What 63 People Taught Us: Kelley School of Business Collaboration

At the end of last year, Andrew Gagnon, one of our handy volunteers, reached out about a group project for his Consumer Insights course at the Kelley School of Business. As part of the MBA program, Andrew and his classmates needed to create a marketing plan for a nonprofit or corporation.

When Andrew suggested Home Repairs for Good, his group quickly got excited. Our mission of providing free home repairs to older adults in Indianapolis resonated with them. It also didn’t hurt that Rachel became a “celebrity” in the class thanks to her recent appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show.

MBA candidates and HRG staff on a video call after their Marketing Plan presentation.

The team got to work designing a survey using organizational resources on our Fix It Forward monthly giving campaign and through conversations with our team. Their goal was better understand what people found most moving about Home Repairs for Good. Were volunteers likely to donate? Were new ears interested in becoming involved? They would then craft a plan to use what was learned to encourage more support for the mission.

Thought it may seem counterintuative, those on staff for Home Repairs for Good were excited to discover that out of 63 survey respondents, only 4 had heard of Home Repairs for Good before. We're so used to speaking to those who already know who we are, it was great to get an outside perspective of our organization and what resonated with someone new to our message.

Below is a breakdown of the survey results and some of the key insights provided by the MBA candidates as a result of their efforts:

Quick Survey Highlights

• 67% said impact stories and clear messaging are more valuable than project updates or statistics.

  
  

• 81% said they are more likely to donate during a campaign, after seeing an event or an organization’s impact, or when personally asked.

  
  

• 80% rated our mission as Very or Extremely appealing.

What We Learned

• People are hesitant to donate mainly because of uncertainty, not the dollar amount nor our mission’s appeal. Clearer messaging and more flexible giving options can build trust and reduce this hesitation.

  
  

• Sharing real stories of the people we help resonates with donors more compared to posting statistics.

• To reach more people, we can strengthen our partnerships with organizations and encourage volunteers to share our social media posts.

Do you agree with the team's findings? Curious what the questions were? Take the survey and let us know what you think!