How can you use social impact data to attract new supporters?

If you run a nonprofit organization, you know how important it is to demonstrate your social impact to your current and potential supporters. Social impact data is the evidence of the positive change that your programs and activities create in the communities you serve. By collecting, analyzing, and communicating your social impact data, you can showcase your value, increase your credibility, and inspire more people to join your cause. In this article, we will explore how you can use social impact data to attract new supporters in four steps: defining your impact goals, choosing your indicators, telling your impact story, and engaging your audience.

1 Define your impact goals

The first step to using social impact data to attract new supporters is to define your impact goals. Your impact goals are the specific and measurable outcomes that you want to achieve through your work. They should align with your mission, vision, and values, as well as the needs and expectations of your stakeholders. By defining your impact goals, you can clarify your purpose, focus your efforts, and communicate your vision to your supporters. For example, if your nonprofit works to empower women in rural areas, your impact goals could be to increase their income, education, and leadership opportunities.

Add your perspective

2 Choose your indicators

The next step is to choose your indicators. Indicators are the metrics that you use to measure and track your progress towards your impact goals. They should be relevant, reliable, and realistic, as well as easy to collect and understand. By choosing your indicators, you can quantify your impact, monitor your performance, and identify your strengths and weaknesses. For example, if one of your impact goals is to increase women's income, your indicators could be the number of women who participate in your income-generating activities, the average income they earn, and the percentage of women who report improved financial security.

Add your perspective

Adrianne P.

Doctoral Candidate (DBA) | Research in AI & Pricing | Business Operations & Growth Consultant | Nonprofit Strategy Leader | Industry Speaker & Advisor | Air Force Veteran ðŸ‡ºðŸ‡¸
Report contribution
Choosing the right indicators is crucial in using social impact data to attract supporters. Indicators should not only be relevant and reliable but also resonate with potential supporters. They should tell a compelling story of your impact. For instance, if your goal is to boost women's income, don't just track their earnings, but also monitor their financial security. This paints a more holistic picture of your impact, making it more appealing to potential supporters.

Like

3 Tell your impact story

The third step is to tell your impact story. Your impact story is the narrative that you use to explain how your nonprofit creates social impact, using your data as evidence. It should be clear, compelling, and consistent, as well as tailored to your audience and context. By telling your impact story, you can showcase your achievements, highlight your challenges, and convey your emotions. For example, if you want to attract new supporters who are interested in women's empowerment, you can tell your impact story by sharing the data on how many women you have helped, how their lives have changed, and what challenges they still face.

Add your perspective

Laura Croudace

Founder - Social Storie - Working with Salesforce Partners, Technology Partners, Impact Driven Organisations to scale their impacts.
Report contribution
Telling a story of impact is so powerful. Gather data: gather tangible data from your colleagues, CRM, programme leaders on the impact youâ€™re having on your mission Pair it. Pair with emotional stories. Find an emotional connecting story that marries the data + storytelling together. If youâ€™re able to show the impact with data, and bring it to life with a story of emotion, youâ€™ll be surprised by the results. Peoples brains mostly are either: - driven by data and numbers - or; driven by emotion and feelingsâ€¦ Marry the two and you will see such great impactful storytelling.

Like
Adrianne P.

Doctoral Candidate (DBA) | Research in AI & Pricing | Business Operations & Growth Consultant | Nonprofit Strategy Leader | Industry Speaker & Advisor | Air Force Veteran ðŸ‡ºðŸ‡¸
Report contribution
Telling your impact story is a powerful way to attract new supporters. This narrative, backed by data, showcases your nonprofit's social impact. It's not just about sharing achievements, but also about highlighting challenges and evoking emotions. For instance, if your focus is women's empowerment, share not only how many women you've helped, but also how their lives have transformed and the obstacles they still face. This creates a potent, relatable narrative that potential supporters can connect with.

Like

4 Engage your audience

The final step is to engage your audience. Your audience is the group of people that you want to reach and influence with your social impact data. They could be donors, volunteers, partners, beneficiaries, or the general public. By engaging your audience, you can build trust, loyalty, and advocacy among your supporters. You can engage your audience by using different channels and formats to share your social impact data, such as reports, newsletters, blogs, videos, podcasts, or social media. You can also invite feedback, questions, and suggestions from your audience, and encourage them to take action or get involved in your cause.

Add your perspective

Rahoul Naik

Helping charities maximise impact through digital marketing ðŸš€ | Award-Winning Entrepreneur ðŸ† | Managing Director @ Jetpack Marketing | Charity Trustee | School Governor
Report contribution
Measuring the impact of your work is a sure-fire way to find engagement opportunities with your audience. For example, let's say a recent assessment showed that you had improved the income and job opportunities of underprivileged young men - you can use that data throughout your promotional campaigns to showcase WHY donating, volunteers and being involved with your organisation is so crucial. Numbers tell an important story and you have to use that to reel your audience in and capture their imagination!

Like

5 Hereâ€™s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that donâ€™t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

Add your perspective

Directory

How can you use social impact data to attract new supporters?

1

2

3

4

5

1 Define your impact goals

2 Choose your indicators

3 Tell your impact story

4 Engage your audience

5 Hereâ€™s what else to consider

Non-profit Leadership

Rate this article

Thanks for your feedback

More articles on Non-profit Leadership

More relevant reading

Directory

How can you use social impact data to attract new supporters?

1

2

3

4

5

1 Define your impact goals

2 Choose your indicators

3 Tell your impact story

4 Engage your audience

5 Hereâ€™s what else to consider

Non-profit Leadership

Rate this article

Thanks for your feedback

Explore Other Skills