Choosing a survey tool for your nonprofit

 

Choosing a survey tool can be a challenging task for nonprofit organisations. The products and pricing are ever-changing, data protection and security are more important than ever, and there’s so much choice, it’s hard to know where to start. So, we’ve looked at eight leading products and produced this guide to help you compare some options as a starting point.

Why use a survey tool?

There are many reasons why nonprofits use survey tools. For example, you might be collecting feedback from service users, event attendees or donors; or carrying out research to better understand issues and needs to support service/product design, campaigns or funding applications.

Perhaps you’re using it for recruitment, consultation, or collecting data on equality, diversity and inclusion.

For clarity, we should specify some definitions:

  • A questionnaire is the set of questions you're asking a person.

  • A survey is the process of collecting, analysing and interpreting data from many people.

If you’re exploring (or indeed re-exploring) your survey tool options, there are a wide range of products on the market. As with all digital tools, the landscape is ever changing. New features and applications emerge, data protection laws change along with security considerations, and accessibility and environmental policies have now become important factors in the selection process.

Saving time is a key reason for using survey tools. A well-designed survey is quick and easy for people to complete, and these days optimising design for mobile devices is fairly standard. Crucially for your organisation, time savings in data collection, analysis and reporting for staff are a major consideration. Increasing levels of sophistication in the presentation and visualisation on these platforms mean faster insights to support data-informed decision-making.

Survey tool costs and nonprofit discounts

Pricing and value for money are key factors in choosing a product. Many providers offer a range of pricing options with varying levels of functionality and benefits. This can make it difficult to compare, or at least to compare directly, when looking at different products.

Typically, there’s a trade off between what’s available, what you need, and what you can afford.

As part of the cost-benefit analysis it’s worth noting that most providers offer some kind of nonprofit discount. These vary from as little as 10% to as much as 50%.

Eight survey tool providers to consider

We’ve looked at eight products on the market. The information given here is based on each provider’s basic Business/Enterprise account for small teams (2-3 users).

Price guide

££££ - £2000 or more per year

£££ - £1000 to £1999 per year

££ - £500 to £999 per year

£ - Under £500 per year

Jotform

Price guide

££££

Nonprofit discount

50%

Key features

  • Drag-and-drop customisation

  • Collect online payments directly through your form

  • Personalise questions based on user responses (conditional logic)

  • Insert answers from previous questions into upcoming items (piping)

  • Create password protected forms

  • Create conversational forms

  • Enable ‘Save and continue later’

  • Data can be collected offline

  • Allow participants to edit their response after submission

  • Create multilingual surveys – over 130 languages supported

  • Integrate with over 150 business apps e.g. email marketing services, CRMs, cloud storage

  • Embed surveys in any webpage

  • Mobile-friendly design

  • Custom report builder with filters, which can then be shared with a link, embedded in your website or downloaded as a PDF

  • Download data as CSV, Excel or PDF

Data location

You can choose for your data to be held in the EU (Germany) or the US.

Security

GDPR compliant, data encryption, firewalls, regular scans and penetration tests. Hosting via Google and AWS which are ISO27001 compliant (the international standard for information security). Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliant. No multi-factor authentication.

Responses

Unlimited.

Customisation

Full white labelling.

Accessibility

Option to enable a built-in accessibility checker that will notify you if your form doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 standards. Option to enable Accessibility Badge to let users know that they can use assistive technologies to fill out the form. Accessible colour schemes available.

CSR/Environmental policy

None provided.

Support

24/7 customer support, dedicated support team.

Qualtrics

Price guide

££££

Nonprofit discount

Academic version can be available for nonprofits at discounted price, enquire for details.

Key features

  • Drag-and-drop customisation

  • 100+ question types

  • Personalise questions based on user responses (conditional logic)

  • Insert answers from previous questions into upcoming items (piping)

  • Advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning monitors your survey in real time and offers recommendations to improve the quality of the overall survey and individual questions. Automatically flags problems like: broken question logic, mobile compatibility, legal compliance issues, and even potential bias in survey question wording, then helps you take the steps needed to correct any problems

  • Able to integrate with 80 business apps e.g. email marketing services, CRMs, cloud storage

  • Custom report builder with over 30 different graph types, which can then be shared online or exported into popular formats and programs like Word, Powerpoint, PDF, CSV and SPSS

  • Data can be collected offline

  • Qualtrics’ API allows you to apply your own custom code in dozens of mainstream programming languages, including Python, Java and Node JS

  • Built-in predictive intelligence and statistical analysis

Data location

UK.

Security

GDPR compliant, ISO27001 compliant, Cyber Essentials certified, data encryption, firewalls, regular scans and annual penetration tests, multi-factor authentication. UK government tender approved.

Responses

Up to 12,500 per month.

Accessibility

ExpertReview feature diagnoses your survey, indicates which questions are inaccessible, and gives recommendations for increased accessibility to help you work towards WCAG 2.0 AA compliance.

