Creating a Framework for Non-Profit Impact Reporting

Non-profit organizations are increasingly pressured to provide impact analysis highlighting their community influence to continue receiving financial support. Organizations with limited resources can struggle in areas such as data organization, visualization, and conflicting stakeholders' expertise and interest. The need to show evidence-based impact while struggling with resources is a balancing act of survival for many non-profits and a unique case of a Socio-Technical system. In our research, we attempt to tackle this Socio-Technical problem by creating a framework and building tools to alleviate this balancing act to allow non-profits to devote their resources to supporting their mission. We use a mixed methods approach through data collection and analysis to provide a cohesive overview of a charity's influence while requiring few resources. We apply this method to Historic Buildings & Places (HB&P), a non-profit organization in the UK that works to preserve built heritage to retain its cultural value and increase sustainable infrastructure. Using HB&P as a case study provides an understanding of practices used to complete this mixed methods approach. This paper describes the process for determining impact criteria and creating an accessible report as well as providing a set of terms and a procedure applicable to non-profits across many sectors. The findings include which graphics wider audiences easily understand—column graphs and maps—and which themes are currently sought after—diversity and sustainability. Given our interview pool focused on current and potential stakeholders, non-profits who focus on highlighting their diversity and sustainability work through accessible graphics have the potential to increase their financial support.