How Do You Measure Impact When Your Work Is Hard To Quantify?

Maybe your nonprofit is changing narratives, building community, creating art, shaping policy, or offering deep emotional support.

You are not counting meals or beds. You are trying to describe things like:

• Belonging
• Confidence
• Civic engagement
• Policy wins that took 7 years
• A community that simply feels different than it did before

And donors still ask the same question:

“What is your impact?”

The good news: “hard to quantify” does not mean “impossible to measure”.

We will walk through a simple way to measure and share impact for work that is relational, artistic, or systems focused.

Why does measuring hard-to-quantify impact matter to donors and your team?

Let’s start with the “why.”

Researchers who study nonprofit evaluation are clear: even with limited capacity, thoughtful measurement can sharpen your strategy and improve your programs.

The same thing is true in advocacy, arts, and systems change work. Guides on advocacy and policy evaluation talk about tracking interim outcomes, not just big wins, so you can show credible progress along the way. In arts and culture, practitioners talk about weaving together facts, figures, and stories because you cannot fully capture meaning with one metric.  

For your donors and board, measurement does three big things:

• Builds trust. Donors want to know their gift did something real, even if that “something” is a mindset shift or a community connection. We talk more about this in Show Donors the Impact (Without a 20-Page Report).  ‍
• Sharpens focus. When you define a few key outcomes, you can stop chasing every “good idea” and invest in what drives those outcomes.‍
• Eases your mental load. Once you know what you are tracking, you can stop reinventing metrics. A short, consistent list of indicators makes reporting much less painful. Tools like DonorDock are built for this with simple dashboards and reporting.  

So yes, measuring hard-to-quantify impact is worth doing. The trick is doing it in a way that matches your capacity.

What does “impact” look like for things you cannot easily count?

Before we talk about metrics, we need to name what you are actually trying to change.

Most “hard to quantify” missions fall into one or more of these buckets:

• Individual shifts
  • Confidence, hope, skills, sense of belonging
  • Example: participants in your arts program report feeling more confident expressing themselves
• Community shifts
  • Connection, civic participation, collaboration, trust
  • Example: a neighborhood network becomes more active and resilient
• Systems shifts
  • Policies, institutional practices, norms, resource flows
  • Example: your coalition helps influence a new local policy or changes how agencies coordinate

Researchers who study systemic change talk about using a blend of quantitative and qualitative metrics to paint a fuller picture, such as policy adoption, implementation quality, behavior change, and network strength.  

In arts and culture, impact frameworks often focus on multiple dimensions such as emotional response, community identity, and long term wellbeing, instead of just ticket sales.  

So how do you translate that into something your team can track?

A simple way is to think in three layers:

1. Outputs: What did you do?

These are activity counts that are easy to log in your CRM:

• Number of workshops, performances, trainings, or meetings
• Number of participants, volunteers, or coalition partners involved
• Hours of programming delivered or coaching provided

Our article on 5 Fundraising Metrics Every Small Team Should Track encourages “meaningful touches” over vanity numbers. You can use the same idea for programs. Count the engagements that build real connection or progress, not just raw attendance.  

2. Outcomes: What changed for people or communities?

This is where things feel “squishy,” but you can still define and measure change in plain language:

• People feel more confident contacting their legislator
• Young people in your arts program feel more connected to their culture
• Residents are more likely to show up to community meetings
• Volunteers report greater understanding of the issue

You can check these outcomes with:

• Short pre and post questions
• Simple rating scales
• Follow up surveys a few months later

Even basic questions like “How confident do you feel doing X?” rated from 1 to 5 can show real movement over time.

3. Signals of systems change: What shifted at a higher level?

For advocacy and systems work, the “big win” might not happen in a single year. Frameworks for advocacy evaluation recommend looking at interim outcomes such as changes in media coverage, coalition strength, or policymaker engagement as legitimate signs of progress.  

Examples:

• A new cross-sector task force is created
• Your issue appears regularly in local media with more accurate framing
• A proposed policy passes a key committee vote
• A partner adds your recommended practice to their official guidelines

You do not have to track everything. Choose a small number of signals that match your strategy and story.

How can small teams measure hard-to-quantify impact without drowning in data?

Let’s build a practical, small-team friendly rhythm.

We will use a 5 step playbook.

Step 1: Finish one sentence

Start with this fill-in-the-blank:

“Because of our work, people and communities are more __________.”

You might end up with:

• More connected
• More confident and capable
• More aware and engaged on this issue
• More able to influence decisions that affect them

Write down 3 core outcomes. These become your north star.

Step 2: Choose 1 or 2 indicators for each outcome

Now ask: “What would we see if this were true?”

