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LAST WEEK’S POLL RESULTS
“When you write impact stories, how do you talk about problems that aren't solved yet?”
In last week’s newsletter, I asked how you tell stories about problems that haven't been resolved yet.
We focus on what worked and leave out what didn't: 25%
We tell the full truth, including what's still broken: 25%
We avoid telling stories unless we have a clear success to show: 25%
We haven't thought about this before: 25%
What this tells us: A perfect four-way split. No two respondents handle this the same way. Which means most of you are making it up as you go, and that is completely normal. There is no sector-wide playbook for this. But if there is no shared approach to telling honest stories about unsolved problems, there is almost certainly no shared approach to the even harder question this edition tackles: how to make your impact data feel like something.
In this edition
Every week, I set aside time to speak with charity and impact leaders who want to think through their impact storytelling.
No pitch. Just a useful conversation.
Book a free 15-minute session with me
WEEKLY POLL
How does your organisation currently present impact data?
Poll results will be shared in next week's edition.
THIS WEEK’S BIG IDEA
The number nobody remembers
You have the data. I know you do.
The 87% completion rate. The 340 people supported. The 92% satisfaction score. The 14% increase in referrals year on year.
These numbers are real. They are in your annual report, your grant applications, your board papers. They prove your work matters.
And nobody remembers them.
Not the board. Not the funders. Not the public. Not even your own team, most of the time.
This is the problem I see again and again when I work with charities and social impact organisations. They have the evidence. They have done the hard work of collecting it. But somewhere between the spreadsheet and the funding bid, the numbers lose their weight.
Why this happens
Most organisations treat data and storytelling as two separate jobs.
The impact team produces the numbers. The comms team writes the stories. Neither knows how to do the other's work. So the annual report has a moving case study on page 4 and a table of outcomes on page 12, and they never meet.
The result is impact data that is credible but forgettable, and stories that are emotional but unsupported. Funders get one or the other. Rarely both in the same breath.
And that gap is where trust falls through.
Because a funder who reads your case study but sees no data thinks: "That's a lovely story, but is it typical?"
And a funder who reads your outcomes table but sees no person behind the numbers thinks: "Impressive numbers. But what does this actually look like?"
You need both. Not in separate sections. In the same sentence.
The real cost
I have spent 25 years working at the intersection of storytelling and social impact. Photography, charity, campaigns that have reached millions of people. And the pattern I see most often is not that organisations lack impact. It is that they bury their best evidence inside formats nobody reads.
A number on its own is a claim. A number with a person inside it is proof.
The 87% completion rate is a claim. It sits on the page and asks to be believed. But the moment you show me one person who completed, and what changed for them, and what would have happened if they had not, the 87% stops being a statistic. It becomes a population. I can see the other 86% because I have met one of them.
That is the shift. Not from data to stories. From data that sits there to data that lands.
Where it goes wrong
Three things I see organisations do with their impact data that guarantee it will be forgotten:
They lead with the aggregate. "Last year we supported 4,200 people." Fine. But 4,200 is a number I cannot picture. It is too big to feel. Start with one. Then zoom out.
They separate the human from the evidence. The case study lives in one section. The data lives in another. The reader has to do the work of connecting them. They will not do that work.
They treat every number as equally important. Your impact report might have 30 data points. A funder will remember one. Maybe two. If you do not choose which one, they will choose for you. And they might choose the wrong one.
A better way
The fix is not to write longer reports or hire a data visualisation specialist. It is to change how you think about one number at a time.
I call this the One Number Method. It is three steps. You can use it on a grant application, an annual report, a board paper, a social media post, or a conversation with a funder over coffee.
The full framework is below. But the core idea is this: start with one data point. Find the one person inside it. Then show what is at stake if the number moves.
Every other number in your report is context. This one is the story.
Framework: The One Number Method
This is a repeatable 3-step process for turning any single impact data point into something people feel and remember.
Step 1: Pick the number
Choose one data point from your impact data. Not your most impressive number. Your most human one.
Ask: which number, if I explained it to someone at a dinner party, would make them put their fork down?
Rules:
One number only. Not three. Not a comparison. One.
It should represent a change, a gap, or a threshold - not just a volume.
Avoid percentages where possible. Real numbers are easier to picture. "43 women" is more powerful than "87%."
Step 2: Find the person
Identify one real person this number represents. Not a composite. Not a hypothetical. One person whose experience you have permission to reference.
Ask: who is one individual inside this number, and what was true for them before, during, and after?
Rules:
You do not need a full case study. You need one moment, one detail, one sentence about what changed for this person.
If you cannot name a person (for safeguarding or consent reasons), describe the situation specifically enough that the reader sees a human being, not a category.
The person does not need a dramatic story. They need a real one.
Step 3: Show the movement
Answer two questions: what happens if this number goes up? What happens if it goes down?
This is where data becomes stakes. The number is not just a result. It is a direction. Show the funder or reader what is on the line.
