One of the most common challenges facing social enterprises and not-for-profits isn’t measuring impact, it’s communicating it. 

At our most recent Impact Measurement Roundtable for the Social Enterprises, practitioners from across the sector came together to unpack what it really means to talk to everyone who matters: staff, partners, funders, policymakers, and the general public.

One Message Does Not Fit All

The group’s first insight was simple: what you communicate and how you communicate it depends entirely on your audience. 

Different stakeholder groups come to your communications with very different needs and expectations:

• Policy makers want evidence. Think about numbers, trends, and longitudinal data that demonstrate change over time.
  
• Funders need to see measurable outcomes and accountability, with clear links between investment and impact.
  
• Staff and volunteers benefit from being included in the conversation. Transparent impact communications can motivate and help people feel connected to the organisation’s direction.
• Partners and collaborators want to understand how your work intersects with theirs and what shared outcomes look like.
  
• The general public is moved by personal stories, which showpas how your work is touching lives in their community.

Participants discussed how data-led insights are powerful, but only when they’re paired with the right framing for the right audience. 

A useful reframe that emerged from the discussion was: your annual report is about your organisation. Your impact report is about your community. 

Keeping that distinction clear when you sit down to write can completely change your approach.

Know Your Stakeholders 

One practical strategy discussed was ranking stakeholders by decision-making power. This helps determine not just what information they receive, but how much effort goes into tailoring communications for them. 

From there, the group shared how helpful it can be to consider building stakeholder personas and a profile of what each group actually wants to know. Some of the things discussed to aid in doing this included:

• What outcomes are they interested in? A funder may want sector-level change; a community member may want to know their neighbour was helped.
  
• What format works for them? Data-heavy reports suit some; a short email update or social media post suits others.
  
• What language resonates? Avoid defaulting to sector jargon and align your tone and terminology with your audience, so communications feel relevant rather than generic.
  
• How often do they need to hear from you? Some stakeholders want regular updates; others only need an annual touchpoint.
  
  

The Data Behind the Story

Most organisations are collecting more data than they realise: financial figures, staff and volunteer numbers, fundraising results, activity data, and interview or case study material. The challenge is cutting that data in different ways for different audiences, rather than sending the same report to everyone.

One participant described using a suite of key indicators of success, agreed on in advance by their team, which they report on regularly. One standout metric was a sense of belonging. 

Measured through signals like whether people return, bring friends, and learn each other’s names, belonging captures something that a headcount simply can’t. When the numbers alone don’t tell the full story, they pair them with a narrative to create context.

The group discussed how much longitudinal data matters in measuring social impact. While single data points tell you where you are, a series of data points over time tells you where you’re going, which can be really powerful for all stakeholders to see.

Keeping It Accessible 

Not every organisation has a communications team, a dedicated budget, or the ability to bring in external specialists. Several participants are managing their entire communications function solo, keeping things simple and focusing on accessibility above all else.

The good news is that strategic communications doesn’t have to be expensive. AI tools are increasingly being used to explore data visualisation options, research platforms beyond Excel, and draft communications tailored to different audiences. 

One participant advised that it can be valuable to look at organisations whose communications you admire and to get curious about why they work, as another low-cost way to lift your own skills and approach.

A Specialist Skill, Not an Afterthought

Perhaps the most pointed observation of the session was this: communications is often treated as a general skill, when in reality strategic communications (especially across diverse stakeholder groups) is a specialist discipline. It requires time, planning, and genuine intentionality.

Getting it right means more than just choosing the right platform or format. It means asking whose interests are centred in what you’re communicating, and why?

Identifying and decentring self-interest, whether that’s an organisation’s desire to look good to funders, or a team’s instinct to lead with outputs rather than outcomes, is what separates communications that inform from communications that genuinely connect.

This ongoing peer learning community continues to provide a valuable space for leaders to share challenges, swap tools, and develop new approaches together. The conversations will continue to build across the next two roundtables, deepening the collective understanding of how impact can be meaningfully measured and communicated in diverse contexts.

Keen to learn more? Read about our previous roundtables and check out our resource hub.