2016 Give A Damn Survey

2016 GIVE A DAMN

S U R V E Y R E S U L T S

2

to knowIn June, we looked to our followers and fans to

tell us about all the damns they give and why.

We wanted to see who is present to win, who is

volunteering, where they are getting involved and in what ways they are activists.

The survey was posted to Black Sheep’s social media channels and website with 79% of total

survey responses occurring within the first 24-hours.

We understand that the high volume of respondents occurring so rapidly was due to a

free t-shirt being up for grabs for the first 50 people. Admittedly, they are very nice shirts.

Here is what we learned:

129 87%

13%

Total Respondants.

(Thank you!)

Have volunteered in the last 12 months.

Have not. Yet.

4

For kicks, we took a second to look at what size unisex t-shirt people are

sporting these days:

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

34%

19%

33%

10%

4%

Extra Large

Large

Medium

Small

Extra Small

5

Everyone has their own interests,

passion projects and causes they care about. When it comes time to act, these

are the volunteer opportunities our respondents gravitate towards:

10%

11%

2%

28% 29%

21%Working With Children

Local/Community EventsTeaching/Educating

Working With Seniors

Civic Work

Other

6

ActivismIt would have been easy to have a few multiple

choice questions to help guide the results—but we aren’t about that. We prefer to go big.

To put the survey onto the right path, our first question was open-ended with no limit as to

how much a person could share. With zero input or suggestions from us, we wanted to know:

WHAT DOES ACTIVISM MEAN TO YOU?

“To be awake and present.”

—Respondant #6

“CHANGE. A damn political and social

revolution.”

—Respondant #14

“Getting together and organizing for a

specific cause. Leading the revolution.

Energizing the masses. Inspiring others to

embrace change.”

—Respondant #20

“Standing up for what you believe in by

doing work towards the reason.”

—Respondant #34

“Working together to make positive

differences for the community and world we

live in.”

—Respondant #37

“Reading. Read everything. Read until you

understand, until you have enough

knowledge to move forward on whatever

issue you're trying to understand—you can't

make a difference if you're not educated.”

—Respondant #58

“It means showing up, giving time, talent,

resources. It means DOING SOMETHING, not

just nodding or thumbs-upping.”

—Respondant #78

“Activism is the verb that elevates people

from couch-sitters and navel gazers to

doers, fixers, collaborators, innovators and

solvers. It's not just thinking about a

problem. It's doing whatever you can,

however you can.”

—Respondant #84

“Taking a stand on what you believe and

putting in an effort to make a positive

change—big or small.”

—Respondant #96

“Participating in making the world a better

place!”

—Respondant #121

“Activism means doing, not saying. Being,

not pretending. If you care about a cause,

speak up, put up, show up. If you give a

damn, I find it so much more powerful to

express how many damns you give through

actions as opposed to words.”

—Respondant #125

18

Each entry was powerful and no two

were alike. We read through every response and tallied the use of

specific words and phrases—allowed us to see the most common

themes that define activism:

34%

19%

33%

10%

4%

Extra Large

Large

Medium

Small

Extra Small

to fight for better

To act

to speak up

to get involved

to take a stand

to be present

19

key findingsWe like to understand people. With a good idea

of how each person defines activism, we started to get into the nitty-gritty information.

The remaining portion of the survey was about logistics and emotional connection. How they

take part, why they take part, what are the things and types of causes they gravitate

towards and—of course—their financial giving habits.

The results provide a glimpse into a mixture of personal preferences and both online and

offline behavior.

10%

4%

Small

Extra Small

Being interested in a cause can take many

shapes—including rallying others to join. But how are people getting together? According to

the survey, these are the social media channels most often leveraged when inspiring and

activating others:

7%Instagram

Other

70%

19%7%4%

10%

4%

Small

Extra Small

And to follow-up, these are the social channels where the respondents are most often being

inspired to take action:

19%Twitter

7%Instagram

4% Other

59%

23%12%

6%

But what types of messaging work? What content really starts a fire? Which calls-to-action truly resonate? For this question, we allowed people to choose one, many and all:

Urgentmust-do-something-

about-this-right-now.

44PositiveYou-can-make-a-

difference.

116

quickShare because I can

give you two minutes.

30CHEAP

$5 makes THAT big of

a difference.

29

People are impacted by messaging differently, so we made a safe assumption that people respond to

messaging in different ways as well. We asked what they do when they see, hear or read about a cause that is deemed worthy of investing time and energy into. The open-ended question resulted in

responses that held four common themes:

LISTEN. Learn. SHARE. ACT.A lot. To those around you and

to those not in your circle.

Research and try to

understand as much as

possible.

Talk about what you’ve learned

and what you’ve heard. Spread

the word.

Donate. Participate. Get off of

the couch and do something.

24

Now that people are willing to take real action—we uncovered which resources

our respondents most often give:

30%

20%

50%Time

Money

Resources

$$$With a willingness to donate money, we asked

what dollar amount usually makes them feel like they just can’t say no—specifically when it’s

about a cause they believe in:

$10-$25

38%

Less than $10

23%

Price doesn’t matter

23%

$25-$50

12%

$50+

4%

26

Even with positive messaging that resonates and clear ways to act, people will still have to manage their give-life balance. This is why we asked how often people agree to help versus how often do they

actually do it?

When someone asks you to donate or participate to a cause/organization,

how often do you agree to help? How often do you actually do it?

22%Totally agree to help and follow-

through on it almost every time.

70%I’d agree to help more, but

timing and cost get in the way.

6%I prefer to throw money at things

because I’m short on time. 2%I rarely agree to help or actually

do anything.

27

People clearly know what motivates them to act—which is why we asked them to share with us the causes and organizations that matter

most to them. These are the campaigns and social causes they have seen that are memorable and speak to their core:

Black Lives Matter

LGBTQ equality

WOMEN’S RIGHTS

31

Ending insightsThe results of the survey gave us a solid picture of all the damns being

given in all of the different ways people prefer to give them.

We have a better understanding that reducing costs and removing

time barriers will result in more people able and willing to get involved. We know that it is best to shy away from asking for more

than $25 of donations in a single transaction and that sharing positive messaging on Facebook and Twitter resonates.

We know that to make an impact, it requires being awake, being present and providing people with the reasons and ways they should

fight for better.

theblacksheepagency.com @shearcreativity