Rules:
Be specific about consequences. "More people will be helped" is too vague. "12 more young people will complete the programme this year, each one with a named mentor and a transition plan" is evidence.
Include what happens if support is withdrawn. This is not emotional manipulation. It is the truth about what your data means.
The shift: You have gone from a number on a page to a person in a situation with something at stake. That is what funders remember. That is what boards act on.
Template: The unsolved story brief
Complete this for one data point before your next funding bid, annual report, or board paper.
The number: [Write one data point. e.g. "43 women completed the recovery programme this year."]
Why this number, not another one: [What makes this the most human, most important, or most revealing number in your data set?]
The person inside the number: [Describe one real individual this number represents. One sentence about what was true for them before. One sentence about what changed. Use only details you have consent to share.]
What happens if the number goes up: [Be specific. What does a 10% increase actually look like in practice? Who benefits? How?]
What happens if the number goes down: [Be honest. What does a drop mean for real people? What gets lost?]
The one sentence version: [Try this format: "[Number] people [experienced this change] this year. [Name or description of one person] was one of them. [One sentence about what changed for them]. [One sentence about what is at stake.]"]
Where this will be used: [Grant application / annual report / board paper / social media / funder meeting / other]
AI Prompt: The story ownership review
How to use this AI prompt:
Copy and paste the text below into your preferred AI tool (I recommend either Claude or Google Gemini)
Replace the text in [placeholders] with your content
Download my free Social Impact Storytelling Framework ( ogston.com/framework), then upload it alongside this prompt. It will give the AI the context it needs to give you a genuinely useful response.
AI PROMPT (copy in full):
I work for a charity or social impact organisation. I need help finding the stories hiding inside my impact data — for funding bids, annual reports, and board papers.
Context:
Organisation: [NAME]
Reporting period: [e.g. April 2024 – March 2025]
Programme(s) covered: [one or multiple — if multiple, label which numbers belong to which]
Total cohort size: [number — flag if under 50]
Audience: [e.g. trust funder, corporate partner, commissioner, board, public]
Data:
[PASTE YOUR KEY NUMBERS. Keep to one page. Include a one-sentence description of what each number measures. Quantitative data only — I can help with qualitative data separately.]
What I need (present as a numbered list, no preamble, no summary):
Gaps in the data. What is missing that would help you do a better job? List it, then proceed with what you have. Flag if no prior-year comparisons are available.
Red flags. Any numbers that contradict each other, seem implausible, or that a sceptical funder would challenge? Flag them and say what evidence I would need to defend each one.
Top three numbers most likely to make a reader stop. Prioritise change, gaps, and thresholds over volume. Explain each choice. If a fourth narrowly missed, give it one line as an honourable mention.
Story starter for each. For each of your top three, give me:
Who might be "inside" this number
One question to ask my team to find a real example (and who to ask — e.g. programme manager, frontline worker, M&E lead)
A fill-in-the-blank template: "[Number] people [experienced what]. [Name] was one of them. [What changed]. [What is at stake.]"
Flip the numbers. Flag any figures where the inverse raises a question (e.g. 92% satisfied = 8% what exactly?). Write the question I should ask internally — do not interpret it for me.
Percentages → real numbers. Show me any data points that would land harder as real numbers. Present both versions side by side. Flag any where you are unsure of the denominator.
One thing to collect next. What is the single most important data point I am not collecting but should be?
If I only have time for one story, which should it be and why? Tailor to my stated audience.
Rules:
- UK British English throughout.
- Do not invent people, quotes, or details.
- If you need more context, ask before proceeding. Do not guess.
- Handle sensitive data with care. Do not dramatise.
- Be direct, not encouraging.
How did you get on with using this AI prompt? I'd love to hear from you. Just hit reply if you have any questions.
The Story Capture System - free Notion template
Most charity teams lose their best stories before they ever get told. A conversation with a beneficiary. A moment from a site visit. A quote that came up in a trustee meeting. None of it captured, none of it usable.
I've created this free Notion template to give you a simple system for capturing impact stories the moment they happen and tracking them through to publication.
Music I actually listen to while I work
Most of my best thinking happens with headphones on. These are the two Spotify playlists I have built and return to regularly - binaural beats and vocal-free tracks chosen to help you get into deep focus and stay there.
87 tracks - Deep Focus Music for Changemakers
The full playlist I listen to most days. Binaural beats and mostly vocal-free music - headphones on, distractions out.
Subscribe to the playlist
NEW - 13 tracks - Binaural Beats for Creative Impact Work
Calm, creative, vocal-free. Built for the kind of focused work that needs quiet behind it.
Before you go
If you found this newsletter useful, please forward it to a colleague and invite them to subscribe at:
www.impactstoryteller.org
Until next week, sending you safe and peaceful energy
Matt Mahmood-Ogston
Award-winning impact storyteller, photographer and charity CEO.
Portfolio: ogston.com
Work with me
Free: Download the Social Impact Storytelling Framework at ogston.com/framework
Paid: Need 1:1 help, or a few pointers? Let's talk. Book a free 15-minute call
