What's A "Good" Survey Response Rate?

Recently, a client I’m building a data dashboard for asked me: “Our survey response rate was 30 percent. Isn’t that really good?”

I could see where she was coming from. Given how hard it is to get people to respond to surveys these days, 30 percent may feel strong—and it may be higher than what your organization typically sees.

But imagine she asked this instead: “I just bought a used car for $15,000. Isn’t that really good?” You’d probably say, “Well, it depends on the quality of the car.” If it’s a junker that can’t make it to the end of the block, it’s not a good deal.

Survey data is no different. A “good” response rate depends on the quality of the data. Rather than asking “Is my response rate good?” a more useful question is: “How representative is my survey data?” Your survey results might reflect what your clients, volunteers, or participants think and experience overall. On the other hand, they might mainly reflect the views of a small group of highly engaged, eager survey-takers.

To assess representativeness, compare your survey respondents to the larger group they’re meant to represent. Ask questions like:

  • Do respondents reflect the broader group’s demographics?

  • Are different programs, locations, or levels of participation represented?

  • Are newer participants responding at the same rate as long-time ones?

Even a high response rate can be misleading if certain subgroups are underrepresented.

If your respondents don’t look like the larger group, here’s what you can do:

1. Talk to staff and clients.

Gather insight on why certain groups may be less likely to respond. Barriers might include time constraints, language, survey length, digital access, or lack of trust in how data will be used.

2. Adjust how you collect data from underrepresented groups.

Based on what you learn, consider strategies to collect additional survey responses such as:

  • Offering the survey in multiple languages

  • Providing paper, text-based, or in-person survey options

  • Shortening the survey or breaking it into sections

  • Using trusted staff or community partners to encourage participation

  • Offering small incentives or emphasizing how feedback will be used

3. Be transparent about limitations.

Whenever you present survey results in data dashboards, presentations, your website, or social media, clarify who responded and who didn’t. For example:

“These results reflect primarily long-term program participants; newer clients were underrepresented.”

4. Apply lessons to the next survey.

Use what you learned to improve both response rates and data quality next time.

Let’s talk about YOUR data!

Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.

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Does Your Nonprofit Really Need a Dashboard — and If So, What Kind?

Before investing in a dashboard, ask this first: “What problem are we trying to solve with data?” Not every organization needs the same kind of dashboard. And in many cases, the right solution is simpler—and far less expensive—than people expect.

For many small nonprofits, the biggest need isn’t a complex reporting system. It’s a clear, compelling way to:

  • show outcomes to funders and board members

  • summarize program results for planning and evaluation

  • communicate impact in reports or on the web

In those cases, a simple dashboard or small set of visuals (sometimes built in Tableau Public, which is free) and updated periodically may be all you need. Creating these can be relatively low-cost and doesn’t require ongoing software subscriptions.

Dashboards become a bigger investment when they need to:

  • include sensitive or internal-only information (like client names or addresses)

  • connect to live databases

  • show different data to different users based on permissions

At that point, a secure internal dashboard can save staff time, reduce reporting headaches, and improve decision-making. And that’s when a larger investment starts to make sense.

The smartest dashboard decision is often choosing just enough dashboard. I’m always happy to talk through your organization’s needs. Feel free to schedule a free consultation.

 
 

Let’s talk about YOUR data!

Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.

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A Totally Doable 2026 Data To-Do List for Nonprofits

Feeling overwhelmed by “big data goals” for the new year? Relax: your 2026 data plan doesn’t need to be fancy, expensive, or AI-heavy to make a real difference. Here’s a totally doable data to-do list most nonprofits can actually complete.

1. Pick 5 metrics that matter (and drop the rest).

Choose a short list tied directly to decisions you make: participation, retention, outcomes, revenue, or reach. If a metric doesn’t inform action, it doesn’t make the list.

2. Create one shared data source.

Whether it’s a clean spreadsheet, Airtable, or database export, aim for one place your team agrees is the source of truth. Version chaos is not a data strategy.

3. Build one reusable chart set.

Design 3–5 charts you can reuse all year—for board meetings, funders, and reports. Consistency saves time and builds trust. If you’d like help with this, check out ChartPacks.

4. Add plain-language takeaways to every chart.

One sentence is enough: “Participation increased after we added evening programs.”

5. Schedule a quarterly “data hour.”

Put it on the calendar now. Review what changed, what didn’t, and what surprised you. A simple data dashboard with real-time data is a great tool for this. If you’d like some help with this, let’s talk.

6. Use AI for the boring parts, not the thinking.

AI is great for cleaning data, fixing labels, summarizing trends, or drafting chart captions. Humans still decide what matters.

In 2026, progress isn’t about more data—it’s about clearer, calmer, more usable data. Small, consistent steps beat ambitious plans that never get finished.

 
 

Let’s talk about YOUR data!

Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.

