About Course
Impact Reporting – CPD Accredited
July 2026 Edition
A comprehensive, UK-focused training course helping charities and voluntary organisations measure, evidence and communicate their difference in the world, grounded in charity law, Charity Commission guidance and sector best practice.
Who Is This Course For?
This course has been designed for anyone responsible for measuring, reporting on or communicating the impact of a UK charity or voluntary organisation’s work. Whether you are a:
- Trustee with legal responsibility for the Trustees’ Annual Report and public benefit reporting
- Chief Executive or senior manager responsible for demonstrating impact to funders and commissioners
- Fundraiser who needs compelling impact evidence to underpin grant applications
- Monitoring and evaluation lead or project coordinator collecting and analysing evidence
- Volunteer or new entrant wanting to understand what impact reporting involves and why it matters
- Finance lead wanting to understand the reporting obligations that accompany the numbers
This course will give you the knowledge, frameworks and legal grounding to build an impact reporting practice that satisfies funders, meets your legal obligations and genuinely improves your organisation’s effectiveness.
Course Overview
6 modules · Average 3 to 4 hours to complete · Work at your own pace
Impact Reporting Foundations
What does impact actually mean, and why does getting it right matter? This module establishes the foundational concepts every charity needs to understand: the precise difference between inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes and impact, why the Charity Commission and funders increasingly care about the distinction, and the most common mistakes charities make when they conflate activities with change. You will also explore the UK sector context for impact measurement and the Code of Good Impact Practice.
The Legal & Regulatory Framework
Impact reporting for registered charities in England and Wales is not just good practice, much of it is a legal requirement. This module covers the Charities Act 2011 reporting obligations in full, what the Charity Commission’s CC15d guidance requires in a Trustees’ Annual Report, the Charities SORP and how it links to public benefit reporting, and how UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 affect how you collect and use impact data involving beneficiaries.
Measuring Your Impact
How do you actually measure the change your work creates? This module covers the practical frameworks and methodologies used in UK charity impact measurement, from logic models and theories of change to Social Return on Investment (SROI), contribution analysis and attribution. You will learn how to choose the right approach for your organisation’s size and capacity, how to set meaningful outcome indicators, and how to use tools including validated outcomes frameworks.
Collecting & Managing Evidence
Impact measurement is only as strong as the evidence behind it. This module covers the range of data collection methods available to charities, surveys, interviews, focus groups, case studies, administrative data and validated tools, and how to choose between them. You will learn how to design a simple monitoring framework, how to collect beneficiary data in compliance with UK GDPR, and how to manage your evidence base so it is credible, auditable and ready to use in applications and reports.
Communicating Your Impact
Measuring your impact is only half the job. Communicating it to funders, commissioners, trustees and the public is where it creates value. This module covers how to write compelling impact narratives that combine data and human story, how to present your evidence in annual reports, grant applications and funder reports, and what the Code of Fundraising Practice and UK GDPR require in terms of honest, dignified and consented beneficiary representation. Worked examples are included.
Building a Culture of Impact
Sustainable impact measurement is not a report written at year end, it is a habit embedded across your whole organisation. This module shows you how to build a culture of evidence in your charity: how to engage trustees, staff and volunteers in the importance of M&E, how to build data collection into your day-to-day practice, how to use impact evidence to improve your services and make better strategic decisions, and how to communicate your learning externally in a way that builds funder confidence and public trust.
What You Will Learn
On completion of all modules, you will be able to:
- ✓ Precisely distinguish between inputs, outputs, outcomes and impact, and explain why it matters for funding
- ✓ Understand your legal reporting obligations under the Charities Act 2011, CC15d and the Charities SORP
- ✓ Apply appropriate impact measurement frameworks including logic models, SROI and contribution analysis
- ✓ Design a monitoring and evidence collection system that is proportionate, compliant and practically useful
- ✓ Write compelling impact narratives that combine data and human story for grant applications and funder reports
- ✓ Comply with UK GDPR when collecting, managing and using beneficiary data as impact evidence
- ✓ Build a culture of evidence in your organisation that improves services and builds long-term funder confidence
Benefits for You and Your Organisation
✓ Win More Funding
Applications backed by compelling, well-evidenced impact statements consistently outperform those that describe activities alone. This course teaches you how to build the evidence that wins grants.
✓ Meet Your Legal Obligations
Understand your duties under the Charities Act 2011, the Charities SORP and Charity Commission guidance, and produce a Trustees’ Annual Report that meets regulatory expectations.
✓ Improve Your Services
Good impact measurement tells you what is working and what is not. This course shows you how to use your evidence base to make better decisions and improve outcomes for your beneficiaries.
✓ Build Public & Funder Trust
Transparent, evidence-based impact reporting signals credibility and accountability. It tells funders, trustees and the public that your organisation achieves what it says it will.
✓ A Resource You Will Keep Using
Download and save the course for future reference. Return to it whenever you are building a monitoring framework, writing an impact report or preparing a grant application.
✓ Recognised Achievement
Complete all six modules and receive a personalised, printable CPD-accredited certificate of completion to support your continuing professional development.
– Amie Elliott, GeckoFundraising Ltd
How It Works
Complete your purchase using our secure online card payment. Access to the full course is granted immediately upon payment being received, no waiting, no delay.
Work through the modules online at any time, at your own pace. Your progress is saved automatically in your browser, so you can dip in and out across multiple sessions to fit around your work. Please complete the course on the same device and browser throughout, as your progress is stored locally and will not transfer between devices.
Once complete, save the course as a PDF to keep on your desktop. Return to it whenever you need it, a practical reference resource you will use again and again.
Complete all modules and generate your personalised, printable CPD-accredited certificate of completion instantly, at no extra cost, a record of your professional development to share with trustees, employers or commissioners.
Course Investment
One-off payment including VAT · No subscription · Instant access on payment
- Complete online at your own pace, 3 to 4 hours on average
- Full course available to download and save for future reference
- Links to authoritative UK legislation and official guidance throughout
- Personalised, printable CPD-accredited certificate of completion on finishing all modules
- Course content covers the legal framework for charities in England and Wales · Also available in course bundles and the Full Catalogue (£649 including VAT)
Access to the course content is granted immediately upon receipt of your completed online card payment. You will be able to start learning straight away.
Important: complete this course on one device
Your progress, knowledge-check answers and certificate details are saved locally in the browser you use to open the course. They are not stored on our server and will not transfer to another device, or to a different browser on the same device. Please start and finish the course using the same device and browser. Clearing your browser history or site data, or using a private or incognito window, will also erase your progress. Your downloadable copy of the course is unaffected and can be opened anywhere.
Course Content
Impact Reporting
Impact Reporting