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“You focus on results, not activities.”
“I’d like to counter the left-leaning education our kids are getting.”
“Mackinac Center has been effective, but challenge lies ahead.”
These are just a few of the hundreds of comments you shared with us in the Mackinac Center 2019 Partners Survey, which we conducted by mail and online in June. We had an overwhelming response — more than 700 people participated — and those responses have helped to confirm what we are doing right and where we can improve.
The survey asked for your thoughts on public policies and your experience with the Mackinac Center and our programs.
Given a choice of 10 policy areas and Mackinac Center activities, our survey respondents picked fiscal, education and labor policy as having the highest importance, with being a voice for free markets in the media and educating state lawmakers as the highest-ranking activities.
But as several respondents added, “All are important!”
Regarding your experience with the Mackinac Center, nearly all respondents gave us high marks overall, with 61% saying they are “very satisfied” with their experience and 37% “satisfied.” Similarly, more than 90% of our respondents rated the Mackinac Center as “Excellent” or “Above Average” at thanking donors for their gifts, managing funds prudently, spending donations in the manner agreed upon, and making you feel like a valued contributor.
More than 80% of donors also rated the Center as excellent or above average at keeping donors informed of the impact their gifts have and responding to questions or concerns they have raised.
While the majority of respondents said that the Mackinac Center sends an appropriate amount of mail, some said they would like to customize their mail or email preferences. (If you feel the same, please don’t hesitate to contact us so we can work together to meet your needs.)
Others asked the Center to host more events in their communities, a request that fits perfectly with our new Policy Forum event series, which took us to Troy, Portage, Bay City and Traverse City this year and will add more locales around the state in 2020.
On another front, we learned from the survey that the Mackinac Center’s partners are highly engaged in civic affairs.
Nearly 99% said they vote regularly in local, state and national elections, and more than half say they contact their state lawmakers on issues of concern to them. Nearly 20% write letters to the editors, and about 15% of respondents have served on a government board or commission.
Many others reported that they serve as election workers or nonprofit board members or volunteers, participate in political or civic engagement organizations, and spread free-market ideas, including Mackinac Center publications, to their family, friends and co-workers.
Finally, many respondents asked to learn more about Opportunity Michigan, our new project to build a network of free-market enthusiasts throughout the state who work for positive change. You can learn more about that, and sign up, at www.opportunitymichigan.org.
Thank you again for all of the support you showed the Mackinac Center by taking the survey and sharing your feedback. We will continue to use your input as we make plans for the year ahead. If you have any questions about the survey or would like to follow up on this article, please feel free to contact Lorie Shane at 989-698-1909 or shane@mackinac.org.
