That was a big factor in our success and it had a huge impact. I hear about these efforts all the time. Whether it's an issue specific to BBBS or a symptom of a larger problem inherent in the online charity mall model, I can't say for sure. To my knowledge, this step has now been eliminated. Charity malls usually pay off when they're part of a targeted fundraising strategy.
Some services offer an option to remove ads and endorsements for a monthly fee.
We set up a survey tool on our Web site by installing CGI code on our Web server. I'd say that the tool was useful but not a great success. This was not due to the survey technology, but rather the way in which the final product was presented and the lack of motivation on the user's part to participate. If we could do this over, or I was advising other nonprofits, I would suggest concentrating on how to motivate individuals to participate. Of course, with greater resources, a larger agency might be able to offer a free gift for each participant, and achieve much better results.