RRL Survey and Results 

For new members (of which there are many! yay!), please feel free to respond to the survey if you'd like to give us your feedback and thoughts to increase the representativeness of the results and help us improve the list.

Background Q's on Respondents

How long have you been part of the RRL?

[Text description: 41% joined in 2019, 29% joined sometime in 2018, 18% can't remember, 6% signed up in 2017 and 2020, each]

How many times have you donated to the RRL?

[TD: 29% have donated 10-15 times, while 23.5% have donated either less than 5, between 5-10, and more than 15 times, respectively]

[Editor's note: Just over 56% of the list has donated 1 or more times, 40% have donated 2 or more times, and 33% of the list has donated 3 or more times]

Which specific themes/causes do members donate towards? 

[TD: Respondents donate to causes that address the following themes: colonization 88%; White supremacy and environmental destruction 77% each; Patriarchy 53%; State violence 41%; capitalism 35%; border imperialism and ableism 29% each]

[Editor's note: the list managers subjectively assign as many of these categories to the requests as seem applicable]

Quantitative Questions

We are currently sending out 1-3 Rapid Response Requests/week. How do you feel about receiving this volume of requests?

53% said 1-3 requests is fine, while 47% said 1-2 would be better. [Editor's note: we have sent out 23 requests in 2020 so far, amounting to an average of 1.1 requests/week; this does not account for follow-up request emails]

Would you prefer we keep sending out each request individually (where possible) or should we group all the weekly requests and send out one email?

59% said individual requests is good, while 41% said they would prefer one weekly email. [Editor's note: we have tried to offer folks an individual email, unless there are deadlines that coincide, in which case we have combined requests / follow-ups. Our intention is to continue privileging individual requests as much as possible]

Are you satisfied with the quantity and quality of information in the individual requests to help you make an informed decision about donating?

100% indicated that, yes, there is enough information in the requests!

[One respondent shared, "love the follow-ups where folks have shared how the money has impacted them." We try and confirm that the requestor has received the same amount of funds that we believe the list has moved, and when they share some additional details or info about the impact it has had, we definitely try and include that info in our follow up!

Another respondent noted that clearly indicating whether list members can share the request publicly would be helpful. We will try and be mindful of this and include this information more diligently]

Currently, we send out one reminder email for each request. How many reminder emails would you be happy to receive?

82% said that 1 follow-up email is the right amount. 12% said 2, 6% said 0.

[Editor's note: we mostly have been sticking to 1 follow up email, except in exceptional circumstances, which usually means that a requestor has come back to us in short order asking that a second follow up (3rd email overall) be sent to help them reach their goal. This has typically been for folks trying to raise survival funds]

We have been inspired by the Bay Area chapter of Resource Generation to consider sharing the amount that each person donates to each request in real time within our rapid response community. How do you feel about that?

[TD: 77% are hesitant/on the fence; and 12% are on-board or opposed to it, respectively]

[Editor's note: We have tried to make progress on this front, to set up a more interactive list system, with the potential--but no requirement--to communicate with other list members about giving. Our view is that this could serve to both increasing giving (there is at least some evidence that this is the case) and also serve as a forum for political education. This is still in progress, and we will further consult the list before making any drastic changes!]

Do you think you would donate more or less if we changed our strategy to the above considered plan of sharing our donations amounts with the whole Rapid Response community in real time?

[TD: 77% said their giving would remain the same; 18% said they would consider donating more; 12% said they would donate less.]

Qualitative Feedback

What are some of your motivations for being part of the RRL?

We had respondents indicate their interest in redistributing their and their family's wealth, donating directly to grassroots activists and causes, supporting those with urgent needs, being connected with folks who might not otherwise be visible in terms of seeking support. We were also told that folks like how direct, simple, and fuss-free the process is, in contrast to other forms of institutional giving.

What could motivate you to give more?

We only had a few responses here, but the main theme was that folks sometimes struggle with a giving plan and deciding whether to give fewer but larger amounts or a higher volume of smaller donations. 

Anything else?

The biggest piece of feedback we got here was about the option to publicly share donations made (albeit anonymously) and the general progress on different requests. We have taken this feedback and are putting together a (simple) progress tracking sheet that can at least meet the request made my multiple respondents to have a simple way to see how different requests are doing (and to be able to return back to older requests that might no longer be in a person's inbox). 

This progress tracker will be linked and shared in every email we send for easy access.