The iPhone 5 Model for Charity Annual Reports
What if the once-a-year “reveals” of a charity’s impact had the hype of the iPhone 5? What if millions of people blogged about program and performance upgrades developed during the past year by the most dynamic charity in the world? What if people were making viral videos and sketching out projections for a charity’s outcomes and functions before real pictures and numbers were revealed? I only wish that the charities supported by Excellence in Giving clients stirred such anticipation. I would love to receive a mysterious invite (like the one Apple sent to tech media writers) to attend a dramatic presentation of new charitable program designs and their increased productivity. Maybe one day the presentation of a charity’s annual report will warrant that hype.
Of course, you may critique my vision for the iPhone 5 model of charity annual reports. You may point out the gigantic difference between product design and program design, between technological development and human development. I get it. There is no apples-to-apples comparison here. Contributing to the development of human capacity, health care provision, equality, and justice looks radically different than developing the new iPad, iPhone, or (hoped for) iTV.
However, I won’t give up. I want the International Justice Mission to blow my mind with an annual “reveal” of how they financially crippled the trafficking industry, legislatively forced a rise in perpetrator convictions, and economically incentivized governments and corporations to root out slave labor in the supply chain. I still dream of an invite that causes me to cancel everything else because Endeavor is going to show me how entrepreneurs in the developing world leveraged $3 billion of business growth to reverse unemployment percentages, health care shortages, and the number of families who can’t afford to educate their children. I want to waste time guessing about program design breakthroughs and saving my Benjamins in case the presentation of One Acre Fund’s annual report captivates my imagination and warrants another big investment. I want charity program designers, implementers, and partners to give me the feeling I get when Apple executives introduce each new upgrade and function to the latest iPhone.
I believe a few select organizations could live up to my iPhone 5 model for charity annual reports. A groundswell of expectation could be cultivated. News outlets could swarm to the most positive stories of human development in the world. The 44 percent of donors who said they could have afforded to give more last year but didn’t have enough confidence in charitable results could be inspired. In the meantime, here at Excellence in Giving we have created clear, concise Grant Impact Reports to inspire our philanthropic clients. But I’m still waiting for a mysterious invite. I’m waiting to attend a select event for funders that everyone can’t stop talking about. I’m waiting for the iPhone 5 model for charity annual reports.
Paul Penley is director of research at the philanthropic advisory firm Excellence in Givingand the creator of the online charity evaluator Intelligent Philanthropy.
