For funders and donors trying to get a clear and concise view of the charities that they want to support is time consuming and complicated.

We have created The Impact Suite profile pages to effectively showcase the important parts of your organisation, particularly those that you want support for and make it as easy as possible for funders to get a clearer understanding about you.

To allow you to get the most impact out of your profile and take advantage of the opportunity provided by donor views we have come up with some tips and ideas that decision-makers have told us would make your profile more effective.

1. Be honest and complete as much of the questionnaire as possible. The value of The Impact Suite is transparency, and potential funders will be put off by organisations that they feel aren’t transparent.
2. You can always update or modify your profile later.  Things change and the purpose of The Impact Suite is to provide an up to date view of NFP organisations so feel free to come back in and update your profile regularly.  
3. Take 5 minutes to review the form, particularly the text boxes.  Also check out some profiles that are filled out well (eg. Music Broadcasting Services Qld). This will allow you to structure the answers in an orderly manner.  For instance under “Statement of how your board is diverse” you might communicate items that are easily supported.  Eg. Our board is diverse in terms of age, gender and cultural background.  This is supported by the constitution, organisational culture and formal recruitment practices.
4. Be punchy and to the point.  Just because there is lots of space available does not mean you have to use it.  Use dot points where there are a number points to make on one topic.
5. Focus on the things that matter. The reader may know very little about your organisation, may have an outdated impression or not be aware of the the activities that deliver the most impact.  Your writing needs to briefly touch on these things so that the reader can investigate further.
6. Think from the audience’s viewpoint. Think about what your audience is looking to get from reading your profile.  Larger funders have told us that they want the ability to get a transparent, accurate view of an organisation and that if interested they can get in contact and engage further.
7. Don’t be afraid to summarise.  If you have a lengthy Impact Statement on-line provide a summary of this and let the reader know that there is a more complete one on your web-site.
8. Write in the context that suits an outsider. If you measure it – be clear on how you do this.  When describing Impact you might describe where you have direct or deep impact, how you work with other organisations to amplify your impact and what is the long-term impact of key activities.
9. Proof read your work before completing the online questionnaire. The Impact Suite cannot ammend information once it has been submitted via the questionnaire. If you want to ammend the questionnaire repsonses you need to redo the full profile. This is an important feature which means you are responsible for the repsonses to the questionnaire.  
10. Lastly but most importantly - Don’t be afraid to ask.  We are only an email away.  If you have any questions just send a quick email to update@thempactsuite.com

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