Writing an NGO impact report that donors and CSR teams read

One way to see what is wrong with an impact report is to put the first page of a bad one beside the first page of a good one. Below is the same year's work written both ways, for a trust helping small paddy farmers in Palakkad district with seed and storage. Every number is made up for the example. Use your own, and use only what your registers and accounts can back up.

The first page as it was

Dear friends, it gives us immense joy to present our annual report. Guided by our founder's vision, our dedicated team has transformed the lives of countless farming families through impactful interventions. Our journey began in 1998 and has touched many hearts. With your generous support, we look forward to an even brighter future.

A CSR officer with twenty such reports on the desk reads this and learns nothing. There is no place, no number, no cost and no way to check any of it. The words "transformed" and "impactful" would sit unchanged on any trust's report in India.

The first page as it could be

In the year to March, the trust worked with 140 paddy-farming families in four panchayats of Palakkad district. 96 of them used our shared storage bins for the first time, and 61 stored seed for the next sowing instead of buying it back at planting time. We spent ₹18.4 lakh. Audited accounts are attached. One of three storage sites did not open until October, and we explain why on page 7.

Count the changes. It names the place and the people reached. It gives two things that were counted, and the counting dates sit on page 3. It says what the year cost. It points to the accounts and admits one thing that went wrong.

The page also leaves out the founder's message, the history and the word "transformed". Put those on the website or at the back.

The rupee sentence, before and after

Before: "Most of our funds go directly to the programme."

After (illustrative): "For every ₹100 spent, ₹70 went to seed bins, repairs and farmer training, ₹20 to field staff and monitoring, and ₹10 to administration."

Use the second form only if your accounts say so. Divide honestly, and keep the working notes: what you divided by what, and which register each count came from. If a funder asks, you can show the sum in two minutes, and the funder can compare it with its own projects.

The one-page programme, before and after

Before, a programme page lists every camp: dates, venues, the chief guest at each. After, it holds four things. What you did, in one paragraph. Who you reached, with the date of the count. One measure that matters, such as the number of families storing their own seed. One short story with a first name and a village, told with consent and a photograph of the work, not of a crowd at an inauguration.

What to say about what fell short

A report where every target is met looks written for the funder, not for the record. Name one thing that did not go to plan, say why and say what you changed. Here, in the Palakkad example, the third storage site opened late because the panchayat's building approval took longer than expected. The trust moved its seed deliveries to the two working sites and opened the third in October. By then 22 of the families near it had already sold their seed. The report says so. A funder who monitors projects can check that account against its own visits.

Photographs and stories

Use pictures of the work. A beneficiary's photograph needs their consent, and for a child, a parent's or guardian's, kept as a signed record. Never use one that could expose someone at risk. Rules differ by state and body, so check with your own adviser. Stories with no name or place persuade nobody; a first name and a village, with consent, do.

The pages after the first

Page two states the problem in the district, with one source named, not national figures. Pages three to five carry one programme each. Page six shows where the money went. Page seven is the page about what fell short. Page eight asks for next year's support as a costed item, such as the price of one more storage bin, not a vague request. Page nine gives registrations, the auditor's name, board members and one named contact with a phone number. A thank-you list belongs at the end, not on page two.

How long, and what goes where

Six to ten pages is plenty for a small NGO. A busy CSR officer reads the first page and the budget page, a donor reads the photographs and captions, and a trustee at another foundation checks whether your numbers add up. Put audited statements in an annexure and state which financial year they cover. Never describe an unaudited figure as audited. Have your accountant check the finance numbers and your adviser the registration statements; wording on tax and registrations is covered in our note on presenting credentials.

When a report is the wrong thing to send

If a funder is deciding this month, the report is not the proposal. Send the costed proposal and attach the report as support; CSR funding for NGOs sets out the order of work with companies. If you only have estimates, label them as estimates.

Who writes it

The report is a writing job first and a design job second, and the person who ran the programme should draft the numbers before anyone designs a page.

Rewrite your own first page this week using only numbers you can trace, each with its register and date beside it. Other work for trusts and temples is under non-profit. If you would like someone to shape the whole report with you, that sits close to corporate profile development, and the way in is to tell us what you need.