The Social Impact Solutions Podcast · Social Impact Solutions

Impact Reports: The Key to Unleashing Nonprofit Growth in 2026

·25 min·1 clip

John says nonprofits should assume nobody knows who they are, what they do, or why they should give.

Lauren and John open the official 2026 season by talking through impact reports and the work of measuring and communicating social impact. John says the number one reason for giving is the impact a nonprofit creates. He also argues that it is safest to assume nobody knows who you are, what you do, or why they should give you money. That assumption becomes the starting point for clearer communication. It pushes an organization to explain who it is, what it does, and how it makes a difference. The conversation keeps circling back to the idea that the problem is the hook, but the report has to show the response. Lauren and John connect that response to the practical value of impact measurement. They say it helps an organization be taken seriously. They also say it can keep an organization from being overlooked or passed over by funders. The episode ties that risk directly to the larger purpose of the show, which is helping organizations raise more money and do more good. John and Lauren then move into what an impact report should actually do. It should outline how programs address the problem. It should also highlight the innovation or differentiation that helps the organization make a difference. The language should stay clear and simple. The episode names outputs such as the number of people served and the number of meals delivered. Those figures matter. Even so, the conversation says organizations often stop there if they measure anything at all. Funders, by contrast, give to outcomes and impacts. The harder question is what changed after the output happened. The episode defines that as the end result and the actual change created. By the close, impact is presented as the heart of nonprofit work, with effects that reach fundraising, program quality, and recruitment.

As heard by us

A clear case for using impact reports to make fundraising more persuasive.

This episode makes a clean case for putting impact reports at the center of fundraising. It treats donor support as a response to real change, not just activity, and argues that nonprofits need to explain who they help, what they do, and what shifts because of it.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You need a cleaner way to turn impact reports into funding conversations.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from The Social Impact Solutions Podcast