback from them guarantees more polished decisions.

The email survey can either be an embedded email survey with the email embedded in the email itself or an email redirect survey in which a link redirects the audience to the actual survey. Implementing email surveys proves versatile because additional messages can be contained in the email.

Some best practices will ensure you make the most of email surveys as a method of demographic data collection. For starters, have a simple subject line that succinctly conveys the essence of the email. Follow it up by personalising the email as much as possible. 

It helps to create a sense of importance in the respondents’ minds. In the body of the email, explain the objective of the survey and state how well the recipient’s opinion is valued. Be transparent by stating what you’ll do with the data you’re gathering. 

Also, state how much time it should take to complete the survey. At the closing, thank the recipient for their time and contribution. It’s helpful to leverage powerful survey software. Overall, ensure that the emails aren’t spammy; they should be compliant with regulations such as the USA’s CAN-SPAM Act, Europe’s GDPR,  Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation and other relevant laws.

6. Through data exhibition platforms 

Though demographic data is crucial to the nonprofit space, multiple inquiries about the same set of data can prove burdensome. Thankfully, the Demographics via Candid campaign recognises this and aims to simplify the process. This platform helps nonprofits share vital information about their organisation on their Candid profile. The details can be forwarded to potential donors, researchers and other interested parties as needed.

Collecting the necessary statistics for nonprofits can be a simple process if you know how to go about it. Implement any of the above to get the knowledge you need to make better decisions. To learn more, read our post to know what pitfalls you should avoid and how to protect fundseekers when collecting demographic data.