Interview Guide: Donor Point of View

There is rarely a messenger more credible to donors and potential donors than a donor herself.

That’s why I often interview donors — to gather their stories — to repurpose into appeals, testimonials and stewardship pieces.

Of course, before any interview I do pre-requisite research on the individual to customize the questions as much as possible. But here are some general questions you can use to get started.

• How did you first become involved with [this issue]? Tell me about the moment when you knew you had to make a difference.
• Tell me the first time you became aware of [organization]. Was it a specific campaign? Was it an event? Something else?
• What appeals to you about [organization] ? What do you think is it’s greatest strength?
• Describe [organization’s] work in three words.
• In your opinion, what is the most important challenge they face today?
• What’s it going to take to overcome that challenge?
• What keeps you hopeful?
• Who are your heroes?
• Why do you support [organization] financially?
• If you could talk directly to potential donors and encourage them to support [organization], what would you say?

Asking these questions should take no more than 20-30 minutes of your donor’s time — and will provide you with incredible content (not to mention donor audience research).

Go ahead. Schedule an interview with a donor today.