Sometimes all it takes is one question.
Case in point, I’m a past donor to Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). So when this email landed in my inbox, I paid attention. The subject? A simple survey. But the way they did it? That’s worth talking about.
Let me walk you through it.
The email opens with two powerful images: MSF medical trains moving patients through war-torn Ukraine. Remote villages in Afghanistan where their teams deliver maternity care.
In two short sentences, I felt the mission.
And then this:
“It’s supporters like you who allow us to operate independently in any context—we provide care to whoever needs it most.”
The donor is the hero. MSF is the guide. The work is the proof.
Too many nonprofits open their emails by talking about themselves. MSF gets it right.
The ask? ONE question. And here’s where it gets really good. I’ve written before about why we love donor surveys. Done well, a survey is one of the most powerful tools in your retention toolbox. It engages donors in a non-financial way. It tells them you care what they think. And it gives you gold — real information you can use to send better, more relevant donor communications.
But here’s the mistake most organizations make: they ask too much.
Nonprofits have a gift for overcomplicating the simplest things — and nowhere is that more painful to watch than in a donor survey, where the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach practically guarantees your donor clicks away before question three.
MSF asks ONE question.
“Which issue that MSF works to address matters most to you?”
That’s it. Six radio button options. A text box if donors want to say more.
Responding to conflict and treating war-wounded patients. Advocating for equal access to medicine worldwide. Responding to natural disasters. Children’s health and/or maternal health care. Providing mental health and psychological care. Preventing disease outbreaks and/or vaccination campaigns.
Clean, clear, and simple. And the purpose is made crystal clear right in the email: “Your answer will help us send you updates that match your interests.”
In other words: we’re listening to YOU.
That’s the magic of a single, well-chosen survey question. It doesn’t overwhelm. It respects your donor’s time. And the answers you get back? They help you personalize your communications in ways that dramatically improve retention.
The landing page delivers — and then some.
After clicking through, I landed on a donation page. But before the ask, there’s a transparency graphic I love:
Your dollars at work.
87% to programs. 12% to fundraising. 1% to management.
It’s a simple visual that builds trust.
And then, tucked right there on the page, this smart little line:
“Click here to initiate a grant recommendation through your donor-advised fund.”
Are you making it easy for your DAF donors?
This matters more than you might think right now. Why are more and more of your donors jumping on the DAF bandwagon? Simple. A donor-advised fund lets them make a charitable contribution, get an immediate tax deduction, and then take their time deciding where the money goes — no rush, no pressure. There’s no mandatory annual payout, the way there is with a private foundation. They can pass advisory authority to their kids or grandkids, turning it into a family giving legacy.
Here’s the part that might surprise you: there is no federal requirement that DAF funds ever be distributed to charity. Ever. The donor gets the tax deduction the moment the money goes into the fund — and after that, it can sit there for decades, growing tax-free, while charities see nothing.
Some sponsoring organizations have their own minimum activity policies, but many don’t. Critics have started calling DAFs “philanthropic parking lots” for exactly this reason.
Which means your donor may already have money set aside with every intention of being generous. They just need you to be the easy, obvious, trustworthy choice when they decide to hit “grant.”
And yet so many nonprofits make their DAF donors work for it. They bury the information. They don’t even mention it.
Doctors Without Borders’ puts the link right there, front and center, on their donation landing page.
Doctors Without Borders’ donor-advised fund page is clean and easy to navigate. It tells donors exactly what they need to know. It removes every possible obstacle between “I want to give” and “gift completed.”
If you have donors who use Fidelity Charitable, Schwab, or any other DAF sponsor — and statistically, some of your most loyal donors likely do — make it easy for them. A single line on your donation page. A link to a clear how-to. That’s all it takes.
The bottom line.
This MSF email and landing page sequence does three things really well:
- It opens with the donor and her role in the mission.
- It asks one focused question that deepens the relationship and helps MSF serve her better.
- And it removes friction for major donors by making DAF giving simple.
You don’t need a big team or a big budget to do any of this.
You just need to put your donor first.
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