How Charities and Social Enterprises Can Use Surveys to Show Impact
If you run a charity or social enterprise, you already know how important it is to understand the difference your work is making.
Funders want evidence, boards want clarity, and most importantly, you want to be sure your services are truly helping the people you set out to support.
That’s where surveys come in.
Done well, they’re not just about collecting numbers - they’re about listening, learning, and showing impact in a way that’s clear and convincing.
Here are some of the ways surveys can help you maximise the impact of your work.
1. Getting to the heart of what people need
At the centre of your mission are the people you serve. A well-designed survey helps you dig into:
What challenges your community is facing right now.
Which of your services are valued most.
Where there might be gaps you haven’t spotted yet.
It’s a simple but powerful way to make sure your time, money, and energy are going where they’ll do the most good.
2. Proving your impact to funders and partners
We all know the pressure to “show the difference” — whether it’s for a grant application, a funding renewal, or a board report. Surveys make it possible to track:
How people’s wellbeing, confidence, or satisfaction has changed.
Who your services are reaching (and who they might be missing).
Tangible outcomes that tie back to your mission.
It’s the kind of evidence that funders love to see — and it makes your story stronger when you’re asking for support.
3. Giving people a voice
Surveys aren’t just about data — they’re about listening. Asking for feedback shows your community, your staff, and your volunteers that their voices matter.
And when people feel heard, they’re more likely to stay engaged, supportive, and part of your journey.
4. Making decisions with confidence
Every organisation faces tough choices. Should you expand a service? Stick with online delivery or go back to face-to-face? Focus more on one location than another?
Surveys give you the evidence to back those decisions. Instead of relying on assumptions or gut feeling, you’ve got real insight from the people who matter most.
5. Turning results into action
Collecting feedback is only half the story. What really matters is being able to use it. That’s why at Viewpoint, we don’t just hand over a static report - we build interactive Power BI dashboards that let you:
See the big picture at a glance.
Dig into specific groups or services.
Share results easily with your team, board, or funders.
It means the data isn’t just sitting on a shelf — it’s actively shaping decisions and driving change.
Helping you get the most from your feedback
At Viewpoint, we’ve supported charities and social enterprises of all sizes to design and run surveys that actually make a difference. Our job is to help you collect the right insights, present them clearly, and use them to strengthen your work.
If you’d like to explore how surveys could help your organisation, we’d love to chat.
