It's usually owned by the largest nonprofit in the region, or required by a governmental funder - It's that official community needs assessment. But there's a secret that's hidden in what might seem like a mundane or even tedious task.
Sponsoring a needs assessment is a short path to:
- Community awareness of the need your mission serves
- Authority and credibility as a leading service provider
- A powerful donor and volunteer recruiting experience
Whoever owns the needs assessment owns the leadership for the service sector.
Imagine putting 20 to 50 volunteers in a setting where they can ask a few probing questions with people who either deeply understand the need, or who may be actually experiencing the need themselves. That's a much deeper level of engagement than attending a fundraising walk and contributing $50.
It's hard to recruit by actually putting a volunteer in a service setting where they interact with clients, although there are some who have done this well (think Habitat for Humanity builds with volunteers and clients together). But needs assessment puts them into the experience zone without the risk of untrained and unvetted client contact.
Needs assessments have been used primarily as a way to focus services on community needs effectively. That's still an important purpose, but it's not the only one. If you approach needs assessment the right way, then it also becomes one of the best ways for you to stand out in your region, plus recruit supporters who have not only tasted the Kool-Aid, but have drunk deeply.
Needs assessments are usually completed by expensive consulting groups. That's fine if what you want is information. If what you want is transformation, then you need to get the assessment done another way.
An Impact Example
In the last community needs assessment that we completed in 2025, more than 400 people participated, and over 100 attended the information meeting that followed. This can be a significant moment of growth for any nonprofit that understands how to approach the process - just sayin'.
If you want to build momentum with a needs assessment, then it needs to have two characteristics:
- Rapid - A rapid needs assessment is a light lift
- Relational - a relational needs assessment understands that the humans who ask the questions are the actual instrument, not a digital quiz.
Where will a needs assessment work?
A needs assessment will work if your field or region of service is located in the same region as your donors and volunteers. Otherwise, you'd have to ship them to Africa to participate (that would be OK, too?).
For example, if you serve adults who need vocational training, then the communities in which you serve are great places to assess the needs, and collect new supporters in the process.
We'll send you a free needs assessment book if you're interested. Here's a link to get one shipped.
David Mills is the Author of Rapid Community Assessment, and has helped nonprofits nationally to use this effective strategy for better services and accelerated growth.
