What is impact?
The term ‘impact’ is mentioned a lot in our industry, but what does it really mean?
In late March it was announced that Prince Harry has taken up the role of Chief Impact Officer at coaching and mental health firm BetterUp. As a result, various questions popped up about what exactly that title meant, as ‘impact’ comes with lots of different definitions. While the news moves quickly, and you might have forgotten this particular moment, it got us thinking, as an organisation within the impact industry, about what the term ‘impact’ means to us.
What is ‘impact’?
In the impact industry we specifically use the term' ‘impact’ to describe measurable positive effects on a societal or environmental problem. This ‘impact’ is usually an explicit goal of the organisation working to achieve it, rather than a side-effect of their work. For example, sustainable toiletry brand Circla aiming to reduce reliance on disposable plastic by offering refillable, sustainable solutions. Or, in the case of Prince Harry’s role, using coaching to help boost mental health and wellbeing.
At Matchable we make impact by matching impact organisations (keep reading for our definition of ‘impact organisations’ below) with skilled corporate volunteers, who use their skills and experience to help these organisations work towards their impact goals. Helping these impact organisations is our first priority and ultimate goal as a company. We are classed as a Tech for Good organisation, as well as a B Corp!
There are many ways to measure impact. Some organisations refer to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how many of them they have helped work towards. Other organisations might choose to record the number of hours donated towards volunteering, or the number of people reached through their actions. For example, they might aim to impact 1 million lives. More and more we are seeing companies include these kinds of impact metrics within their overall corporate strategy.
Measuring impact is a complex task and something we are still working on at Matchable, as part of our mission as a company and as part of the B Corp community.
Some of the factors we consider when evaluating impact are as follows:
Immediate impact vs long term impact: at Matchable we check in again after 6 months to establish the ongoing impact of a project.
UN SDGs: we like to measure how many UN SDGs we help our clients achieve. As an organisation most of our work falls into SDG17: Partnerships for the goals.
Hours volunteered and value delivered: this is one of the easier metrics to establish, but nevertheless is extremely valuable!
Number of lives impacted: this is a powerful metric but difficult to work out.
Quantitative and qualitative feedback: it is helpful to gather multiple types of feedback to establish a full picture of the impact made.
The impact for the volunteer: it is not just the impact organisation that sees effects from our projects. Volunteers report boosts to their self-esteem and confidence, develop new skills, and often find a renewed sense of purpose
What is an impact organisation?
At Matchable we often describe the organisations we work with as ‘impact organisations’; this comprises charities, social enterprises, and impact startups. All different types of organisation, with different priorities and approaches, but unified by the goal of making impact.
Charities are not-for-profit organisations working towards a social or environmental goal. Their only purpose is this social goal, and not any others such as profit. While raising money is important to allow them to continue their work, any money raised must be reinvested within the organisation to continue their work. Examples include The Red Cross, WaterAid, the British Heart Foundation, and around 166,000 more in the UK alone.
Social enterprises are businesses with a social or environmental mission, towards which they must donate at least half of their profits. This could be by donating directly, or reinvesting in their organisation if it is directly addressing the problem they are tackling. A well known example is The Big Issue, whose mission is to reduce homelessness. By reinvesting profits into their organisation they can offer employment opportunities to more homeless people, working towards their ultimate goal. Other examples of social enterprises are Tech for Good VC Bethnal Green Ventures, and coffee company Change Please.
Impact startups are new companies with the goal of tackling a societal problem. While one of their goals is to address their chosen problem, they also want to balance this aim with the aim of generating profit. For example, organisations that have been awarded their B Corp certification have pledged to be a business for good by balancing purpose and profit. Some impact startups in our community include the likes of Eargym and Project One Sky.
ABOUT MATCHABLE
At Matchable we work with companies and their employees to match them with high impact and innovative skilled volunteering projects at non-profits and impact startups.
If you’re interested in finding out more about how your employees can upskill through our social impact projects, get in touch here.