Written by Rowena, Online Facilitator
On 21 March, we opened up a survey to get some information to better know you, your thoughts and wishes. A big thank you to the 65 people who responded! 39 of these were vegan, 25 vegetarian and one omnivore. 31 out of the 65 were current members (2 concession, 18 single and 11 family members). 18 were lapsed members and 16 had never joined. 18 of the 31 members were vegan. 8 were on the south side of Canberra, 8 were outside Canberra and the rest were on the north side.
Here follows the collated responses to the open ended questions.
1) What made you choose your current diet/lifestyle?
59 – animals
32 – the environment
17 – health
6 – spirituality
3 – Various – “my choice”, “Facebook discussion”, “Vegan Easy”.
2) For responding members: What made you become a member?
16 – to be among like-minded people
14 – supporting the cause
6 – discounts
4 – to get information
1 – environmental concerns.
For the 18 responding lapsed members: What would make you join again?
5 – If I lived in Canberra
5 – Nothing. I am too busy with work or other causes
2 – If I saw you doing more outreach
2 – Nothing I don’t want to pay a fee
2 – New website membership payment system (with more reminders)
2 – Reinstating the word ‘Vegetarian’ into organisation name
1 – Will rejoin as I’m keen on social aspects and recipe swapping
1 – If there were more events on the southside
1 – If non-veg people were allowed to join
1 – Unsure
For the 16 people who have never been a member: What would make you join?
4 – Reduced price or higher income
3 – I’m looking into it
2 – If I lived in Canberra
2 – Not sure
1 – Nothing is stopping me
1 – Vegan cooking classes
1 – If the organisation launched a strong campaign for going vegan
1 – If the thought of talking to vegans was less intimidating
1 – More time
3) What do you like about the organisation?
21 – Promotes veganism and compassion for all
18 – Facebook group discussions and information sharing
15 – Weekly updates
12 – Full of committed, kind and friendly people
11 – Provides support of like-minded people
9 – Social events
8 – Participation in community protests and events
7 – Events
7 – Opportunities to meet others
5 – It is very active
5 – The newsletter
3 – Discounts
3 – Talks and screenings
1 – Doesn’t seem to do anything
1 – The old name
1 – The new name
1 – Great food
1 – Unsure
4) What would you like the organisation to do?
15 – Promote veganism
14 – Just keep doing what it is doing
10 – Support people as they transition to veganism
8 – Hold more events (especially potlucks)
7 – Unsure or blank
6 – Promote vegetarianism
6 – More outreach and info sessions
5 – Run targeted campaigns that people can easily share
4 – Keep the focus on Animal rights and activism
3 – Show link between animal rights and environmentalism
3 – Provide sense of community where it is easy to share discoveries
3 – Attract more active people
3 – Develop outreach educational resources
2 – More stalls
2 – Have more activities on the South-side
2 – More media
2 – Info sessions nutrition talks and education at schools
2 – Lobby for food labelling and other issues
2 – Focus more on health and environment
2 – Encourage food businesses to serve vegan food and promote them
2 – Change back to old name
2 – Provide recipes (maybe even compile and sell a collaborative recipe book)
1 – Fund ads, investigations of animal cruelty and letter-box drops
1 – Be more active on social media
1 – Provide information on research in the area
1 – Hold video and veg sausage sizzles
1 – Have a book/video borrowing service
1 – Look into possibility of holding events outside Canberra
1 – Provide cooking classes
1 – Get more businesses on board with discount scheme
1 – Promote what it does more
5) How can you contribute to the work of our organisation?
The response to this question was largely encouraging with just nine out of 65 saying they were not willing or able to do anything. We will be in contact with those who indicated interest in specific projects:
19 – Attending events
16 – Attending protests
14 – Researching, writing and helping to create resources
10 – Running or helping with info stalls and doing outreach
9 – Joining and renewing membership
7 – General volunteering
4 – Networking with other organisations
3 – Organising events or fundraising
3 – Accounting, Legal and marketing research
2 – Join the committee
2 – Cooking or baking
2 – Encourage others to join
1 – Give a cooking class
Thanks again to the 65 people who responded! We will definitely take your feedback and suggestions on board. Special thanks to those who gave detailed answers and offers to help the Vegan ACT get out there and flourish. After all, it is up to everyone to make this world as compassionate, sustainable and healthy as we can.