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When Data Hits the Wall: Telling Stories with Murals

Here’s an idea for transforming statistics into interactive street art—making data both beautiful and deeply personal. It also fosters community ownership and dialogue. Take a look at this video about a project that made abstract data accessible to the community using paint and colored string. As Legal Coordinator Stephen Kinuthia Mwangi explained: “Instead of people publishing books that community members are not able to access or read, we put these books on walls, and people can now read them and share the knowledge.”

Let’s talk about YOUR data!

Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.

Schedule A Free Consultation
 
 

What's Better Than Bare Naked Charts?

A study by MIT, UC Berkeley, and Tableau researchers found that people prefer charts with clear, helpful text over both plain, bare charts and text-only explanations. But what you write—and where you put it—makes a difference.

What works best:

  • Big picture messages (example: “Sharp drop in donations in 2024”) work well as chart titles—that’s what people notice first and remember best.

  • Key numbers or comparisons (example: “Highest turnout in 2023”) should go right next to the point or part of the chart they explain.

  • Context or background info (example: “Policy change led to spike”) also works best close to the related data—not just in the title

Check out how the simple changes made between the before and after charts allow you to more easily draw meaning from it.


Tip for nonprofits: When designing charts for funders, boards, or the public, guide your audience to the key point with well-placed text. They’ll remember your story—not just the numbers.

 
 

Let’s talk about YOUR data!

Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.

Schedule A Free Consultation

Small Tweaks That Boost Chart Impact

Text in charts can clarify your data or clutter it. To get it right, here are two key tips:

1. Make text slightly darker than the marks.
Marks are the visual elements that represent your data—lines, circles, bars, or shapes. Labels and annotations should be easy to read but not compete with the data itself. A good rule: make your text a bit darker than your marks.

2. Follow the “Z” pattern.
In cultures that read left to right and top to bottom, the eye naturally moves across a page in a Z shape. Position important annotations along this path—top left, across, down diagonally, and then across the bottom. This helps people notice key takeaways at just the right moment in their visual journey.

Consider this example with the “Z” pattern superimposed on it. This chart places the title, key annotation, color legend, and horizontal axis along the Z, helping us to easily pull out the key information.

 
 
 
 

Let’s talk about YOUR data!

Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.

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Nonprofit Inspiration from the Information is Beautiful Award Winners

Looking for quick and powerful data-inspired ideas to energize your nonprofit communications or campaigns? Explore highlights from the 2024 Information is Beautiful Awards, where data storytelling shines—and learn how to bring similar clarity, impact, and beauty to your mission.

Humanitarian – Gold Winner

Source: Reuters

The world’s hunger watchdog warned of catastrophe in Sudan. Famine struck anyway. (Reuters)

This article leads you through a series of visualizations, to help you to understand a complex humanitarian crisis and how the world’s hunger monitoring-and-response system is falling short in addressing it. Visualizations, such as the one shown above, help you to comprehend the system’s classification of the problem by looking at a sample of 100 people living in Sudan’s Zamzam camp.

Places, Spaces & Environment – Gold Winner

I Want a Better Catastrophe: A Flowchart for Navigating our Climate Predicament (University of Applied Sciences Potsdam)

This flowchart, which combines an audio narration with interactive elements, is an invitation to join Andrew Boyd, the designer, on his narrative path and explore the predicament on your own.

For more inspiration, check out other 2024 winners.

Let’s talk about YOUR data!

Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.

Schedule A Free Consultation

How to Make Your Data More Accessible & Inclusive

When your charts are hard to read, navigate, or interpret, you may unintentionally exclude people with visual, cognitive, or physical differences. The good news? A few simple tweaks can make your visualizations dramatically more inclusive—without sacrificing impact. Below are three practical ways to start, each with links to deeper dives from past 60-Second Data Tips.

1. Design with Color Blindness in Mind

About 1 in 20 people live with some form of color vision deficiency. Relying solely on color to differentiate data points leaves these viewers behind. Use texture, shape, or labels—not just color—to distinguish categories. Also, tools like Color Oracle can help simulate how those with color blindness see your work, and you can generate an accessible color palette using an online tool like this one from Venngage.

Read more: How To Make Your Data Viz More Accessible: Color Blindness

2. Size Text for Readability

Small fonts and tight spacing are common in data visuals—but they create major accessibility barriers, especially for older adults or users with low vision. The rule of thumb is: Text must not be smaller than 9 points in size. And always test readability at 100% zoom—especially on dashboards.

Read more: What's The Right Text Size to Make Data Viz Accessible?

3. Structure for Screen Readers & Keyboard Navigation

If your charts are embedded in websites or reports, they should be usable by people who rely on screen readers or keyboard controls. You can make your data visualizations more screen reader- and keyboard-friendly by reducing the number of marks and adding text that clarifies the content of the visualization.

Read more: How To Make Your Data Viz More Accessible: Screen Readers and Keyboard Navigation

Let’s talk about YOUR data!

Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.

Schedule A Free Consultation

What's The Difference Between An Infographic and A Data Visualization?

