The following is a post by Jessica Ntambi, True Impact’s Nonprofit Manager. In this role, Jessica oversees the support of nonprofit organizations through our social impact reporting platform. Jessica is committed to advancing the transformative work of the nonprofit sector by serving organizations on their impact measurement journeys. She brings a decade of experience in the nonprofit sector, previously working at GlobalGiving and UW's Center for Community and Nonprofit Studies.
To be transparent, when I first entered the measurement and evaluation space, I was skeptical about its value for nonprofit organizations. While the value for funders is more readily apparent, I couldn’t initially see how the work would benefit nonprofits.
My passion has always been about amplifying the voices of those affected by society's most pressing issues. Before joining True Impact, I spent my career and educational journey directly serving nonprofits. In my previous role at GlobalGiving, that meant supporting the fundraising efforts of small, locally-led nonprofits around the world.
Through my Master’s studies in Human Ecology, I developed an appreciation for how data can drive better outcomes and strengthen programs. At the same time, I’ve seen firsthand how reporting requirements can feel burdensome to nonprofits,﹘especially when they’re imposed without trust or collaboration. In those cases, I can understand why a request for data might feel like a threat to the principles of trust-based philanthropy, rather than a tool to support them.
Over the years, however, I’ve learned that when done thoughtfully, measurement and trust-based philanthropy don’t have to be at odds—they can complement each other and work toward the same goal of lasting, positive change.
Let’s take a look at the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project's six core practices to foster stronger, more equitable relationships between funders and nonprofits:
- Providing multi-year, unrestricted funding
- Doing the necessary research
- Simplifying and streamlining paperwork
- Being transparent and accountable
- Actively seeking and acting on feedback and
- Offering support beyond just financial contributions.
After spending three years on the front line supporting nonprofits in telling their impact stories at True Impact, I believe these principles are not at odds with reporting, and instead are a critical ingredient to creating a trust-filled relationship between funders and nonprofits﹘with the ultimate end goal of Trust-Based Philanthropy.
For those unfamiliar, True Impact is a measurement platform (and team) that validates the end impacts of nonprofit programs. We support nonprofits with the creation of universal impact reports on their core programs to illustrate their theory of change and ultimately tell the story of their end outcomes and﹘how lives are improved because of their work.
Let’s look at how we align our measurement efforts with the six core Trust-based practices.
Give Multi-Year, Unrestricted Funding
At True Impact, we make reporting on multi-year grants or unrestricted funding simple by allowing the grantee to tell their impact story in their way. We work directly with nonprofits to help them create annual reports that accurately reflect their work and also allows the funder to understand how their donations are contributing to the overall impact.
We also meet nonprofits where they are. If they need to report on an unrestricted grant, nonprofits are guided to create an organizational-level report. If they are reporting on a multi-year grant, they can tell their story in multiple annual reports, or cohort style, multi-year reports.
Regardless, our platform (and our team) will be there every step of the way to support nonprofits with the reporting approach that makes the most sense for them.
Do the Homework
Even if this step happens before True Impact gets involved, we fully support the idea that researching prospective grantees is essential to finding organizations whose work aligns with a donor’s funding priorities. Funders should use a who, what, where, which framework to maximize impact for the causes and communities they care most about.
- Who do you want to help? (e.g., socioeconomic status, age group, occupation, or other demographic categories)
- What ways do you want to help them? (i.e., cause area, or UN SDGs)
- Where do you want to focus your support?
And then… - Which organizations can create the most aligned impact based on the answer to the first three categories?
The answers to these questions, and corresponding impact data, can be a useful tool to allow funders to understand grantees' work and alignment.
Simplify & Streamline Paperwork
At True Impact, our ultimate goal is to have nonprofits create one report﹘telling their story their way﹘to be used with any funder. When a nonprofit creates a report in our system, they report on the entirety of their impact, not the amount created for a specific funder (that’s handled automatically in the backend of our platform). This means that nonprofits can create one report and share it with multiple funders (current funders and, to our previous point, potential new funders as well). This streamlines their reporting efforts with the goal of being a simple and less burdensome reporting process.
Be Transparent & Responsible
Creating a dynamic that fosters honesty and trust is so important in the funder-grantee relationship. That’s why we work with funders to be transparent and clear about any data and reporting requirements as early as possible. This allows grantees to plan accordingly and also have the power to turn down any opportunities for which they simply don’t have the capacity. Similarly, we’ve found that the grantees who know about their reporting requirements early on are more responsive and prepared when the reporting process begins–this leads to better data for funders.
Solicit & Act on Feedback
This is something we are constantly working on ourselves! We conduct quarterly reviews of all grantee feedback for improving our platform and processes. We also conduct annual surveys on the grantee experience to understand their challenges, areas for improvement, and additional resources we can provide. We act on this feedback by continuously improving our platform to simplify the user experience, creating new resources in our Help Center, and providing 1:1 support with nonprofits as needed. Ultimately, we consistently prioritize the nonprofit experience with the tool and are constantly working to improve our offerings and support to enhance their overall experience.
Offer Support Beyond the Check
Nonprofit partners receive access to impact measurement experts and resources through the reporting process with True Impact. We provide feedback on every submitted report to help strengthen their story of impact, provide 1:1 support to strengthen measurement practices and translate stories into the True Impact model, offer communication tools so they can use the data they collect to share more externally, and provide support every step of the way in their reporting journey.
Why I was Wrong (Why Impact Measurement Builds Trust)
While the nonprofit sector has traditionally viewed data collection and reporting as a potential obstacle to trust-based practices, I’ve come to see that these two can—and should—go hand in hand.
The key lies in how we approach measurement: with respect, transparency, and a commitment to making the process as simple and supportive as possible for our nonprofit partners.
By aligning reporting with trust-based philanthropy principles—such as simplifying processes, being transparent, and offering meaningful support—we can build stronger, more effective partnerships that empower nonprofits to share their full stories and demonstrate their true impact (maybe they can even do this on True Impact!)
The future of philanthropy is not about creating barriers but about building trust, fostering collaboration, and ultimately enhancing the impact we all strive to achieve. Through thoughtful, trust-building reporting, we not only track progress but actively support nonprofits in their mission to make a difference in the world.