Examples:

• Outcome: People are more connected and less isolated.
  • Indicator: % of participants who say they feel less alone
  • Indicator: % who report having at least one new relationship they can lean on
• Outcome: Community members are more engaged in civic life.
  • Indicator: Number of participants who attend a public meeting, contact a representative, or join a committee
  • Indicator: % who say they feel more confident speaking up in public
• Outcome: Our coalition is influencing policy or institutional practice.
  • Indicator: Number of policies introduced, amended, or passed that include your priorities
  • Indicator: Number of agencies or partners that adopt your recommended practice

You can store these as custom fields or tags inside your CRM so responses are attached to real contacts, not just a spreadsheet. That makes it easier to connect impact with donor segments later.  

Step 3: Use one super simple survey repeatedly

Resist the temptation to create a new survey for every program.

Instead, pick one core survey for each audience and use it over and over:

• 3 to 5 questions
• Mostly multiple choice or rating scales
• 1 open ended question like “What has changed for you because of this work?”

For example:

1. “I feel connected to others who care about this issue.” (1 to 5 scale)
2. “I feel confident taking action on this issue.” (1 to 5 scale)
3. “Because of this program, I am more likely to do one of the following in the next 3 months…” (choose from a short list)
4. “Is there anything you want to share about how this work has affected you or your community?”

Trigger this survey:

• After an event or cohort ends
• At a regular interval for ongoing programs
• Via automated emails in your CRM so your team does not have to remember every send

DonorDock’s automation tools and Smart Nudges can help you send these at the right moments and remind you when responses are coming in, which keeps the habit alive without adding more to your brain’s to do list.  

Step 4: Build a story collection habit

Hard-to-quantify impact lives in stories and small moments.

Social proof research in the nonprofit world shows that testimonials, partner endorsements, and real voices significantly boost credibility and donor trust.  

So, once a week, ask:

• What did someone say that made me think, “This is why we do this”?
• Did a partner, participant, or policymaker name a change we helped make possible?

Capture:

• Short quotes (with permission)
• Screenshots of texts, emails, or comments
• Quick notes from debriefs with staff or volunteers

Tag these in your CRM as “impact story,” “policy win,” or “participant quote,” and associate them with the relevant program and contacts. Next time you write an email, grant, or appeal, you will not be staring at a blank screen.  

Step 5: Review together every quarter

Impact measurement should not be a once-a-year panic.

Once a quarter, gather your small team or board committee for 60 minutes and look at:

• Key activity numbers
• Short survey trends
• A handful of standout stories
• One or two systems change signals

This is where you ask:

• What seems to be working?
• What surprised us?
• Where are we not seeing the change we hoped for?

This quarterly rhythm ties directly into smarter fundraising. When you know what is working, you can confidently link your annual fund and strategic plan and build campaigns around outcomes that resonate, instead of guessing.  

How do you turn “soft” data into donor-ready impact stories?

Now you have ingredients:

• Outputs
• Outcome indicators
• Stories and quotes
• A sense of bigger shifts

How do you share that with donors in a way that is clear, compelling, and repeatable?

Here is a simple format you can reuse in emails, one pagers, and meetings.

The 3–2–1 snapshot for hard-to-quantify impact

For any timeframe or program:

1. Three numbers
   • “In the last year, 186 residents took part in our community design sessions.”
   • “79% tell us they feel more confident speaking up in public meetings.”
   • “Four city departments have adopted parts of the community’s plan.”
2. Two short quotes
3. “I never saw myself as someone who could speak at city hall. Now I bring neighbors with me.”
4. “This mural makes our block feel like home again.”
5. One clear donor connection
   • “Your gift helped neighbors shape decisions that affect their daily lives.”
   • “Because of you, artists and residents are rebuilding a sense of pride and belonging in our downtown.”

This format blends data and story, which is exactly what donors say they want when they talk about “seeing the impact of their gift.”  

You can then:

• Segment donors by what they care about most and send them impact snapshots that match
• Use automations so first-time donors get a small impact story quickly instead of waiting for an annual report
• Track which impact stories correlate with higher retention or larger second gifts

All of that is easier when your donor data, program notes, and impact stories live in one place, not in disconnected spreadsheets and inboxes.

Where should you start this quarter?

If this feels like a lot, here is a place to start:

1. Name three outcomes. Finish the “Because of our work…” sentence.
2. Pick one indicator per outcome. Keep it simple and realistic.
3. Create one 3–5 question survey. Use it consistently.
4. Start an “impact stories” tag in your CRM. Add one story per week.
5. Send one 3–2–1 snapshot to donors. Do not wait for perfect.

That is it.

From there, you can layer in more nuance: systems change signals, more sophisticated segmentation, or new reports.

If you are tired of juggling spreadsheets, or a cumbersome CRM, and you want a single place to track donors, outcomes, and stories, DonorDock was built for you.

It is an easy-to-use nonprofit CRM built for growing nonprofits who want more focus and less frenzy. It helps you cut through the noise, ease your mental load, and stay on top of meaningful relationships, not just numbers.

Start building meaningful donor relationships today. Schedule a DonorDock demo and see how you can measure “hard to quantify” impact in a way that feels honest, doable, and donor ready.