8 inspiring examples of donor impact reports

These fantastic donor impact report examples show you how to combine all the necessary information in unique and interesting ways.

A good donor impact report is an important tool for keeping your supporters informed, connected, and inspired to continue their involvement.

The eight examples below share a few components in common, but each also has unique elements of its own.

First, they introduce the reader to the organisation — its people, work, and goals. A message from a CEO or chairperson offers the chance to thank current donors; and some brilliant photography or video of the organisation’s staff or volunteers helps endear the organisation further.

The reports also present statistics and financial metrics in unique and transparent ways. Some lay it all out in great detail, others just stick to the main figures — things like the number of donors, or total amount raised — before linking away to more detailed results.

This important information is a double-edged sword: A donor report wouldn’t be complete without it, yet it can make a report boring or overly complex.

A visual element is key, so think about whether high-quality infographics can do more of the heavy lifting than pages and pages of graphs.

Finally, great reports celebrate and rely on the stories of the people involved, whether that’s staff and volunteers, or students, or the people in the community these organisations set out to help. Success stories of happy, healthy people, students carrying out important new research, and vibrant community work, prove to the reader that their donations are making a meaningful difference — and make them more likely to continue donating.

Without further ado, here are 8 impact report examples from the organisations getting it right.

This annual report from pregnancy and childbirth charity Tommy’s doesn’t shy away from using numbers to tell the story. After a beautiful title image and short text preamble, it launches into the facts and figures about the amount of people who accessed Tommy’s services, membership numbers, fundraising amounts, business supporters, and more. In large, scrolling text coupled with light-up icons, the statistics are punchy and attention-grabbing. This is certainly an example worth looking at for any charity, institution, or nonprofit hoping to demonstrate their impact by pushing results to the top.

From there, it goes about telling the stories of its people and work, as well as messages from the families it has helped along the way, and ends with some clear and powerful calls to action for readers and new donors.