Thursday March 27- Impact report

Hi !

🚗 The white zone: TL;DR version

Many of you are currently working on your Annual Report which will be sent to everyone on your list. Boards and bosses press you to work hard on these reports. The problem is these reports are usually long, boring and organization centric.

If your nonprofit wants to send a report that will hit the mark, it should focus on

• Thanking all supporters

• Demonstrating impact

• Stories, testimonials, data which shows impact

Let’s dive into this week’s pain point: Your annual reports are a snoozefest. And if you think this isn’t that big a deal, better read on.

✈️ Immediate loading and unloading of passengers: What it shouldn’t be

The typical nonprofit Annual Report includes a letter from the Board Chair, a letter from the CEO, a page with a summary of the organization’s financials, a shoutout to foundation and corporate partners and then ten pages- font size six- listing every donor to the organization since the Nixon administration.

Sigh. What a waste of 🌲 !

The typical Annual Report is long, boring, uninspiring and very organization centric. Ya know who reads them? Almost no one.

Which is really too bad- a huge missed opportunity for how your organization connects and engages with its supporters!

So let’s start at the top: I hate when it’s called “Annual Report.” It can and should be much more than that.

Time to start publishing a yearly Impact Report or Gratitude Report. Your nonprofit needs to transform your dull, stale, boring annual report into something more impactful which strengthens the connection with your audience.

Here’s how.

🛑 No stopping in the red zone: Q&A

Question: What are the goals of an Impact Report?
Answer: Making people feel good about supporting your organization. Letting them know that as an individual they’re making their community better but also showing how a larger group came together to advance a worthy cause. Add to that transparency, stewardship and retention.

Question: What should be the overall tone of our Impact Report?
Answer: It should be donor centric, written in a conversational tone and full of gratitude. (Always lead with gratitude!!!)

Question: What should our Impact Report include?
Answer: Here’s a short list in no particular order…

• Compelling visuals (everything you need to know about Impact Report photos)

• Impactful stories

• Social proof/quotes/testimonials (from beneficiaries, staff, Board members, volunteers, foundation funders, corporate partners)

• Data visualization (show growth, show impact)

• Quantitative AND qualitative data (not all impact can be told in cold number sets)

• Organizational overview (written by the CEO)

• Spotlight on a specific program

• Highlight supporters helping to change the community for the better

• Lots of gratitude

• 2025 goals

Look at the above list. It shows supporters how they’re having an impact in their community, how they’re doing good in the world. Just as important, it lets them know they’re part of a larger community of do gooders.

And instead of a long list of donors no one even looks at, you now have a visually attractive report that communicates impact!

THAT is how you make donors feel good, engage them, steward them and retain them as supporters of your nonprofit.

Question: How should we share our Impact Report?
Answer: Direct mail is king. Print and send.

But you should also create a digital version which sits on your website. Use social media posts and email to get the word out and drive traffic to it.

Have a look at Conquer Cancer’s 2023 Impact Report. Donor centric, gratitude, impact, stories, quotes etc. Notice the links at the top. Those are the things most people skip over so instead of adding it and making you scroll (which you probably wouldn’t) they left them as links at the top for those who want. Very smart!

Question: Do you have an even better idea for sharing it?
Answer: You betcha- go live!

What if instead of people reading, they could watch and listen to you present your 2024 Impact Report? I think it’s a great idea.

But it’s not my idea. I credit a growing nonprofit in Colorado for implementing what I think is a great way to connect with people.

Going from survival to thrival means providing multiple connection points for your audience. And I love this one!

🛄 The red zone has always been for loading and unloading: Use video to demonstrate impact

Please meet Coal Creek Meals on Wheels. Their mission: “To support independence and quality of life for Lafayette, Louisville, Erie and Superior residents by providing nutritious meals and social contact.”

How did I learn about them? A staff member signed up for my enews. I went to check them out and signed up for their enewsletter. (Yes folks- I sign up for organization enewsletters so I can learn about all the good being done out there!)

At the end of February they emailed about their upcoming Morning Coffee Chat which would feature the organization’s CEO discussing their 2024 Impact Report. I always wanna learn from anyone and everyone and was interested in watching and listening to an Impact Report presentation. I signed up right away.

I’m very glad I did!

The chat was done via Zoom and recorded, so they could share a recording with those who were unable to attend. (For those who want to watch the entire presentation, here’s a link provided by Coal Creek MoW.)

