Q: How do you know that the template formats used by Fundriver Impact are effective for donor stewardship?


A: We have spent a lot of time researching best practices in donor reporting and showing various report designs to our clients for their feedback. We have also worked with over 150 of our current Balance clients on designing and building custom endowment stewardship reports, and used that experience to identify common themes that should be included in our template. 


Lastly, but probably most importantly, the Impact team worked closely with industry partners including Lynne Wester (aka The DRG Group) and Wessel Creative on the design and development of our template. Lynne has over 20 years of experience in the Donor Relations space and has been commissioned to work on hundreds of donor reports during her career as a consultant. She has also developed a "best practice" endowment reporting training series that focuses on what elements are important to include in stewardship reporting. Tyler Wessel is an award-winning graphic designer and creative consultant. He began his career in event and program management for close to a decade before shifting to creative services, working primarily with the development and donor relations departments at universities and nonprofits. 


Q: Why can't I manipulate the layout of the Fundriver Impact template?


A: It is our hope that by providing professionally designed template that need only your content, final touches (fonts and colors) and images applied, the time and effort needed to create beautiful and impactful stewardship reports for your donors will be dramatically reduced, freeing up more time for other important stewardship activities. Our template is configured to your specifications (pages can be turned on/off, headings changed, content changed, etc.) so that you can personalize your overall report package with minimal effort.


Q: How did the Fundriver team choose which components to include in the stewardship report template?


A: The Fundriver Impact template were designed specifically for maximum return on investment for donors. The following best practices that have guided this development include:

  • Transparency and trust come first: The fund financial report with numbers approved by the business office provides transparency into earnings, distributions, spending and more for a donor's specific funds. The available glossary page helps explain the different financial elements so donors can come away with a clear understanding of their financial statement.
  • Quality over quantity of communications: We have tailored our reports to include information that is most meaningful to the donor, focusing first on personalized fund and impact information. We also have pages that can convey gratitude from leadership, a general update on your organization or the endowment, and meaningful statistics about your organization's philanthropic impact. Each element is designed to resonate with the donor, communicate gratitude and impact, and connect the donor to your organization's mission. 


Q: Will I have control of the content and data that flows through to the report template, or do I have to contact the Impact Support Team every time I need a change?


A: You can manage content in the Impact user interface. Branding, logos, images, text, impact statements, and contact information can all be entered by the user. Data, such as awardee narratives, can currently be input within the interface and will soon be able to be imported. Fund financial data and other fund information will be pulled from Fundriver Balance via a nightly feed once it is configured during initial setup. For Raiser's Edge NXT users, constituent information will be pulled over via a nightly API feed into the interface and the configured report template. For non-NXT users, a flat file import is available.