Impact reporting strategy: Mission and goals

Let's talk a little more about impact reporting strategy. (See previous emails about benefits and implementation steps, if you like.)

As with everything, it helpst to start with the end in mind: your mission, goals, and objectives.

Donors, advocates, members, volunteers, even your board — they're already concerned about the impact you're trying to make in the world.

But they need a reason to believe that you're on the right track to accomplishing it.

So tell them. State your goals.

What are you and your stakeholders aiming to achieve together? What are the actual goals you're trying to accomplish as an organization?

Useful goals tend to stick to the SMART framework: specific, measurable, assignable, relevant, and time-bound.

• Specific: They target a specific area for improvement.

• Measurable: They quantify the intended progress (they target a number or percentage of measurable units).

• Assignable: They specify who — an individual or a team — will make it happen.

• Realistic: They state what results can realistically be achieved, given available resources.

• Time-bound: They specify when those results should be achieved.

Here's the thing:

Inspiring your stakeholders is just like everything else: start with your goals.

Start by formulating a few simple goal statements, and state them in a way that's relevant to both your stakeholders' vision and to the people you serve.

If you can do that, you're on the right track to demonstrating your ability to get tangible results in your mission.

And that's something people want to buy into.

All the best,
A.