Reposted from April 2018

Infographic and data visualization often are used interchangeably. And, indeed, the distinction is not hard and fast. They both focus on showing rather than telling. They explain something using more visual cues than words or numbers and so take advantage of our visual superpowers. (For more on these superpowers, see Tip #1.) The difference is that an infographic is more of a story, and a data visualization is more of a tool.

An infographic typically uses images to lead the viewer through a story. Some of those images might be visualizations of data. For example, the point of this infographic is to highlight aspects of a nonprofit workforce shortage. Infographics are usually meant to explain or show something to people who are not all that familiar with the topic.

A data visualization, unlike an infographic, uses visual cues (shape, color, size, etc.) primarily to represent data. Think bar chart, line graph, pie chart, and maps. And though the creators of the data visualization may have a story they want to tell, the viewer can use the visualization to discern any number of stories.

For example, on the quadrants chart below, each circle represents an educational strategy. The strategies are plotted along two measures: how much importance educators place on the strategies and how often they put these strategies into practice. We can use this chart as a tool to decide what to do next. Clearly, most of the educators represented in the data already feel these strategies are important. But they use most of the tactics less than 50 percent of the time. So we need not waste time explaining the value of the strategies to them. Instead, we should determine what is preventing them from implementing the strategies.

If you are looking to tell a specific story particularly to an outside audience, consider an infographic. If you are looking for a tool to explore data, consider a data visualization.

 
 

Let’s talk about YOUR data!

Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.

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Lighten Cognitive Load, Boost Clarity: Smarter Data Visualizations for Nonprofits

When visualizing data, we should always consider cognitive load. What’s that? It’s the mental effort required to process information. There are two types of cognitive load: extraneous and intrinsic. Let's consider each in relation to data visualizations.

  • Extraneous cognitive load concerns how information is presented. There's a lot we can do to reduce the extraneous cognitive load of a chart.

  • Intrinsic cognitive load concerns the complexity of the information being shared. You can reduce intrinsic load only by altering what is being learned or by changing the knowledge levels of learners.

We can reduce the extraneous cognitive load of any chart through careful choices about titles, annotations, colors, use of white space, etc. But we are much more limited in what we can do to reduce the intrinsic cognitive load of a chart. I’d argue that the primary thing we can do is to choose a chart type that does not increase the intrinsic load by requiring the viewer to learn how to read the chart. So familiar or intuitive chart types usually work best.

Let's consider this data dashboard in terms of cognitive load. It has several different chart types.

The bar charts impose a fairly low intrinsic and extraneous cognitive load. We already know how to read a bar chart. They each show one measure which we probably can understand, such as C02 global share or CO2 per GDP across several years. And the compositions and colors aid interpretation. The cumulative carbon clock, however, is a different story. It may grab our attention with its novelty. It's a radial column chart (aka circular column graph or star graph.) But most of us will have to figure out how to read this chart using the color and shape legends to understand what the chart is showing and how it is showing it. I also find the circular shape, which usually suggests some type of cycle, confusing because there is no cycle inherent to this data. I think the costs of the radial column chart outweigh its benefits.

Let’s talk about YOUR data!

Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.

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What Is Data, How Do You Say It, and Is It Singular or Plural? (Asking for a Friend)

Feel free to share this with your “friend.”

What is data?
Data is raw information—facts, numbers, or observations that haven't been analyzed yet. For nonprofits, this can take many forms, such as:

  • The number of attendees at your last fundraising event,

  • Donation amounts,

  • Volunteer hours logged, or

  • Survey responses from program participants

These are all data points. On their own, they don’t say much. But when you organize and analyze them, they become information—like knowing that donations spike after your newsletter goes out, or that volunteers stay longer when they receive training.

How do you pronounce it?
Americans lean toward day-tuh while Brits and “serious science types” may prefer dah-tuh.

Is it singular or plural?
Purists say data is plural (the singular is datum, a word used only by archaeologists and robots). But in everyday English, data acts like a singular noun. Example: “The data is confusing.” Also valid: “The data are confusing.”

Let’s talk about YOUR data!

Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.

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Ideas You Should Steal From This Viz (Installment 13)

“All creative work builds on what came before.” —Austin Kleon in Steal Like An Artist.

Today I offer up another steal-worthy interactive viz that I came across in the Tableau Public Gallery. Scroll down to see what you should steal from it.

Source: Nir Smilga on Tableau Public

Here’s what I suggest you steal from this viz:

  • Small Multiples. To highlight each country and to allow for easy comparisons across countries, Smilga created one small chart per country and placed them alongside each other, aka a “small multiples chart.”

  • Gray comparison trends. While Smilga highlights the trend for the featured country in each chart using color, the trends for other countries are also in each chart but in a light gray. This allows us to easily compare the trend for the featured country to that of others in general.

  • Color distinguishes trend types. Recent downward trends are highlighted in red, and recent upward trends are highlighted in blue.

  • Choose your view. Smilga allows the viewer to customize the view by selecting the number of columns, time period, and countries shown.

To see past data tips, click HERE.

Let’s talk about YOUR data!

Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.

Schedule A Free Consultation