What Our Members are Saying!

Each year MANP conducts a member feedback survey to help us better understand:

• What opportunities and challenges are facing Maine nonprofits?
• What MANP programs/services do members value?
• How satisfied are members with MANP membership and advocacy?
• What other support do our members need and want?

A huge thank you to the almost 400 member organizations that participated in the survey earlier this year! We are honored that our member network is so engaged and dedicated, and your feedback directly informs our planning and priorities.

So, what did we learn?

Opportunities + Challenges Facing Maine Nonprofits

On average, our members are experiencing government and foundation partners as less supportive than last year. In addition, demand and expenses continue to grow: more than 50% of members report demand and expenses have increased a lot again this year. Less than 15% report any single source of funding is up a lot, a decline over last year. 

Approximately half of responding members reported they receive or pursue government funding. Of those who don’t, there are a variety of barriers, with the most common being lack of time/capacity to research and apply, burdensome application processes, and lack of experience/infrastructure to manage these types of funds.

Members continue to show strong interest in equity, diversity, and inclusion: over 40% have named specific goals (up from 33% in 2022). Leadership transition remains a constant, with about a quarter of organizations expecting a change in the next few years. We’d love to see a higher percentage of nonprofits engaging in advocacy and GOTV efforts. 

Membership Satisfaction + Impact

We are very proud that 90% of member organizations rate MANP as a strong advocate for nonprofits and 88% give high marks for membership value. Members tend to feel increasingly positive about membership the longer they are members, and ratings are high across mission area, geography, organizational size, and leadership demographics.

We are delighted that 80% point to MANP membership for inspiring at least 1 positive change. Even better, 64% of members reported 3 or more positive actions!

About 8 in 10 members (79%) feel MANP’s programs and services are well-designed for their organizations. Larger organizations were more likely to see our programs and services as more aligned with their needs than smaller organizations, though ratings were generally positive across all sizes. 

Constructive comments include feeling the costs of dues or programs are too high, or wanting more programming geared specifically to their size. 

So, What's Next?

We asked members what topics were top of mind for future learning opportunities. Member preferences suggest a desire for help with navigating and advancing sector-wide and cross-sector change: board engagement in advocacy, new leadership/governance models, government grant writing, leadership skills, etc.

• There are still a few spaces left in a two-day, in-person leadership skills retreat on June 13 and 14 in Bridgton! 
• MANP is pursuing educational, legislative and administrative pathways to more effective and equitable nonprofit-government relationships/contracts. Up next, a free webinar on June 24th about ways nonprofits and government can work together. 
• Later this summer and fall, we’ll be rolling out a toolkit and other content to inspire nonprofits to engage more in strengthening civic engagement, including increasing non-partisan voter registration and turnout.
• On June 21st, MANP Connects will focus on member insights related to leadership transition.
• Look out for a webinar this fall on governance models. 

Analysis of open-ended suggestions points to interest in fundraising and financial modeling post-Covid, coaching (in particular for strategic growth opportunities), and in-person networking opportunities.

• MANP’s Sounding Board initiative provides free coaching sessions to help organizations with strategic questions related to growth, governance, fundraising, communications, and more. 
• In addition to our May networking event in Lewiston, we are planning additional networking events for later this year - watch our newsletter and events calendar. 
• We are currently exploring partnerships to provide members with discounted access to high quality strategy planning resources. 

We asked for input on some potential new benefits we’re considering, and responses suggest a preference for “asynchronous” support, such as updated guides, short educational videos, and online discussion groups/listervs for executive directors.

• In 2025, we will be releasing a new edition of our Mission-Driven Executive Transitions Toolkit with updated resources and guidance and a focus on centering equity and inclusion. 
• We are working towards hosting an online group for member executive directors. 
• We've got lots of ideas about short videos, which we hope to turn into a reality!

And, Our Metaphorical Door is Open!

This formal survey is only one of the ways that we gather member input, and we are always interested in your thoughts and ideas. Reach out to MemberSupport@NonprofitMaine.org or call me at 207-871-1885 anytime!