“…it was the first time an organization had ever asked what was important to me. It influenced how I think about myself philanthropically and how we need to treat others.”

– Retired vice chair of the largest privately held company in the world … just before he made a commitment of significance.

One key we’ve seen in working the way you suggest — anthropologist-like — is how vital the assumptions embedded in the questions are. Positive questions get positive stories, as nearly 20 years of research using appreciative inquiry has shown.

(I’ve been on a public search on LinkedIn to find groups and blogs like yours. Fresh, innovative thinking with a bias toward the possible, rather than the despairing. And a depth. So far, I’ve also seen three comments, and my sense is that you attract just that kind of person.)

This is rock-solid guidance you’re sharing. Regarding the interviews I’ll add that whoever conducts them ought to have experience doing interviews, and also strong people skills. The answer people first give to a question seldom contains the heart of their story. They’re not deliberately being evasive. It’s just human nature to give “surface” answers. The really good insights, feelings, and motivations are something a skilled interviewer needs to gently draw out.

Another thought is take the staff that answers the phone and give them quality sales and customer service training. They can use every phone call to ask a couple key questions and flood the nonprofit’s database with valuable information. In the long run it’s a very inexpensive research method.