We asked our supporters to complete a short survey. Our complete analysis (including a gap analysis) is very specific and spans several pages. Here’s a snapshot of what our supporters told us.
💛 1. What They Care About Most
- Direct, tangible penguin protection
- Ranger salaries, artificial nests, rescue, and equipment
- Education & youth empowerment
- DEEP Blue, proposed marine & seabird center, outreach
- Authenticity & partnership
- “Everything you do is inspiring… your collaboration feels real.”
📣 2. What They Want More Of
- Behind‑the‑scenes access
- Impact updates with photos
- Stories about partners and daily fieldwork
- African penguin facts + ecosystem science (learning)
- Ways to get involved beyond money
- Occasional sad news: “Tell us the whole story.”
🧭 3. What Makes Giving Fulfilling
- Feeling included in planning and ideas
- Symbolic tokens (postcards, certificates, trading cards)
- Seeing their impact clearly
- Trust in authenticity and transparency
- Being recognized as part of the colony
🐧 4. Why They Protect Penguins
- “I don’t want to lose them from our planet.”
- “They’re essential to the ecosystem.”
- “All species deserve to thrive.”
- “They’re adorable, and everyone smiles when they see a penguin.”
🦸 5. Who Our Supporters Are
- Storytellers, connectors, strategists, cheerleaders, scientists, math friends
- Climate, ocean, Indigenous rights, education, and justice‑oriented
- A mix of donors, learners, volunteers, and advocates
- Many have limited financial capacity but high emotional investment
🗺️ 6. What They Need From Us (Ranked)
- Trust & transparency
- Proximity to the work
- Emotional Connection and hopeful, honest storytelling
- Learning opportunities & meaning
- Community & belonging
- Flexible ways to help
🧗 7. Challenges
- Some supporters can’t give financially right now.
- Not everyone wants more interaction; choice matters.
- People want to help but don’t always know how.
🎁 8. Opportunities We’re Acting On
- Penguin Protectors Monthly Program
- More Conversational Newsletter
- Supporter Toolkit
Most of our supporters don’t want to be spectators. They want to belong to a colony, learn with us, laugh with us, and protect penguins alongside us. They also want to go deeper into how our partners and we are protecting African penguins, need more help from us about how to support and the tools to do that, more learning opportunities, and more ways to have a voice in what we do. We listened and are excitedly turning our supporters’ wants, needs, and suggestions into reality.