Sensitive impact measurement for tricky circumstances - how to gather data to support funding applications

Huge thanks to Ally Rea for writing this blog. Ally is one of our fundraising consultants and has drawn on her extensive experience of supporting charities and social enterprises with trusts fundraising to tackle the tricky topic of impact measurement.

Demonstrating the difference you make in the wider community, with vulnerable people, or with people facing language or communication barriers, can feel like a huge ask for any organisation, particularly in smaller organisations without dedicated roles covering impact reporting.

​As fundraisers, we can feel caught between funders’ expectations and our delivery teams’ realities, all while our service users are suffering from survey fatigue.

It’s the classic fundraising Catch-22: without impact data, funders are less likely to trust their investment will change lives, but without funding, how will you make a difference, let alone demonstrate it? And how on earth will you get your busy frontline colleagues to help you gather the data?

Don’t panic!

If you’ve ever found yourself staring at a funder’s well-intentioned “tell us about the impact of your work” and drawn a blank on all the impact you think you could or should be showing because all your organisation has been tracking to date is the activity outputs, you’re not alone.

Luckily, you do not need to employ a whole new impact person, or incur the wrath of your Service Delivery Manager. Nor do you need to panic-create a Google Form and email it to your entire database (there is a time and a place for a form, just not a panicky one, and not to your whole list). And you definitely shouldn’t halt all fundraising pending academic research analysis.

While I'm not an impact measurement expert, I am a thoughtful fundraiser and I like to creatively problem-solve while hopefully allowing everyone to get home on time. Here are a few tips and techniques I’ve seen work well for charities looking to demonstrate impact in very particular, or very general, populations...

1. Take stock of what you're already doing - it's probably more than you think

You may already have the start of a good impact measure somewhere already. When did you last bring coffee and biscuits to your service delivery team and have a proper chat through what records they already keep, and see what you could be working with?

A charity I know, working intensively with extremely vulnerable people, thought they had no ‘change over time’ measures of wellbeing, until we looked at their Client Support Plan and its table of five wellbeing measures that they had been completing with each new client for 18 months. They hadn’t considered that this could be useful to fundraising, so hadn’t mentioned it.

One or two follow-up calls each week as each client got to their one-year anniversary is now producing the necessary data on impact.

2. Some is better than none

​If you really are starting from scratch, that’s OK. You don’t have to have all the measures - even a snapshot is helpful. Be thoughtful about the difference your work can directly make. What would your delivery team say would be "a success" for the work they are doing?
​
One charity we work with recently tweaked how their team ended their calls, asking “do you know what you need to do next?”. This is not only a simple metric of empowerment, but also a chance to check understanding on behalf of vulnerable service users.

Another charity, which intentionally keeps its helpline completely anonymous, asks one targeted question per quarter, thus building a databank of useful data on a range of issues without adding to the length of the call or risking identifying a caller.

3. Keep it simple to make it accessible

The simpler the impact measurement, the more accessible it is. Focus on what you actually need to demonstrate. Trying to ask everyone every question, every time, can create barriers to people engaging with your impact reporting. Perhaps asking less, but tactically, can help you find out more.

I know a performance and live arts company working with adults with a learning disability that places a postcard with large, clear print on each seat in the house. You tear the card at a smiling, neutral or frowning face to indicate whether you’ve enjoyed the show. They’ve removed so many barriers to giving feedback - you don’t need to read English or even have a pen (although there’s space to write if you want).

Focus on what you need to demonstrate. Counting the smiles makes the Marketing Manager’s job much nicer, too.

Gathering non-verbal feedback, for example by using smiley faces, can be a more inclusive way of gathering impact data (AI-generated image)

4. Don't create new work for people

“Great! Another form to fill in,” said no service delivery team ever, except with a side order of heavy sarcasm.

So, what are you already doing that you can adjust?

We worked with a team that added two quick questions to a form they already required all their sessional delivery staff to complete. Within a few months they had a decent, and growing, databank and a series of participant quotes. Making the new task part of an existing process or habit makes it far more likely to stick, and far less likely to cause friction.

5. Make it appealling

You want to find out some things from the wider community at an event, but you also want them to like you when they go home. So don’t hand them a flappy printout or a QR code hiding a lengthy form!

I saw a brilliantly inviting feedback survey at a public event in London. Participants were placing sticky dots along five colourful bars set out like an asterisk, to rate the event on 5 measures. The interactivity was part of the appeal: who doesn’t enjoy playing a game?

​The next time you need to get a general sense from a large group of people, try going a bit Blue Peter, and ask people to show, not tell, you what they thought.

A poster used to gather feedback from attendees at the Exhibition Road Festival, led by Imperial College London

6. Monitor impact by celebrating success

​If there is confusion about activity outputs (the numbers of people reached or things you did), outcomes (the differences those activities made) and impact (what changed longer-term for people as a result), some gentle coaching may be in order. Do you have a team meeting or a place where you can share successes?

Stories can quickly move us from a "sessions offered" to "lives changed" headspace. For example, asking everyone in a team meeting “Tell us about a win from this week” provides a regular reminder that small moments are big changes. Every participant quote, feedback from a partner organisation, or observation from an activity is an opportunity to boost morale - and gives your fundraiser(s) a steady stream of new information to work with. 

Hopefully I've brought together some helpful ideas from some brilliant small charities, and replicable ideas from a couple of big ones. If you’ve seen something else work well without adding lots of work, we’re always keen to hear fresh ideas. Let us know in the comments! ⬇️