Impact Report Generator Guide: Spark Template

Step 1: Get Started

This template is designed especially for solopreneurs and product-focused businesses. A quick piece of advice — try not to overwrite; this will allow your key messages to get through to the reader (and help ensure that your entire report is read). So where we’ve given recommended word and character counts, try to stick with them. It takes more work editing, but we promise you — it’s worth it!

Pro Tips:

Try to fill out Steps 1-6 as best you can before proceeding to the final preview. Previewing the report early in the report creation process (without much or any content) has a higher likelihood of errors or crashes in this beta version, which we’re improving knowing it's helpful to review as you go. If you run into any "crashes" or errors, please let us know at support@unitofimpact.com and take note of any error messages (if possible) or the step you were attempting to edit. This info can be helpful for our support team to quickly resolve any issues.
Images: Uploading multiple images within a step can take a bit longer to finish. Try one at a time and resize to a decent file size (somewhere under 2MB is a good goal).
Example of a completed impact report: https://unitofimpact.com/narrativefood/impact-reports/2023-impact-report/

Brand

Logo

Your logo will appear on a white background, so be sure to upload a version that will look good on white!

Recommended Image Size: Minimum 600px by 300px

Primary Color

This color will be used for headlines, links, behind the "company impact" section, and the footer of your report. It's best to use a darker, more saturated color for readability.

Secondary Color

This color will be used as highlights and behind the "by the numbers" section on your report. Lighter colors work well for secondary colors.

Step 2: Company Impact

Background Image

You'll have the opportunity to add this in Step 7: Preview & Review!

Global Statement About Annual Impact (Headline)

Be concise — for best results, try to use 8-12 words, or a maximum of 60 characters. Lead with a bold theme that highlights your impact. This is also your impact report’s H1 header, which means that it optimizes user experience by making it easier for search engines to accurately index your website. So be sure to include keywords that are relevant to your site content.

Example: "This year our team rallied to create record impact"

Purpose/Mission Statement

Your purpose (or mission) statement guides everything — including this impact report.

This will read best when it is displays across no more than two lines — that means it should (hopefully!) be limited to 18-24 words, or a maximum of 250 characters.

Example: "Our purpose at ACME CORP is to use the power of our business to create wellness in our community."

Elevator Pitch

Your elevator pitch displays a little smaller than the purpose/mission statement, which means it can be a little longer. Keep it around 50-60 words, or a maximum of 500 characters.

Values

Add each of your company's values on its own line.

Public Benefit We Provide

Briefly describe the impact your company makes in the world. Keep it around 50-60 words, or a maximum of 500 characters.

Here’s your opportunity to reinforce the specific public benefit or impact you are creating. You can use this area to present the impact business model or framework that guides your work. Examples of business models are Mission Driven, Buy One, Give One, Certified B Corps, and Co-ops, as well as others. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are an example of an impact framework.

Example: "We are driven by our mission to advocate for gender equality and catalyze climate action in our community."

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Select only the goals that truly apply to your organization. Remember: Focus is a powerful tool and less is more.

Keep in mind that 4 SDG blocks display across one line. If you select more than four blocks, your SDGs will extend to a second line.

Here are a few resources that may help:

The SDG Compass is a guide developed specially to educate businesses about the way they can participate in the SDGs.
Read our blog post about how the SDGs benefit the measurement and reporting of business impact

Step 3: Letter to Stakeholders

Letter Opening

Keep this short and sweet — we recommend a maximum of 40 characters.

Example: "To our valued stakeholders,"

Letter Content

This letter is designed to be succinct. For visual design, it ideally should contain no more than 2-3 paragraphs.

Signatory Name

This name will appear beneath the signature.

Signature

If you want the signature to display in color, please colorize it before uploading. Also, make sure the signature is not tilted or rotated so that it will display neatly. Transparent PNG file works best; a JPG file with a white background works, too!

Pro Tip: Don’t skip this step. It makes a big difference to have a signature as it does that personal touch.

Recommended Image Size: 400px by 150px
Format: Transparent PNG

Image to Accompany Letter

A headshot of the person who wrote the letter works best here. Could also be a group photo.

