Flexing Your Impact Muscles in the Charity Sector

Many charities in Ireland struggle with flexing their impact muscles. They simply are not showcasing the impact of what they do.

All charities are required to report to the Charities Regulator every year (deadline 31 October) on their activities and financial outcome for the preceding twelve months. There is an annual report form available from the Charities Regulator and this report is published on the online public Register of Charities so that donors and the general public know:

What the charity has done over the last 12 months to further each of its charitable purposes
Who the charity has helped
How the charity raised and spent funds
Where the benefits of the charity’s work were felt

Aside from complying with the law, submitting an annual report gives charities the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to good governance, transparency and accountability. It is also an excellent opportunity to showcase the good work that the charity does.

Many charities simply end up describing lots of activities that they have undertaken the previous year. The guidance actually states, “Particular care should be taken to demonstrate that your charity has undertaken activities in furtherance of its charitable purposes”. Charities tend not to focus on the outputs they produce; the outcomes generated by those outputs and the impacts over time. These are much more important than simply listing lots of activities.

Impact

Impact is typically defined as having an effect, benefit, or contribution to economic, social, cultural, and other aspects of the lives of citizens and society. It is any change - intended or unintended - positive or otherwise that occurs over a period of time (short term, long term) as a result of your activities.

Theory of Change Thinking for charities

Theory-driven evaluation views outputs and outcomes as early or visible indications of long-term outcomes. Well-selected indicators with a good theory of change can be used to estimate impact. At RSM Ireland our general approach is to situate all evaluative thinking within a Theory of Change. We look at:

Context, Rationale and Assumptions: Why a charity is needed
Objectives: What the charity intends to achieve with its projects and programmes
Inputs and Activities: The ways and means by which the charity will achieve its objectives
Outputs, Outcomes and Impacts: Measurable changes that the charity will achieve for its beneficiaries.

The rationale is that if the links between inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes, and impacts can be confirmed, and achievement measured by reference to agreed performance indicators for each link in the chain, then there is a basis for reaching conclusions on the performance delivered by the charity. This approach makes it easy to measure success and showcase impact.

If you are a charity and you do not do this, you may have little idea as to whether what you are doing is working. You may not actually know what ‘working’ looks like. You may not know what you are looking for from your information or what to measure. And most importantly, you will not be able to say what will change, or for whom.

So if you are working with a charity that needs help with a Theory of Change Workshop, a Strategy Review to ensure it is outcome focussed, or assistance in writing an Impact Report get in touch with us.