How do you solicit and incorporate feedback from your collaborators or beneficiaries?

Feedback is essential for any philanthropic project, whether you are working with partners, donors, staff, or beneficiaries. It helps you understand the needs, expectations, and experiences of your stakeholders, and improve your impact, efficiency, and accountability. But how do you solicit and incorporate feedback from your collaborators or beneficiaries? Here are some tips to guide you.

Key takeaways from this article

Define your purpose:

Before diving into feedback, clearly outline your objectives. This shapes the tools and questions you'll use and sets expectations, ensuring the feedback process is focused and actionable.
Choose your methods:

Select from surveys, interviews, focus groups, or observation to gather feedback. The key is tailoring the approach to fit your goals and stakeholders' preferences—this ensures rich, relevant insights.

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Cory Warfield

My reach could be yours too {3M+…

1 Define your purpose

Before you ask for feedback, you need to clarify why you want it, what you want to learn, and how you will use it. This will help you design your feedback process, choose your methods and tools, and communicate your intentions to your stakeholders. For example, you may want feedback to assess your outcomes, identify challenges or opportunities, or co-create solutions.

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Cory Warfield

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Open communication and active listening are paramount to having the right team and alignment. Having a clear vision, understanding of how to get the together, etc can create a solid foundation for philanthropic efforts, fundraising, and other impact organizations.

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2 Choose your methods

There are many ways to solicit feedback, depending on your purpose, context, and resources. You can use surveys, interviews, focus groups, workshops, observation, or participatory methods. You can also use online platforms, mobile apps, or social media to reach more people and collect data faster. Whatever methods you choose, make sure they are accessible, inclusive, and respectful of your stakeholders' preferences and privacy.

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Ann C.

Kindness Ambassador | Storyteller | Corporate Social Responsibility | Philanthropy Expert | Advocate for Empowered.Giving | MBA | Views My Own
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It definitely depends on the project. However, I highly recommend getting as close to the need and as close to the community as possible. Think about your projects like you are co designing them as opposed to getting feedback and it helps to keep on track - so if you are investing in youth, you will always need to include them in your feedback. I also make sure I have naysayers in my feedback. People I know are not a fan or not engaged if possible. Their input is invaluable.

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3 Analyze and share your results

Once you have collected feedback, you need to analyze it and draw insights that can inform your decisions and actions. You can use qualitative or quantitative methods, or a combination of both, to identify themes, patterns, gaps, or trends. You can also use visualization tools, such as charts, graphs, or maps, to present your results in a clear and engaging way. You should also share your results with your stakeholders, and acknowledge their contributions and expectations.

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Carol Kim

Healthcare Executive | Public Affairs Operator | Ardent Advisor | Stakeholder Strategist | Brand Equity Builder
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Coupling quantitative data with qualitative insights is a powerful approach for both the grantees and funders/grantmakers. Building in an opportunity for grantees and partners to share their learnings by writing and storytelling, often times, better informs corporate funders in addition to challenging assumptions.

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4 Act on your feedback

Feedback is only useful if you act on it. You need to use your results to improve your project, address any issues, or implement any changes. You also need to communicate your actions to your stakeholders, and explain how their feedback influenced your choices. This will show them that you value their opinions, and that you are committed to learning and adapting.

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Ann C.

Kindness Ambassador | Storyteller | Corporate Social Responsibility | Philanthropy Expert | Advocate for Empowered.Giving | MBA | Views My Own
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Often it’s not just about you acting on feedback but sharing your findings widely. I start by making a plan to share the feedback with all relevant parties including the communities themselves. People want to know they have been heard. Then, determine if you need to prototype and solicit more feedback with a smaller sample, which is often the case. Finally prioritize ruthlessly!

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5 Evaluate and iterate

Feedback is not a one-time activity, but a continuous process. You need to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of your feedback process, and the outcomes of your actions. You also need to solicit feedback again, to see if your stakeholders' needs, expectations, or experiences have changed. This will help you iterate and improve your project, and build trust and collaboration with your stakeholders.

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6 Learn from others

You are not alone in your feedback journey. You can learn from other philanthropic organizations or projects that have used feedback successfully, or faced similar challenges. You can also join networks, communities, or platforms that promote feedback practices and principles, such as Feedback Labs, Keystone Accountability, or Listen4Good. You can also seek advice, support, or feedback from experts, peers, or mentors in the field of philanthropy and collaboration.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Ann C.

Kindness Ambassador | Storyteller | Corporate Social Responsibility | Philanthropy Expert | Advocate for Empowered.Giving | MBA | Views My Own
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Consider internal and external kickoffs, roadshows, advisory councils. Also great sources are plans on pages, IDEO, and other frameworks that can guide your efforts.

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How do you solicit and incorporate feedback from your collaborators or beneficiaries?

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1 Define your purpose

2 Choose your methods

3 Analyze and share your results

4 Act on your feedback

5 Evaluate and iterate

6 Learn from others

7 Here’s what else to consider

Philanthropy

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How do you solicit and incorporate feedback from your collaborators or beneficiaries?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Define your purpose

2 Choose your methods

3 Analyze and share your results

4 Act on your feedback

5 Evaluate and iterate

6 Learn from others

7 Here’s what else to consider

Philanthropy

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