Girlguiding commissioned a piece of quantitative and qualitative research to establish the attitudes of their existing and potential supporters – those who give them money or time and those who support their campaigns.

Girlguiding identified a number of key objectives for this research project. These objectives can be divided into three main sections. The first objective was to identify and understand current and potential Girlguiding supporters. Secondly, the project aimed to inform areas of work by exploring key themes and projects that Girlguiding should focus on when engaging with existing and potential supporters. Finally, the project explored methods to communicate about Girlguiding’s work.

nfpSynergy took a multi-method approach to this research. The first phase was to carryout desk research to generate hypotheses about potential audiences and inform the quantitative survey. After identifying potential supporter audiences for Girlguiding, we carried out two online surveys, one with 1000 charity supporters and another with 400 existing Girlguiding supports. Alongside the surveys, focus groups were carried out with potential support groups and teledepth interviews were conducted with existing supporters.

The research generated clear findings regarding public and supporter perceptions of Girlguiding and key barriers to support. A key output of the research was insight into public understanding and knowledge of Girlguiding’s work and charitable status, as well as, the identification of characteristics, experiences and attitudes of those receptive to supporting Girlguiding. We provided clear, research driven recommendations which could underlie Girlguiding’s communications strategy, enabling them to strengthen both public understanding and perceptions of Girlguiding.