What is CiviPetition?

CiviCampaign includes a function for creating petitions to publicly gather responses and information online.

A petition can collect signatures for a cause to present to an elected official or raise awareness of an issue. It can also serve as an online survey: an organization can ask questions, analyse the responses, and use what it learns to build support for its causes. A petition is particularly useful as an online survey when you do not know who will respond—for example, when anyone can submit responses through a petition on your website.

Scenario: City Council petition

Townsville Organisation for Tenants (TOFT) wanted to show the Townsville City Council how satisfied or dissatisfied the public was with the Council’s work to provide safe public housing. TOFT created a petition that gathered answers to questions alongside signatures, then presented the results to the City Council.

A TOFT staff member used CiviCampaign to create the petition and emailed it to all existing contacts. She linked the petition to the organization’s web site so the community could respond online. She also worked with the Communications Director on strategies to encourage people to visit the web site and complete the petition.

Respondents could choose to receive ongoing email updates from TOFT about the campaign’s progress throughout the year.

After the petition drive, the staff member compiled the electronic signatures and responses and created reports to analyse the results. TOFT then communicated the results to the City Council. The organization also used the results to shape its messages and tell its story to build interest in the campaign.