Sooner or later every donor wants to know what their gift did. An impact report answers that for many donors at once, while a stewardship report is written to 1 donor about 1 fund. Below we sort out the 4 kinds of donor report and go through 8 published impact reports, each with 1 thing worth copying. There is also a stewardship report template you can use for endowed and named funds.
We design the keepsakes that can travel with these reports, as part of our stewardship gifts for giving societies and major donors, so the last sections cover how to send a report and when to pair it with something to keep.
Every donor report answers what the gift did
Offices use the names loosely, so it helps to separate the 4 types, since each one goes to a different reader. Investment managers also publish documents they call stewardship reports, and those are something else entirely. Here we only mean the donor kind.
| Report | Who receives it | What it covers | How often |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual report | Donors, trustees, partners and the public | The whole organization's year: programs, leadership and finances | Once a year |
| Impact report | Donors and supporters | Results, told through stories and a few numbers | Yearly, or at the end of a campaign |
| Stewardship report | 1 donor | How their gift was used and who benefited | Yearly, or at a milestone |
| Endowment report | The donor or family behind 1 fund | The fund's value, gifts added, payout and recipient | Once a year, after the fiscal year closes |
An annual report covers the whole organization
An annual report sets out the whole organization's year, from programs and leadership to governance and finances. Because it is written for every audience at once, it rarely says much to any 1 donor about their own gift.
An impact report covers results
An impact report leads with what changed for the people the gifts served, and it might cover a full year or just 1 campaign. Most of the examples below are impact reports.
A stewardship report covers 1 donor's gift
A stewardship report goes to 1 donor about 1 gift. It says how the gift was used and who benefited, and usually looks ahead to next year as well. Major donors tend to read these closely, because the report is about them.
An endowment report covers 1 fund's value and payout
An endowment report is a stewardship report for an endowed fund. It adds the numbers a fund holder expects: the value at the start and end of the year, gifts added, the payout and the spending policy that sets it.
Strong impact reports share 6 traits
- Thanks come first. Thank the reader in the headline or the opening paragraph, before any number.
- Individual stories carry the report. Choose 1 to 3 people, named and photographed with their written consent, and give each of them real room on the page.
- Outcomes beat outputs. Grant Ready Kentucky shows the difference with rewrites: "300 people attended our job-readiness workshop" is an output, while "82% of participants felt more confident in job interviews" is an outcome. Lead with what changed and give the count after it.
- Numbers are few and pulled out. Choose 3 to 5 figures and set them large. Anything else can go in an appendix.
- Formats are layered. Most readers get a short summary, and those who want detail can open the full report. Some organizations add a video as well.
- Financials are transparent and light. A single chart of where the money went answers most donors' question. The full accounts belong in the annual report.
These impact report examples show each trait
Each example gives who made it, the format and 1 thing to copy. Most come from 2 roundups worth reading in full: Charity Digital's 6 impact reports to inspire you, published in October 2026, and Shorthand's donor impact report examples.
Hospital reports lead with patients
Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity
A high-level impact report, described by Charity Digital as light on copy and strong on visuals, introduces 4 children who received care at the hospital under the strapline "The incredible difference you're making". It sits beside an 18-page highlights report and an annual report of more than 100 pages. What to copy: the thanks in the headline, and each child shown as an individual.
Dementia UK
Charity Digital also highlights a 3-minute video version of the annual report, with animated statistics and a call to action, offered alongside a 28-page impact report and a 98-page annual report. What to copy: the layering, so each reader chooses the depth they want.
University reports lead with students and research
Purdue for Life Foundation
The 2025 impact report from Purdue University's alumni foundation, in Shorthand's words, "does not go overboard with the figures". Statistics and charts sit among photographs of the foundation's members and community. What to copy: keep people as the subject and use the numbers sparingly around them.
The University of Manchester
The same roundup features Manchester's "Your Impact" report, which pairs historic photographs with its text. What to copy: the institution's history as the frame for the donor's place in it.
Endowment and scholarship reports
Few published roundups show the report most university and hospital donors receive each year. The Donor Relations Group's gallery of stewardship and impact report samples includes endowment reports among its examples, and it is the best place to see how other institutions lay out a fund report.
Charity reports lead with 1 clear result
Girls Who Code
Its 2020 annual report, according to Charity Digital, runs to only 15 pages, full of white space, illustrations, animated statistics and videos. What to copy: the confidence to keep it short.
Tree Aid
Charity Digital points to pull-out statistics in every section, bold photography of the farmers Tree Aid works with, and a pared-down online version with an interactive map of impact by country. What to copy: the map, which lets a donor find the place their gift reached.
Nesta
Nesta built a strategy report as a 1-page microsite, with short copy and sections readers can open if they want to go deeper, as Charity Digital notes. What to copy: the main messages up front, with the detail there for anyone who looks for it.
Save the Redwoods League
The 2024-25 annual report, in Shorthand's roundup, uses an interactive map to highlight new areas of forest earmarked for protection and recovery thanks to donor support. What to copy: show the result where it happened.
A stewardship report template keeps each fund report personal
For endowed and named funds, send each donor a report on their fund alone: 2 to 4 pages, printed, with a personal letter. Copy the template below and fill it in for each fund.
