Transcript Slide 1

Creating an
Impact Report:
How to Tell Your
Story
A little bit about us…
•Rebekah Ralston, Lead Researcher for Education & CBISA Specialist
•B.A. of International Relations from the University of Toledo
•Lyon Software for 4 years in Research and Development
•Lyon Software has been in business for 28 years
•Located in Sylvania, OH– a suburb of Toledo
•Over 1800 clients
•Considered the Gold Standard for community benefit reporting
•CBISA is our cloud-based software product
•Community Benefit Inventory for Social Accountability
We help good people do good work!
2
Impact!...?
What is Impact?
to have a direct effect or impact on : impinge on
- Merriam Webster
With regard to service learning and civic engagement?
Impact on Community describes either short - or long - term
benefits of the service to the community
Evidence of Project Effectiveness includes the estimated number of
individuals served, and measurable effects of service in the
community (e.g., number of houses cleaned, renovated, built, etc.).
-President’s Honor Roll Application
Lyon Software 2012
3
Nuts and Bolts
4
Assess the needs of your community
Use what you have!
Do you have a:
Public Health program?
Community Needs Assessment as a ServiceLearning project
Marketing/Communications program?
Press Releases looking for non-profits in need
of help
Get your word out and provide experience at
the same time
Alumni Association?
Find out what your Alumni are doing and how
you can help
Lyon Software 2012
5
Who wants to know?
Identify Your Stakeholders
Associations/Organizations
Deans
Community Groups
Alumni
Funders
Lyon Software 2012
6
“Fail to plan…
Plan to fail”
7
Create A Systematic Methodology for
Collecting Data
Systematic Methodology:
A prescribed, precise method for collecting data which allows for the
resulting information to be complete and accurate
What Does That Mean?!?
Determine what you want to know and how you are going to organize your
data. This will depend on who your Stakeholders are and what data they
are interested in.
Tools for collecting your data:
Excel
Lyon Software 2012
Access
8
What are you collecting?
Quantitative data
deals with numbers and units that can be measured.
Qualitative data
used to measure the impact of
00a program in terms of
satisfaction levels, improvement in lifestyle, increased
community stability, etc.
“Although qualitative data requires more time and effort to collect, when
paired with quantitative data, it can more accurately present the desired
program impact. In addition, qualitative
00 data tends to have a more
emotional appeal when presented to potential donors and volunteers.”
-Sandra Miller, “Measuring Impact”
Lyon Software 2012
9
Quantifiable
Persons Served
Number of Students, Faculty/Staff involved
Number of hours volunteered
Number of items
Houses built
Books read
Food collected/distributed
Costs
Salary
Indirect/direct costs
Lyon Software 2012
10
Qualitative
Who is the service for?
Targeted populations
Where is the service provided?
Location of service
How is the service delivered?
Format of service
Narratives
Key reflections
Community partner testimonials
Stories of success
Anecdotal results
Outcomes
Lyon Software 2012
11
Survey Your Campus
Avoid “recreating the wheel”!
Find out what programs already exist
Extracurricular
Curricular
Co-Curricular
Who are your partners?
What are their interests?
Combine duplicate efforts
Lyon Software 2012
12
Okay, now what?
13
What is an Impact Report?
An impact report details your accomplishments and the
economic, environmental, social results and the payoff to
society.
-Sandra Miller, “Turning Annual Reports into Impact Reports”
Lyon Software 2012
14
Creating Your Impact Report
1. Introduction and Background
Your organization
Your mission, vision and values
Core messages
Lyon Software 2012
15
Creating Your Impact Report
2. Assessing Community Needs
Survey data
Focus group results
Interviews
Community advisory committees
Needs of special populations
Tools and techniques
Lyon Software 2012
16
Creating Your Impact Report
3. The Community Impact Plan
How does it relate to strategic plan?
Demonstrate tie to mission?
Show priority areas of attention
Show specific programs, staff, budget
State project goals, objectives, and
anticipated outcomes
Lyon Software 2012
17
Creating Your Impact Report
4. Inventory of Existing Community Programs
Define each category
Describe specific programs
Highlight human interest stories
Show benefit quantified in each category
Illustrate year to year comparisons
Share staff resources and internal collection
methods
Lyon Software 2012
18
Creating Your Impact Report
5. Impacts and Outcomes
Include quotes from program participants
Discuss the impact of your school as an
important community resource/asset
Highlight the donation of space, facilities,
materials, equipment
Emphasize economic impact if possible
Lyon Software 2012
19
Creating Your Impact Report
6. Conclusion
Highlight local and/or state challenges and
environmental issues, such as tax-exemption and
challenges from governmental bodies
Unmet needs may still exist. What are they, what
is your plan for next year, and what priorities do
you foresee?
Emphasize your institution’s continued
commitment to positive change
Lyon Software 2012
20
Pointers
-Sandra Miller, “Turning Annual Reports into Impact Reports”
Include photos
A picture is worth a thousand words. Many of the people reading your
annual report won’t actually read it, but they will be attracted to the pictures.
Show them before and after photos and people in action.
Once you’ve got them looking at the photos, tell a story with your captions.
Use captions to provide pertinent, valuable information.
Lyon Software 2012
21
Pointers
-Sandra Miller, “Turning Annual Reports into Impact Reports”
Graphically illustrate your financials
Financial statements and balance sheets should be included, but donors’
respect and trust will be more immediate if they can scan creative
visuals…
Lyon Software 2012
22
Pointers
-Sandra Miller, “Turning Annual Reports into Impact Reports”
Tell donors how they can help
Once you’ve inspired readers with the good works in your annual
report, close by telling them how they can help you do more. How
can they support you with their money or time?
Distribute it widely
Design your annual report for online use and put it up on your
website. Include a sign-up section, and encourage readers to
forward it to their friends.
… think about the impact report as a brochure disguised as an
annual report: who should see this particular brochure, and what
responses are you trying to evoke from them?
Lyon Software 2012
23
Resources
Farmer, D. W. "Strategies for Change." In Managing Change in Higher
Education, edited by D. W. Steeples, (pp. 7-17). San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass, 1990.
Miller, Sandra. “Turning Annual Reports into Impact Reports.” Dynamic
Impact Reporting, February 2010.
http://www.onthegoeta.net/blog1/archives/550#a1
Miller, Sandra. “Measuring Impact.” Dynamic Impact Reporting
February 2010.http://www.onthegoeta.net/blog1/archives/550#a1
Wood, R. J. "Changing the Educational Program." In Managing Change in
Higher Education, edited by D. W. Steeples (pp. 51-58). San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1990.
Lyon Software 2012
24
25