Giving Compass' Take:

• Here are some suggestions for nonprofit organizations to help with closing feedback loops that offer guidance and perspective on nonprofit practices. 

• How can feedback loops serve nonprofit progress? 

• Check out the Giving Compass magazine on the Power of Feedback. 

Last month, my colleagues at Listen4Good, Fund for Shared Insight’s signature feedback initiative, laid out a compelling case for why, when it comes to closing the loop with clients who have participated in feedback surveys, nonprofits should just do it.

In the weeks since then, the world changed completely. This post, already in the works, can be bookmarked for future reference when we are closer to business as usual or you can keep reading along now if that makes sense. Either way, we know that listening as a nonprofit practice — and in general — is a key ingredient of our coming together as a community in both good times and bad, so below are some suggestions that we hope will be helpful any time you ask someone for their perspectives and opinion.

  1. Recommendation #1: Start with the end in mind. Closing the loop becomes easier when you have meaningful and actionable feedback to use.
  2. Recommendation #2: Stick to the idea that less is more Some organizations administer their surveys, get responses, and then suffer from so-called analysis paralysis – either there aren’t any coherent themes, or there is so much to act on it becomes hard to determine what to prioritize.
  3. Recommendation #3: Be creative. Closing the loop is often times an exercise in creativity.
  4. Recommendation #4: Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good Even if you are still working on a tangible response to feedback you received, or if you are truly unable to act at all, it’s better to let your clients know this than never acknowledging that their feedback was received or considered.

Read the full article about feedback loops by Nate Mandel at FeedbackLabs.