CSR/Environmental policy

None provided.

Support

In-product dynamic help window allows you to search and view support articles directly in the Qualtrics platform, navigate to other help resources, receive AI-driven curated recommended searches and support articles. Customer Success Hub allows you to submit tickets to the Support Team (and, depending on your license, your Technical Account Manager, and Enterprise Support).

SmartSurvey

Price guide

£££

Nonprofit discount

10%

Key features

  • 18 question types, including net promoter score; embed videos, images or audio files into your questions

  • Personalise questions based on user responses (conditional logic)

  • Insert answers from previous questions into upcoming items (piping)

  • Response validation

  • File upload

  • Enable ‘Save and continue later’

  • Embed surveys in any webpage

  • Export individual responses or summary reports to Word, PDF, XLS, CSV, SPSS; create and share custom report views with filters and cross-tabs; set up export scheduling

  • Word cloud and text analysis

  • View automatically calculated standard statistical information such as min, max, mean, variance, standard deviation

  • Share your own organisation-branded themes and library of commonly used questions between users in your organisation

  • Schedule customised email invitations and track open, view, failures, opt-outs and completes of each respondent in your contact list

  • Mobile/tablet-friendly design

Data location

UK.

Security

GDPR compliant, ISO27001 compliant, Cyber Essentials Plus certified, NHS DSPT compliant, G-Cloud approved, data encryption, firewalls, annual penetration tests, multi-factor authentication, IP address restrictions, password policies.

Responses

Unlimited.

Customisation

Logo and themes, but not full white labelling (‘Powered by SmartSurvey’ footer).

Accessibility

Working towards WCAG 2.1 AA compliance with an independent accessibility specialist. Currently one accessible survey theme template.

CSR/Environmental policy

None provided.

Support

Dedicated account manager. UK-based support team available via phone 9-5:30.

SurveyMonkey

Price guide

££

Nonprofit discount

25%

Key features

  • Question bank of over 1800 survey questions, pre-written by experts; question types include net promoter score

  • Add videos and images to questions

  • Global and industry benchmarking

  • Create password protected surveys

  • Response validation

  • File upload

  • A/B testing

  • Word clouds

  • Create custom dashboards and reports with filters

  • Add password protection to dashboards

  • Statistical significance testing

  • Export results as CSV, XLS, PDF, PPT, SPSS

Data location

Options for your data to be held in the US or EU (Ireland).

Security

GDPR compliant, ISO27001 compliant, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliant, data encryption, firewalls, periodic thirdparty scans and regular internal and external penetration tests, multi-factor authentication.

Responses

Up to 50,000 per year.

Customisation

Logo and themes but not full white labelling in basic packages so you’ll have‘Powered by SurveyMonkey’ in the footer unless you pay for more expensive packages.

Accessibility

6 survey templates that are compatible with Section 508 standards. Provide an ‘Accessible surveys checklist’ that you can go through before making a survey live. Support JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver and TalkBack screen readers. 5 question types and settings are not compatible with screen readers (matrix of dropdown menus question type; click map question type; accepting payments page; multilingual surveys; forced ranking setting for matrix/rating scale question types).

CSR/Environmental policy

Social impact report last updated 2020.

Support

24/7 expedited email support.

SurveySparrow

Price guide

££

Nonprofit discount

15%

Key features

  • Over 25 question types, including net promoter score

  • Personalise questions based on user responses (conditional logic)

  • Insert answers from previous questions into upcoming items (piping)

  • Sentiment analysis

  • File upload

  • Create multilingual surveys

  • Accept payments

  • Send mass email invitations and reminders

  • Create password protected surveys

  • Create conversational surveys

  • Collect data offline

  • Create custom dashboards (including multiple dashboards on the same data); make use of cross-tabulation and filters; download charts individually in JPG/PNG formats

  • Schedule reports to your inbox

  • Export data as PDF, Excel, SPSS

  • Fully customise surveys using CSS

  • Share surveys via email, social media, web links, embedded options, scannable QR code, and email embed

  • Extend capabilities using workflows, APIs, webhooks, and integrations with your business applications

  • Import contact details from popular tools like Salesforce, Hubspot, Google Contacts, Intercom or you can import it via CSV and Excel; create custom Audience Lists to group your audience

  • Mobile-friendly

Data location

Options for your data to be held in the EU or the US.

Security

GDPR compliant, ISO27001 compliant, data encryption, firewalls, 3-monthly penetration tests, multi-factor authentication.

Responses

Up to 10,000 per month.

Customisation

Full white labelling.

Accessibility

All pre-designed themes are WCAG compliant.

CSR/Environmental policy

None provided.

Support

4 hour support SLA; dedicated customer success manager; 24/7 call, email, chat.

