By Helen Greig, director, Trust Impact
A narrated version of this blog is available at the bottom of the page
“It’s the visualisation of the data that tells the story to our funders”
The post-pandemic era is proving to be one of the most challenging fundraising environments for charities in living memory, yet as we recently heard from Matthew Hickey, CEO of Gordon Moody, if you get your impact right, then focus your data to tell your story, the money will often follow.
On the other side of the funding equation, we increasingly see funders and commissioners being far more conscious of the need to understand the difference their money is making. Theoretically, this is brilliant, but the reality is somewhat mixed. All too often, in the absence of clear impact measures at the charity, funders will need to fill in the gap. This can lead to an excess of reporting requirements, and a ‘scatter gun’ approach to impact (that is usually outputs or short-term outcomes, not really impact). All of this makes the charity’s job harder as they desperately gather more and more different data points for different funders, none of which truly demonstrates the impact the charity is making in line with their core purpose.
Instead, what we are seeing, and is the very real experience of Gordon Moody, most funders would prefer charities to approach them with a clear understanding of the impact they are making, and how they can prove it. Funders can then give a sigh of relief and agree reporting that is in line with what the charity is already collecting, rather than adding to the burden of impact measurement. It is a far more fruitful starting point for the funder/ charity relationship, with a big reduction in the administrative burden as a result.
Many funders have very clear impact expectations, and when live data reporting is added into the mix it can lead to a new dynamic of innovation and transparency. Both parties can review progress regularly to consider if it is working or if things need to adapt. This is the perfect scenario – funders who can be truly satisfied that their money is making a real difference, and charities who can deliver their services to have the most impact in real-time, without the administrative burden of unnecessary reporting requirements. This is all entirely possible now, with the technology available, and without costing a fortune. And like Gordon Moody, you may just find that by investing a bit of time on your data, you can realise much more funding to create even more impact.
To use our free Purpose Alignment Tool © and the services we offer, visit https://www.trustimpact.com/
To discuss your charities needs, please get in touch helen@trustimpact.com. To understand more about Connect Mix Share, visit https://connectmixshare.com/.
