Jane Frost explains how the St Vincent de Paul Society used market research to discover why fewer supporters were leaving legacy donations.

Evidence is a crucial component to every decision-maker’s toolkit. Organisations that have access to a pool of knowledge and evidence as a result of market and social research know what makes their stakeholders tick and are able to reach out to them more effectively and efficiently.  Despite budgets and resources often being stretched in the voluntary sector, charities should not be the exception.  The value of research shouldn’t be undervalued – it can end up saving money or leading to increased donations in the longer term.  You don’t need massive databases or pots of money for research. You need support from experienced people and a focus on quality not quantity. With the right support even the smallest charities can conduct beneficial research.

The St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP), a Christian voluntary organisation that tackles poverty and disadvantage across the UK, was finding that fewer supporters were leaving legacies upon their death – an important part of SVP’s funding. In the longer term, this had the potential to have an adverse effect on the scope and breadth of the work undertaken by the charity.

What was unclear was why this was happening. SVP needed to find out why this trend was occurring and how to counter it. It knew that research was the answer but the issue was how to fund it? As a smaller charity with limited resources it applied to, and gained, support from Research Aid, a Market Research Society (MRS) pro bono initiative which assists smaller UK charities in securing market research advice free of charge. SVP was partnered with rdsi, a research agency with voluntary sector experience, and worked together to gather evidence and insight into what influences and affects people’s decisions.  The lessons SVP learnt throughout the research process are applicable for other charities considering carrying out research.