Your Impact Report Is Invaluable

Whether you are leading a nonprofit, championing a social enterprise, or trying to reinvent your company, your impact is your currency and must be at the center of your organization’s strategy.

Impact-driven organizations outperform the competition but few even know how to stand out. We strongly recommend you consider your impact as your key value differentiator and leverage that value with an impact report.

What is an Impact Report?

Whether it be positive or negative, every company has an impact. We live in an era of increased demand for transparency and this is especially true when it comes to donors’ and consumers’ expectations regarding your impact.

An Impact Report is an invaluable document that shares the short-term and long-term consequences of your products and programs. Simply put, your impact is the change your company creates and your impact report will reflect that change.

Who Should Measure & Market Their Impact?

Many people mistakenly believe that impact reporting should be relegated only to the nonprofit sector. While nonprofits should absolutely measure and market their impact, companies should do the same. According to Stengel & Brown in their book Grow, companies that do align their objectives with purpose and impact:

• Outperform the market 15-1
• Grow 3x faster than the competition
• Experience 46% greater market share gains
• Enjoy a systematically higher stock market performance

One excellent example is TOMS Shoes. For over a decade, they have measured their impact and published their impact report for all to see. In the early years of their “One-for-One” campaign, they learned that they were not achieving their desired impact goals and were forced to make a decision. Do we keep moving forward business as usual, or do we do the hard work of re-evaluating their impact and optimizing their impact strategy? They chose the latter and have made a significant impact on their target populations.

Are You Concerned About Your Impact?

Many leaders worry that their organization will be judged too harshly if they share their impact report. Your concerns are valid. You may feel that:

• You don’t have a good understanding of what your impact is or what it should be
• Your impact report may highlight negative aspects of your organization
• Your audience may disapprove of your impact and leave you for a competitor

While these are very valid feelings, we believe the positives far outweigh the negatives when it comes to reporting your impact.

Why You Should Share Your Impact Report

There are many reasons why you should share your impact report and why your stakeholders would be thrilled to learn more about the impact your organization is making.

• Gen X, Millennials, & Gen Z want to know how you are helping them make an impact
  • These stakeholders see your organization as a means to measure their impact. They need to know their money is making a difference, regardless if they are donating to your cause or buying your products.
• Employees are eager to make a difference.
  • A report by Insights 2020, reported that when employees are able to link their day-to-day work to impact, they vastly outperform.

How To Share Your Impact Report

There are many ways to share your impact report PDF. Some metrics are more meaningful in different circumstances and it is vital you tell convey your story in a way that is best understood to each audience.

• For your employees and stakeholders:
  • Company-wide townhalls
  • Employee specific videos
  • Company-specific PDF
• For Donors/Customers
  • YouTube videos
  • Social Media campaigns
  • Email
    • Position your donors and customers as the driving force behind your impact. Remember, they need to see themselves as a force for good and you are one of many channels in order for that to happen.
• Investors/Board Members
  • We believe investor-specific impact reports are most effective.
    • PDFs
    • Slide decks
    • Emails

How To Become An Impact-Driven Company

If you’re looking for more creative ways to increase your impact while growing your organization, read this blog on how to do exactly that.

3 Innovative Ways To Use Data to Become an Impact-First Organization