Zoho Survey

Price guide

££

Nonprofit discount

30%

Key features

  • Drag-and-drop survey design

  • 18 question types, including net promoter score

  • Personalise questions based on user responses (conditional logic)

  • Insert answers from previous questions into upcoming items (piping)

  • Create multilingual surveys

  • Create password protected surveys

  • Share surveys via web links, custom domain links, private group access, email campaigns, social media or QR codes

  • Collect data offline

  • Anti-spam Captcha

  • Create custom reports with filters and cross-tabs and share them with colleagues; schedule periodic report delivery by email

  • Export reports in a variety of formats, including Excel spreadsheets, CSV, PDF, and SPSS

  • Webhook integrations and built-in integrations with Google Sheets, Slack, Tableau, Mailchimp, Eventbrite, Zendesk and Shopify

Data location

Depending on where you sign up from, your data will be stored in the EU, US, India, Australia or Japan.

Security

GDPR compliant, ISO27001 compliant, data encryption, regular automated and manual penetration tests, multi-factor authentication.

Responses

Unlimited.

Customisation

Full white labelling.

Accessibility

Not addressed.

CSR/Environmental policy

None provided.

Support

Priority support.

SogoSurvey

Price guide

££

Nonprofit discount

50% off first user (full price for additional users).

Key features

  • Over 25 question types including net promoter score

  • Import survey data

  • Personalise questions based on user responses (conditional logic)

  • Insert answers from previous questions into upcoming items (piping)

  • Enable ‘Save and continue later’

  • Create password-protected surveys

  • Schedule customised email invitations, reminders and thank yous

  • Embed videos, images or audio files into your questions and answers

  • Create multilingual surveys

  • Automatic scoring

  • Export data to CSV, Word, PPT, XLS

  • Customised email invitations and track open, view, failures, opt-outs and completes

  • Embed surveys in any webpage

  • Custom reports with filters and cross-tabulation

  • Track response completion time

  • View automatically calculated standard statistical information such as min, max, mean, standard deviation

  • Export charts as images

  • Export reports to Word, Excel, PPT

  • Export data to Word, CSV, HTML, Excel

  • Mobile-friendly

  • Account-level branding defaults

Data location

US.

Security

GDPR compliant, ISO27001 compliant, data encryption, firewalls, third party scans and penetration testing every 6 months and before every new release, multi-factor authentication.

Responses

Up to 300,000 per year.

Customisation

Full white labelling.

Accessibility

One ADA compliant visual theme template. ADA compliant email template. All question types are accessible and in compliance with Section 508, although the use of complex questions like matrix grids are not recommended when prioritising visibility and clarity.

CSR/Environmental policy

None provided.

Support

Guaranteed email response within 1 hour; live chat with an expert; dedicated 1-on-1 phone support; one training session with a Sogolytics instructor included; user forums.

LimeSurvey

Price guide

£

Nonprofit discount

30%

Key features

  • Open-source software

  • Unlimited number of users, with user management and rights system

  • More than 25 question types; embed videos, images or audio files into your questions

  • Import/export questions

  • Personalise questions based on user responses (conditional logic)

  • Insert answers from previous questions into upcoming items (piping)

  • Response validation

  • File upload

  • Enable ‘Save and continue later’

  • Anti-spam Captcha

  • Embed surveys in any webpage

  • Use your own web domain

  • Data export to SPSS, R, Stata, CSV, Excel & PDF

  • Create multilingual forms – over 80 languages supported

  • Mass mailing of invitations and reminders

  • Mobile-friendly designs

Data location

You can choose for your data to be held in the EU (Germany or Finland), UK, USA, Canada or Australia via LimeSurvey’s Cloud hosting; or, you can host it on your own server.

Security

Data encryption, multi-factor authentication.

Responses

Up to 10,000 per year.

Customisation

Full white labelling.

Accessibility

Screenreader compatibility, W3C compliance

CSR/Environmental policy

None provided.

Support

This is an open-source software. Support is primarily in the form of comprehensive online manuals, and forums. ‘LimeSurvey Partners’, a group of service companies supported by the core developers of LimeSurvey, can be accessed to provide a wide range of optional commercial services for LimeSurvey users, including fully-serviced LimeSurvey hosting, remote support contracts, custom code development and consulting.

Other important things to consider

As with the whole digital tools landscape, it’s important to consider how any new tool might fit with your existing digital tools. It might be useful to find out how the tool might integrate with your database, CRM system or mailing list. And for ‘getting it out there’, how you can embed surveys in your website or social media channels.

Getting your data out of any system and in what format should also be something to consider.

Typically, providers offer demonstrations and free trials. It’s worth taking the time to explore your options and trial how such a tool could practically work for you before you buy.

Most important of all, don’t forget to factor in time for skills and training so your staff can get the best out of the tools. Many product providers have free training resources as part of their product Make sure you check these out as part of your selection process.

Details correct as of March 2023.

 
 
 
All, Tips and tools, Datafolk ClubHannah Khwaja