After attending, here are my takeaways on what worked from their impact webinar:

1. The speaker was the CEO: I like this as he’s the face of the organization.

2. They kept it short: 25 minutes before Q&A.

3. They included some data: Not just 2024 data but historical data. For example, I learned that the number of meals served has skyrocketed by 80% since 2022.

4. The effect of a federal grants freeze and tariffs: They will be indirectly affected. Soaring food prices costs them more to buy food. Cuts in federal benefits mean fewer people able to pay for their meals and demand will rise in 2025. I LOVE that they didn’t shy away from this but discussed how they’ll meet this challenge head on.

5. Plates for Pets: I love the idea behind this service! I didn’t know it existed. Good use of the presentation to highlight a program some may not be familiar with.

6. Story of one: They didn’t just share the “big numbers” of overall impact. They shared a couple of stories about individuals helped by Coal Creek MoW. Always use storytelling and as often as possible tell the story of one person which can be used to demonstrate the broader need and impact.

7. Q&A: They encouraged questions from attendees. Great way to engage people one on one, answer their questions in real time and strengthen their connection to the organization.

The only thing missing was a slide with their 2025 goals (although 2025 was mentioned a few times because of the data they supplied and the grants/tariffs piece) but overall I think it was a great idea! Some people learn best while reading a piece of paper, some while reading online and some prefer to learn visually through video. Find multiple avenues for connecting and sharing.

Kudos to the entire Coal Creek Meals on Wheels team for the great work they do!

I’m a huge proponent of using video to tell your organization’s story. For those of you wondering whether video would be a good medium for an Impact Report, here are two data points about the importance of video:

• 52% of people say they’re more likely to share video content than other types of content.

• 90% of a message is retained if shared in a video vs. 10% when shared with text.

Here’s how you go from survival to thrival: You WANT people to retain what they learn from your impact report, you WANT them to feel good, you WANT to profusely thank people because good gratitude leads to the next donation, higher retention and higher donor lifetime value.

Win win win!

🖐️ Don’t tell me which zone is for stopping: Learn from the good

In last week’s poll you voted “yes” to hear about the good being done out there and learn from other organizations. So I’m adding this new section every week going forward. Feel free to email me with ideas/creative events/programs/services your organization is offering and I’ll be happy to consider adding them to this section in future editions.

Last week Community Solutions led off an email with this: “Think you know homelessness? Think again.”

The CTA: Explore the truths behind homelessness- and how we can fix it.

In a fantastic post they tackled misconceptions and myths about homelessness and shared the truth and potential solutions.

Part of your organization’s mission should be to educate your audience about the issue you advocate for. Make them smarter and more informed. Sharing myths and truths is one way.

Consider the great educational content they provided and what you could do with it:

• Share each misconception and truth in a separate email and/or blog post

• Create short videos about each myth and truth

• Post in an Instagram Story a “myths and truths” quiz and get people to click and learn

• Use data visualizations to highlight the truths and possible solutions.

Great idea from Community Solutions you should learn from and use.

⚪️ Listen Betty don’t start up with your white zone ?#$% again: A little of this and that

Here’s some great content for you to learn from:

1. Why monthly giving programs are critical. This week’s Ephraim’s Must Read! (4 A Good Cause)

2. 8 ways to get max results from your fundraising campaign page (Causevox)

3. How to nurture donors with email marketing. Numbers 1, 5, 7 and 8!!! (Beeline)

4. 5 tips for creating compelling fundraising appeals (Achieve)

🔈️ Oh really Vernon: Before you hit send

As an enews publisher I know the stress involved in sending an email to a lot of people. What if I made a mistake? What if I screwed something up?

Trust me: The worry is real.

To help you out, I authored an ebook titled “Before You Hit Send.” Published with Foundant Technologies, the ebook contains 9 things you need to check before you send your mass emails and enewsletter.

The ebook includes a handy checklist you can print and keep close by. Make sure to double and triple check before hitting send.

Download this free ebook today so you deliver emails that deliver results!

🥼 It’s really the only sensible thing to do: This week’s Make It Make Sense poem

You might forget your wallet, a present, a shirt or perfume
But how could you forget THIS in a motel room?!

Boston, Trenton, Philly, New York, Annapolis
Which of those has NOT been a capital of the U.S.?

For some it would be crazy but for others bliss
How much does it cost to be a one-day roadie for Gene Simmons of KISS?

And finally this is eight years old but VERY relevant my dear
Watch this great idea and see what people had to do to get a free beer!

I’ll be back next Thursday. Have a great weekend!

P.S. I listened to Bryan Adams “Summer of 69” on an endless loop while working on the enews. Believe it or not, summer is just around the corner!