Feedback is important in helping us achieve our mission. Without it, we might have blind spots that limit our ability to collaborate with our communities. Feedback helps strengthen our relationships and the services we facilitate. The time and trust the community gives while providing feedback is a gift and it’s important to show them immediate gratitude. We have to be willing to listen, acknowledge and act on the feedback or be ready to explain why we’re not going to act on something.
Depending on the types of questions you’re asking, sometimes giving the option to be anonymous might be really beneficial to your organization. However, if no one submits feedback – either anonymous or known – then that’s an indicator that work is needed to build trust and connection within the community.
Here we provide some suggestions to show immediate appreciation as well as provide an incentive to give feedback and possibly some comfort in providing contact information that will allow you to increase your connection with communities in the future.
Offer an e-book, gift card (even as little as $5), ticket to something special, mug, item from local artist, subscriber only benefit.
If purchasing incentives, consider supporting local small businesses that are also value aligned. Here are some we’ve heard about:
- Bookshop or Libro.fm (they donate part of their revenue to local bookstores). Of course family-owned restaurants are a great option too!
- Annie’s Blue Ribbon if you’re in Brooklyn
- Booklarder in Seattle
- On Waverly in San Francisco
We know it can be difficult to find the funds within your budget, so in-kind donations are sometimes a great alternative. Here are some we’ve heard about:
- Go to local restaurants or stores and just ask for a donation of a small item or meal. Promote them in return. While working or volunteering for nonprofits, in past jobs rootid team members have helped bookstores gather funds and kids celebrate the holidays by just asking restaurants or companies for donations.
- Many sports teams tend to have an in-kind page on their websites (e.g. Women’s Pro Baseball League, Mets, Knicks, Warriors) and big chain restaurants too (e.g. Olive Garden).
- Cirque du Soleil offers in-kind tickets to organizations. Go to the sustainability page and scroll down to “send your request”. They have limitations you’ll have to meet.
Start planning incentives early, as it may take time to secure funding or donations. Offering a small token of appreciation can significantly boost participation by showing respondents their time and input are valued. Whenever possible, we recommend providing an incentive to every participant. If that isn’t feasible, you can offer one or more raffle prizes instead. In those cases, rootid typically selects winners at random, or you can use a simple tool like Wheel of Names to draw a winner.
Incentives can show appreciation, but they don’t replace genuine community-building. The true reward is when participants see their feedback reflected in your organization’s work, effectively fostering a sense of community and how they contributed to shaping these meaningful evolutions.