Teaching Paper: Conducting Community Needs Assessments – Practical Survey Template for Non-Profit Practice

Effective community needs assessments are a cornerstone of responsive non-profit programming. This Teaching Paper presents a practical survey template designed to capture demographic data, community priorities, service usage, satisfaction levels, and suggestions for improvement. Grounded in participatory evaluation principles, the approach ensures that findings are representative, actionable, and adaptable to diverse contexts. By applying this structured tool, non-profits can identify service gaps, refine interventions, and integrate evidence-based insights into strategic planning, thereby improving community engagement, accountability, and long-term program impact.