The cover letter thanks the donor by name
Dear [donor's preferred name],
Thank you for the [fund name]. This year it [what the fund did, in 1 sentence: supported 3 students in chemistry, funded a nurse educator on the cardiac ward].
[A short paragraph on 1 moment from the year: a student's result, a patient's recovery, a discovery in the lab.]
The pages that follow show the fund's value and payout for the year ending [date], and a letter from [recipient's name] in their own words. I would welcome the chance to tell you more in person.
With gratitude,
[Handwritten signature]
[Name, title]
Have the letter signed by hand by the dean, president or hospital leader the donor knows. A printed signature tells the donor the letter went out in a batch.
The fund page shows value, payout and spending policy
Fund name and purpose: [in the words of the gift agreement]
Established: [year, and by whom]
Value at the start of the fiscal year: [$]
Gifts added this year: [$]
Value at the end of the fiscal year: [$]
Payout this year: [$], used for [purpose]
Spending policy: [1 plain sentence on how the payout is set]
When the payout falls
When markets fall and the payout drops, explain it on this page before the donor has to ask. Say plainly what happened and how the spending policy protects the fund over time, then show what the smaller payout still paid for.
The recipient page carries the story
Introduce the scholar, fellow, patient program or chair holder the fund supports, with a photo and a letter in their own words. Ask for the letter early and give the writer 3 or 4 prompts to work from. You will also need written consent for the photo and the story.
The close looks ahead
End with what the fund will do next year and any invitation you can extend. Then give the name, phone number and email of the person the donor should call. Our donor stewardship guide shows where the report sits among the year's other stewardship moments.
A report lands better with something to keep
In milestone years we suggest sending the report with a gift that marks the occasion, since the report itself will usually end up in a file. Good moments are the year a fund is created and its 10th year, along with the close of a campaign.
How the gift is presented
Every gift we make is hand-wrapped in a foil-embossed luxury box branded for your institution. Inside, your thank-you message is printed on a notecard with the provenance of the gift on the reverse. When the gift goes out with a stewardship report, that notecard can carry the fund's name and the year. Our craftsmanship page shows how each gift is presented.
Campaigns give the gift its subject
A campaign report has a ready subject for its keepsake. The Smithsonian Campaign had a silk scarf and tie built on the Smithsonian sunburst, and we made a pashmina and silk tie for the launch of Lurie Children's For Every Child campaign. At Cornell, after the $6.36 billion campaign, we curated a made-to-order Alumni Collection for Cornell University to sit alongside a Saxony wool scarf and a medallion badge.
A line from the report can become the design
Words carry over well. When Leah H. Jamieson retired as Purdue University's Dean of Engineering, we made a secret silk scarf and tie printed with her final remarks and her own signature. You can see the scarf printed with the dean's own words on the Purdue client page. A line from a recipient's letter could be printed the same way, or the purpose written into the fund agreement.
"Thank you Harris Made for providing remarkable quality silk scarves and ties that were gifted with pride; recognition gifts that are still being talked about with excitement and enthusiasm!" Hadley Thomas, Director of Alumni Relations, College of Engineering, Purdue Research Foundation
Plan the gift with the report
Most projects take 8 to 16 weeks, with sketches and samples for your approval, and the requested minimum is 125 pieces per design. Start the gift when you start drafting the report, and ask us about timing for your mailing date. Prices start from $15 for a lapel pin. A bespoke silk scarf starts from $65, brass and nickel coasters from $40 and a silk pashmina gift set from $90. How a bespoke project works sets out each step. For a centennial, brass coasters for 100 honorees at Emory's Goizueta Business School show how a single design can thank a whole list of people.
Sending the report is part of the stewardship
- Send after the fiscal year closes, once fund values are final. For a fiscal year that ends in June, that often means the fall.
- Print for major and endowed donors, and send a web version to everyone else.
- Follow up in person. The gift officer calls or writes within a few weeks to ask what the donor thought.
- Track the response. Note who opened, replied or gave again, and use it to shape next year's report.
Seeing what a gift did is a strong reason to give again, as our guide to donor retention explains. For the milestone years, our stewardship gifts page shows what institutions send with them, and you can start a project when the next report is on the calendar.
Frequently asked questions
What does an impact report include?
A thank-you, the problem the gifts addressed, outcomes with a few numbers, 1 to 3 stories, light financials and what comes next.
How do you write an impact report?
Choose your audience, gather outcome data and consented stories, lead with thanks and keep the copy short. Then design it for both print and the web.
What is the recommended format for an impact report?
A layered format works best: a short summary for most donors, a full report for those who want detail, and sometimes a video. Major and endowed donors should also receive a personal printed report on their own fund.
What is a stewardship report?
A stewardship report tells 1 donor how 1 gift or fund was used, who benefited and, for an endowed fund, its value and payout. Investment managers use the same name for a different kind of report.
What is the difference between an impact report and an annual report?
An annual report covers the whole organization's year, including leadership and finances. An impact report focuses on results and can cover any period, from a single program to a whole campaign.
What goes in an endowment report?
The fund's name and purpose, its value at the start and end of the year, gifts added, the payout, the spending policy and the recipient's story. The template above sets out each field.