Estimated read time: 6 minutes

Right, let’s talk about something that makes most charity volunteers groan: measuring impact

You know the drill. You’re running a brilliant community group, changing lives left and right, and then someone with a clipboard rocks up asking, “So… how many people did you help exactly?”

It’s a fair question, honestly. But really, it’s not the only one that matters, is it?

Take Sarah from Oakdale Community Sports Hub (Sarah and her charity are fictional, but their story mirrors what happens to real organisations across the UK every day). Last year, her team ran 300 sessions and got over 500 people through the doors. Impressive numbers, right? Tick, tick, tick on the funding application.

But here’s what those numbers don’t tell you: There’s young Jamie who used to hide behind his mum’s legs and now captains the under-10s. There’s Frank, 73, desperately lonely since his wife died last spring—without the club, he’d be isolated, depressed, and struggling with thoughts of ending it all. These Tuesday sessions aren’t just exercise for Frank; they’re a lifeline.

Those are the stories that actually matter. But try putting “restored hope in widowed grandfather” on a spreadsheet and see how far you get.

So how do we capture the stuff that really counts without drowning in paperwork? Let’s figure it out.