Demonstrating Program Impact on Your Nonprofit Website

Your nonprofit’s website probably wears as many hats as you do in your role as a nonprofit professional. It’s your organization’s digital calling card, a calendar hub for upcoming events, where community members can find out about programs, and a place for supporters to donate towards your mission. 

As your digital hub, your nonprofit should fully leverage the asset your website really is by including information on the work your nonprofit has completed and how it’s accomplishing your mission. In this guide, we’ll explore the benefits of impact measurement and tips for communicating those findings to your community. 

Why is program impact important?

According to UpMetrics’s guide to impact measurement, your nonprofit’s program impact is “the tangible changes or results an organization generates for its community as outlined by its mission, vision, and goals.” It’s the outcome of all of your nonprofit’s hard work and the evidence that you’re making a difference.

During the impact measurement process, your nonprofit collects and analyzes information on your work and translates it into accessible data points. As a result, you can communicate your impact more effectively, both within your nonprofit and to external stakeholders. 

External uses for impact measurement

Impact measurement is an incredibly valuable tool for shaping how your nonprofit shows up in the world. It proves that your organization is carrying out your mission and tells your story. 

Stakeholders outside of your organization (like community members, grantmakers at private foundations, prospective donors, and current supporters) all look to impact measurement data and reporting for:

• Governance: Impact data helps potential grantmakers and supporters make informed decisions about supporting your nonprofit.
• Accountability: Reporting on what your organization has done with donors’ contributions encourages transparency and improves donor trust. 
• Compliance: Some grants and other funding sources may have reporting requirements, and having impact data ready makes that process easier. 

Not to mention, impact data is a game-changing marketing asset. Sharing that information in your multi-channel strategy will add dimension to your impact report and build excitement and interest in your nonprofit. 

Internal uses for impact measurement

While it may seem like the purpose of impact measurement is just to contextualize your work and progress externally, it’s equally useful for internal use. 

A few of the ways your nonprofit might use impact data for internal decisions are:

• Improving programs based on impact data insights
• Allocating resources toward successful programs you plan to expand or to support areas that may need an extra boost
• Planning for the future, especially when drafting a strategic plan

In addition, it’s important to celebrate wins with your team! Most nonprofit professionals pursue a career in mission-driven work not just for financial gain, but for the intrinsic rewards of working on the front lines of causes they believe in. Spotlighting your team’s gains towards your mission will improve employee morale and engagement.

What are best practices for measuring and reporting program impact?

To present the most accurate impact reporting possible, take the following steps for proper measurement:

1. Create an Impact Framework. An Impact Framework guides you through the impact measurement process and keeps your team on track. It should include three components: dimensions of impact, objectives, and key impact indicators (KIIs).
2. Pick data to track. Now that you’ve established objectives, identify data points that show progress toward those goals. You can (and should!) include both qualitative and quantitative data here.
3. Collect data. Remember to follow data hygiene best practices (such as removing duplicate records and aligning data entry methods) and include all information from the period you’re tracking. 
4. Analyze findings. Once all of the data is submitted, take a step back to see the whole picture. Impact platforms or data scientists can provide impartial analyses for your team if you need a second opinion.
5. Take action. Once you gather your information, you can put it to work in a data-driven strategic plan.

Once you’ve completed the measurement process, it’s time to develop your impact report. The report translates your findings into an accessible overview to share with stakeholders, both within and outside your organization. As with any content creation and curation for your marketing strategy, the report should be aligned with your branding and in a format that is both mobile and web-friendly.

How should program impact be shared on nonprofit websites?

Your website is the primary vehicle for communicating impact reports to external audiences. The uses we covered earlier—governance, accountability, compliance, marketing—are all supported by featuring your program impact on your site. 

Here are some ideas and tips for featuring impact reports on your nonprofit website:

• Include it in your website donor journey. Pull significant data points from the impact report and feature them on your donor page, donation form, and automated thank you email. 
• Update the impact report annually. Having the most recent information available will provide a better user and donor experience for those researching your impact. 
• Feature it as a heading in the navigation bar. The best nonprofit websites use this tactic, allowing visitors to quickly access your nonprofit’s impact data.
• Connect CTAs with impact data. On your impact page, leveraging CTAs in response to specific data points within the report can be highly effective. For instance, if an environmental organization shares the number of trees planted over a year in their report, it’s the perfect opportunity to include a CTA inviting the viewer to add to that number.
• Allow users to filter data. With a dynamic webpage, visitors can dive deeper into specific areas of your work they’re interested in or see the whole picture. This personalizes the experience for users and makes them more likely to convert.

Your website is one of the easiest ways to make impact data publicly available. Leverage your other digital channels by sharing impact reports via social media and email newsletters with user-friendly QR codes pointing back to your website. That way, you capitalize on these high-traffic channels without immediately inundating users with information.

Visitors land on your website to learn your nonprofit’s story. And, there’s no better way to tell your story than to create and share your program impact report. Once you’ve developed this powerful, data-driven asset for your nonprofit, you’ll bring on more loyal supporters to help your nonprofit’s mission go even further. Let's chat to see how we can support you.