The charity’s impact storytelling has driven engagement and boosted loyalty.
As appraisal season approaches, it’s easy to account for what we did: but far harder to articulate what changed. It’s a time-consuming process, often requiring a deep dive into diaries and reports to paint a picture of the past year.
When it comes to impact reporting for the organisation, it’s often up to the comms team to share the drivers of supporter engagement, funding, loyalty and action. Our blogs on annual reporting and talks on demonstrating impact are always in high demand, and the pressure to get it right is growing.
We know the fundraising landscape is tough. The latest CAF UK Giving Report shows individual giving is falling, with one in five people saying they cannot afford to give to charity. It’s more important than ever that we help audiences to feel our work makes a difference.
Regulation is another driver: the updated charity Sorp mandates a shift toward clearer outcome reporting, predominantly charities earning more than £500,000. And public expectations are shifting as audiences want greater transparency, a stronger connection to causes and regular updates from the organisations they support.
This creates an opportunity for communicators. By bringing audiences on the journey, we can prove the value of comms and demonstrate what their support can achieve. The RNLI is an outstanding example, framing its impact around human stories that resonate with a growing audience.
In 2024, the charity celebrated its 200th anniversary with a campaign that illustrated its heritage and decades of impact. As part of the celebrations, it launched the 200 Voices podcast.
The communications enabled survivors, supporters, volunteers, lifeguards, celebrity ambassadors, historians and many more people across the UK and Ireland to share personal accounts of how the RNLI had touched their lives. It showed the human side of the work, made the impact tangible, and reassured listeners that their contribution has helped transform lives.
Other impact storytelling methods range from first-person footage to documentary partnerships and Rescue Roundup newsletters. Each allows audiences, from lifelong enthusiasts to new supporters, to trace and feel the charity’s impact more regularly.
Claire-Marie Mason, head of communications at the RNLI, told us the charity embraces “the visual, active nature of the RNLI’s lifesaving work to demonstrate urgency and courage, while sharing stories of our lifesavers and the people they save helps create personal connection”.
The approach has helped the RNLI grow engagement, boost loyalty and buck downward fundraising trends in the sector, with the charity showing growth in legacy giving and direct donations in recent accounts.
And the charity’s success in building trust and engagement from the public has once again been proved this week when, as volunteers and staff faced online and physical abuse from far-right protesters, an open letter in support of the charity garnered more than 80,000 signatures in less than 12 hours.
There are lots of reasons why charities stick to an annual review as the sole moment to talk about their impact, but it is worth affording more time and creativity to impact storytelling on an ongoing basis. That means planning from the outset how to present and repurpose content.
Equally important is creating time to analyse and share data insights internally. Findings can highlight emerging trends, service gaps and areas for improvement, while sharing how an organisation is evolving shows honesty and clarity, qualities that donors appreciate.
Effective impact reporting does not need to rely on big budgets or teams: you just have to be thoughtful and imaginative about the data and stories, as well as the ways and moments you choose to share them. For smaller charities, this could be as simple as a monthly theme.
In today’s context, don’t treat impact storytelling as an annual recap triggered by a report. Instead, think of it as a year-round conversation.
This article was originally published by Third Sector here.
