Verifying Your Community Impact

As we seek funds that help support impact projects, impact washing becomes a pressing concern. This deceptive marketing can mislead us. Consider a healthcare company claiming to provide "life-saving access to medicine" in developing countries. However, a closer look might reveal they're distributing low-quality medications with limited effectiveness or failing to address the underlying causes of illness, like poor sanitation or lack of clean water.

This is impact washing. It erodes trust in the impact investing sector and ultimately hinders progress towards healthier communities. 

A 2022 US SIF Foundation survey found that a staggering 63% of asset managers believe impact washing is a risk. To avoid being misled, we can go beyond marketing, ask for data and evidence of impact, and seek verification from beneficiaries. By staying informed, we can make impactful investments that truly align with our initiatives.

The Impact sector is evolving. Today's funders and donors are demanding measurable impact; they need proof their investments are making a real difference in the lives of communities.

Imagine a concert where the band ignores the crowd, playing a genre no one wants to hear. That's what impact efforts often feel like, a lot of noise, but little connection with the audience (the beneficiaries).

Using Mundaly to measure your organization’s impact, you can be ahead on the trends likely to be seen this year. It is proven that companies who incorporate ESG standards into their business practices see higher returns on investment, as globally it is becoming more important to provide evidence of social impact. You can read up more on these at: Forbes: Social Impact Trends 

But how do we do this?

Our goal in combating impact washing is to ensure that the communities impacted receive positive results. One way we ensure this is by collecting community a to hear what their needs are first-hand. How can you know how to best serve a community if you don’t hear from the community members?

The Public Health Institute shares this mindset and details it further through this piece on the local leaders consulted for Rise Up’s impact initiatives. Local Leaders Have the Solutions Leaders in the communities that are benefiting from impact initiatives are the experts on solutions so we believe it is important to treat them as such. Doing so has proven to guarantee that the initiative is both effective and accountable to the community. 

In an age where impact washing is becoming more evident, corporations are beginning to be afraid to even discuss their impact investments for fear of backlash that they aren’t doing enough. This trend of “greenhushing” is harmful for both the future of the organization, communities and partnerships they work with. What is Greenwashing? This is exactly what will not solve the problem of impact washing. With Mundaly, organizations can speak freely about the positive impact they make on communities knowing that it is verified using data from the communities themselves.

Community-Verified impacts aren't a fad, they're the next big hit in impact measurement. Mundaly provides the tools to bridge the gap between good intentions and chart-topping change.

Stay tuned for future updates where we'll:

• Deep dive into specific community-verified impact frameworks

• Share inspiring stories showcasing the power of this approach

• Equip you with actionable insights and data-driven strategies to maximize your impact

Found this piece useful ? Share it with a Friend.
Sign up here to receive our newsletter.
Get started at CommunityVerified.net
Follow us on socials here