There is no one “right” or common definition of impact for every person in every situation.The following three questions offer concrete ways to incorporate impact thinking into philanthropic decision-making and give donors more confidence that they are making a difference.
1. What difference do I want to make?
By asking this question, a donor can take the first step towards defining their own desired impact clearly, openly, and deliberately.
2. Is that difference meaningful to the population I hope to serve?
In other words, does my definition of impact align with others’, particularly those I hope to help? This can be a difficult question to answer, and a full discussion of possible methods is beyond the scope of this paper. Personal engagement with beneficiaries is valuable for many reasons, including the opportunity to hear on-the-ground perspectives on impact. For many donors, the bulk of their philanthropic dollars flow through intermediary organizations.
Broadly speaking, these organizations can incorporate beneficiary perspectives via:
- a specific activities
- representation from beneficiary groups in their leadership structures
- impact assessments that evaluate impact using an approach that allows for participation from the populations served.
This list is by no means exhaustive, but may provide a starting point for the donor looking to bring a bottom-up approach to their impact definitions. Visit our Choosing Change guidance for more about how to incorporate beneficiary impact in your decision-making processes.
3. How will I know if I am moving closer to making that difference?
With this question, a donor can make deliberate decisions to guide their measurement approach in a way that reflects their desired impact: is attribution important? Are positive, negative, or neutral impacts measured? What is the expected timeframe?
These questions are by no means exhaustive. Visit Cycle of Assessment: How to Learn and Improve for High Impact Philanthropy for more ways to measure impact.
This page was adapted from What Are We Talking About When We Talk About Impact?, guidance produced by the Center for High Impact Philanthopy in collaboration with Women Moving Millions.