Scanning the various communications sent by charities, it would be easy to assume that they acknowledge how vital it is to communicate the impact of their work, and that their funders seek evidence of that impact. However, the latest paper issued by [the U.K.’s] New Philanthropy Capital, Talking about results, takes a closer look at how charities communicate their impact, and finds that the reality is quite different.

NPC’s research found that nearly all the charities analyzed were good at describing what they did – their outputs – less than half communicated clearly what changes they achieved in people’s lives – their outcomes.

While not a subject of this research, many of the largest – and most well-known – global Jewish organizations fail to communicate outcomes clearly. In fact, many of these organizations still see a media communication as primarily a vehicle to engage in self-praise, providing little or no evidence of what they are, in fact, accomplishing.

In general, charities are missing an opportunity: to communicate to potential supporters both what they need and want to know.

Talking about results is available for download (free registration required).