What Are The Report Sections?

The following walks you through each section of the report builder. To also view and edit a document in advance of entering information into the platform, you can make a copy and edit this google doc version.

Report Builder Sections

Section 1: Description

Write a brief overview of your program. Describe it as though you are explaining it to someone who has never heard of it and include who it serves, what it does, and what it is trying to achieve.

Section 2: Date Range

Select the start and end dates of the program period you are reporting on. This should be a period that has already concluded.

Not sure which time period to use? See What time period should my report cover?

Section 3: Location

Search for and add the location or locations where your program operates. You can enter an address, city, state, or country.

For each location, enter the percentage of services delivered there. All locations combined must add up to 100%.

Section 4: Activities

Select the service delivery type that best describes how your program works. You can only select one service type, so choose the option that best represents the majority of your programming. If your work includes two distinct approaches that serve different groups or have different theories of change, consider creating a separate report for each.

Direct Service: You work directly with the people your program serves
Capacity Development: You build the skills or capacity of others who then serve end beneficiaries
Policy and Advocacy: You work to change systems or policies that affect the people you serve

After selecting a service type, you will answer a few follow-up questions about how frequently participants engage with your program and for how long.

Section 5: Impact Model Builder

This is where you build the structure of your impact model, which is the framework that connects your program's activities to the outcomes you create.

Step 1: Select a cause category and impact model template. Choose the category that best fits your program's focus area. Then select the template that most closely matches your work. These are broad starting points and you will tailor it to your program in the next steps.

Step 2: Choose your end beneficiaries. Select who ultimately benefits from your program. Your end beneficiary is the person whose life ultimately improves as a result of your program and not necessarily the person you work with directly. If you train or support someone who then goes on to serve others, the people they serve are your end beneficiaries.

Step 3: Build your model stages and indicators. Decide which stages to include (Program Development, Reach, Learn, Act, Succeed) and which indicators to add at each stage. You do not need to include every stage. Reach and Succeed are required whereas Learn, Act, and Program Development are optional.

Each indicator is selected from True Impact's standard library and you cannot create custom indicators. This standardization is what allows your outcomes to be compared across similar programs.

Please also note: Reach, Learn, and Act always follow the same beneficiary group. Succeed may shift to a different group if you are using an intermediary model. If it is a direct service model, all four stages follow the same beneficiary group.

For a full explanation of the five stages, see What is the Impact Model that True Impact uses?

Step 4: Define each indicator. For each indicator you selected, write your own description of what success looks like for your program.

Important: Once you move on from the Impact Model Builder, you cannot come back to it. All future edits to your model structure must be made in the Impact Model Details section (Section 6).

Section 6: Impact Model Details

Now that your model is built, you will fill in the details for each indicator.

For each indicator you will:

Enter your results: the number of people who will (forecast) or did (final result) experience this outcome
Select your measurement type: Direct Measurement, Evidence-Based Estimate, or Guess
Describe how you measured or estimated the outcome

The final screen shows your complete model with all details. Review everything here before moving on. In this section you can: add or remove indicators from the standard library, update your success criteria definitions, update your measurement type, and update your results.

Not sure which measurement type to choose? See Measurement Types: Guess, Estimate, or Direct Measurement?

Section 7: Beneficiaries

Share information about the people your program ultimately serves. Select the demographic categories that best describe your end beneficiaries and enter the percentage for each category.

If you do not track demographic data, it is fine to estimate using census data for the area or population your program serves.

Section 8: Narratives (final reports only)

Success story: Share a brief story that illustrates your program's impact. Include a title, a description, and a photo. This is your chance to pair a human story with the data in your report.

Lessons learned: Select one or more categories (Planning, Training, Implementation, Measurement and Reporting) and share what you learned during the program period such as what worked, what did not, and what you would do differently.

Section 9: Budget

Enter the total costs for the program you are reporting on, for the reporting period covered by your report. Your budget should reflect this specific program and not your full organization budget (unless it's a full-organizational report).

There are three cost fields:

Direct costs: Staff, materials, supplies, travel, and other costs directly tied to running this program
Overhead costs: Your organization's indirect costs (administration, rent, utilities, etc.) allocated to this program
In-kind donations: The estimated value of goods or services donated to support this program that you would otherwise have had to pay for

Add any helpful context in the notes field, for example, if your costs look unusual compared to similar programs, a brief explanation helps reviewers understand your numbers.

Submit Your Report

Use the View/Download my report draft button to download the report draft. This will allow you to keep a copy for your records.

Once you are satisfied with your report, click on the Submit button.