Grand Rapids Community Foundation’s vision of a magnetic and interconnected West Michigan isn’t possible without the input of many perspectives. Our social survey received 350 responses this year.. Thank you for taking the survey and sharing it with friends, too.

This survey made it clear that Facebook isn’t just for friendship anymore, with almost 72 percent of respondents indicating they use the site for local news. MLive Grand Rapids Press came in close second as a local news source for 66 percent of respondents. To stay engaged with our audience, it is imperative we know where Grand Rapidians go for news.

Over the next few days, Our Community Matters blog will inform you of survey results, address important trends we’re observing and even myth-bust common misconceptions about Grand Rapids Community Foundation.

Here are the first five trends we gathered from the survey:

1. Not everyone knows about Grand Rapids Community Foundation, but plenty of people do!
   Approximately one fourth of survey respondents indicated they hadn’t heard of Grand Rapids Community Foundation or were unsure of exactly what the Foundation does. Thanks to people sharing the survey with their networks, the survey reached a larger outside audience than ever before. These diverse perspectives are necessary for us to truly gauge people’s knowledge of us and what we do.  We’ve never claimed this to be a scientific study, but a casual study of people who know people who know the Community Foundation.
2. Those who know us, talk about us.
   Most people who are involved with the Foundation like to talk about it. 37.5 percent of respondents know of Grand Rapids Community Foundation through an organization that received a grant, 28 percent know a donor and 43 percent know someone who works or serves on a committee at the Foundation. Most Grand Rapidians say they have heard about us through word-of-mouth more than once.
   We like this—please keep talking!
3. Sharing Grand Rapids Community Foundation is caring.
   More than half of those surveyed say they have seen posts about Grand Rapids Community Foundation on social media. Sharing updates from the Foundation means you support our initiatives and causes. Plus, when you share our posts, your audience becomes our audience and we learn more about what matters to you.
4. Engaged Grand Rapidians care about the future of Grand Rapids.
   Grand Rapids Community Foundation has been leading Kent County in creating sustainable change for more than 90 years. Maybe that is why more than half of survey respondents see themselves as Community Foundation donors now or in the future and more than 26 percent have already included gifts in their will or estate plan.
5. Engaged Grand Rapidians think strategically about philanthropy.
   Engaged Grand Rapidians are strategic about the way they give back. More than half of respondents have made gifts to nonprofits in their estate plan or are thinking about it. Others say they plan to give back while they’re alive, a trend common in next generation givers. No matter when and why donors choose to give, their strategic thinking about giving is strengthening the Grand Rapids community.

Check back in next week for more of SURVEY SAYS...