Recommended Image Size: Minimum 540 px by 540 px
Format: A square orientation works best for the image here.

Step 4: Annual Highlights

Let your numbers do the talking. Add up to 4 stats about any of your impacts. You get to decide what data to showcase in this section. It’s 100% flexible, so you can feature the data points that matter most to your organization.

Keep the numbers themselves under 6 characters. Abbreviate large numbers like 1,000 to 1K and 1,000,000 to 1M.

The captions should be between 3-8 words, or a maximum of 60 characters.

Step 5: Stories of Impact

Whether your brand personality is modest or bold, here’s your opportunity to share your stories of specific impact. Humans identify with the narrative storytelling form, and this story is what will make your stakeholders remember you. It goes beyond the numbers and allows you to convey the context and emotion of the change you’re working to make. Plus, it’s a good way to knit in other organizations that help you create a halo effect for your brand and amplify storytelling through their networks.

Keep each individual story short and sweet, and focus on one key message.

There are 2 different layout options for stories: text & image or quotes.

Impact Areas

Which impact areas do you want to include on your impact report? Community, Environment, People, Partnerships?

Text & Image

Heading

Your headline works best when it is between 6-12 words or 50-100 characters.

Text

The body copy for your story should run from 75-100 words or a maximum of 500 characters.

Featured Image

Pro tip: Keeping all your images in the Impact Stories section exactly the same size really helps the design look sharp. The suggested orientation throughout this section is either square or rectangle, sized to match from story to story.

Recommended Image Size: Minimum 768px wide for high-resolution display.
Format: Horizontal rectangular images work best. If you have a longer story, a square or vertical image may work nicely as it will fit the space best. You’ll just need to play around with the design and preview it to see.

Quote

Quote Text

The body copy for your quote should run from 30-50 words or a maximum of 300 characters.

If you choose not to upload a featured image for the quote, the quote will display the full width of the row and a longer quote may work well.

Featured Image (Optional)

Recommended Image Size: Minimum 768px wide for high-resolution display.
Format: Rectangular or square images work best. If you have a longer quote, a vertical image may work nicely as it will fit the space best. You’ll just need to play around with the design and preview it to see.

Step 6: Goals & Footer

Goals Headline

Keep this short and sweet — we recommend a maximum of 40 characters.

Goals Text

Give your stakeholders a roadmap with your goals and objectives for the upcoming year and the future.

There is a lot of flexibility in how you structure your goals for the next year. Feel free to create a numbered or bulleted list of specific goals. You can also write a short paragraph about one key initiative or program your company will be focusing on achieving.

Goals Image

Recommended Image Size: A horizontal orientation works best for this image. It should be 768px wide for high-resolution display.
Format: A horizontal, rectangular image works best here. Ideally, it’s a full-color image and does not have a white background.

Public Benefits And Disclosures

Check out our guide for state-by-state requirements for annual benefit report content.

Certifications

You can manage the logos that appear in this section by going to Impacts > Governance in your Unit of Impact account. Pay extra attention to the year tab selected and make sure it matches the report year.

Footer Logo

You'll be able to change this on the next step, Preview & Review!

Note: Be sure this logo is visible on your report color choice.

Footer Button

Pro tip: Use this button to direct people to sign up for your newsletter or otherwise get involved.

Text

Make it clear what happens when someone clicks this button. (i.e. "Sign up for our newsletter")

Social Media

Add links to your company's social media pages.

Step 7: Preview & Review

Take a look at the impact report you've created and make changes using the edit buttons.

Specific areas of note are highlighted below:

Impact Section

By default, this section's background color will be the primary brand color you selected in Step 1: Get Started. Click the edit button to optionally upload a background image.

Since there will text overlaid over this image, it works best not to have faces or people in the background as they hamper readability. It’s also good to avoid photos with text or writing in the background for the same reason.

Images with textures, street scenes, and products work best.

When in doubt or lacking images, a solid color or abstract background will work well, too.

Recommended Image Size:72 dpi; 1500px wide by 600px.
Format: A horizontal orientation works best for this image. Keep in mind, the photo is centered inside the dedicated image area, so crop your photo first before uploading, if it’s important to show a specific section of the photo.