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ABSTRACT
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This study identifies the key factors, or
drivers, of satisfaction for investors in and major donors to nonprofit organizations. With giving to charitable causes
now surpassing $200 billion annually in the United States, the identification of key satisfaction drivers is increasingly
important to the loyalty, retention, and lifetime economic value of these
donors to the organizations they support. Five diverse Christian nonprofits
were studied, as informed by relevant philanthropic studies, value theory,
exchange theory, and satisfaction theory. These organizations included a
church loan organization that serves members of a Christian denomination, an
international relief and humanitarian organization, an inner city rescue
mission, an international youth ministry, and a camp and conference center.
Initially, major investors or donors for each organization were interviewed
individually and within organization-specific donor groups. A content
analysis of focus group and interview transcripts was conducted to discover
the satisfaction variables expressed by investors and donors. The resulting
18 variables were then combined with 10 variables identified in customer
satisfaction literature to create a mail survey sent to investors and donors.
A combination of key driver analyses—importance/satisfaction matrices, fixed
sum, and regression Analysis—was utilized to identify those variables most
determinative of satisfaction intra- and inter-organizationally. Key drivers
of satisfaction included advancing the kingdom of God, organizational mission
and related programs and services, effectiveness in changing lives,
reliability, trust and confidence in the organization, a sense of warmth and
fulfillment from seeing the fruitfulness of the organization's work, a personal
sense of meaning and significance gained through the donors' involvement, a sense
of greater hope for the future from witnessing the work of the organization,
and competence and courteousness of staff. The data support the notion that
although similarities in satisfaction drivers exist across organizations, the
relative ranking of satisfaction drivers for donors to the organizations
involved varies significantly.
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