Top 3 higher education examples of digital impact reports

By Dionna Dash

In today’s digital age, meeting people in the online stratosphere is imperative. Pens and paper, snail mail and hard-copies are all things of the past. For higher-education institutions, these changes are already making themselves evident: many college entrance exams, like the SAT, have gone fully digital, university courses are often conducted over Zoom and students’ assignments are submitted through online portals. 

So if the rest of higher education has abandoned analog communications in favor of the much more accessible digital world, shouldn’t impact reports follow that trend? 

Today’s donors are on the move, working from their email inboxes and connecting over video calls. Higher education must meet them where they are: online. Not only does this engage a wider pool of donors, both age-wise and geographically, but it also saves costs on printing and mailing that can be redirected to other efforts.

Storyraise Reports has refitted the impact report template with higher education institutions in mind, allowing universities to focus on all aspects of their programming, from the undergrad experience to alumni, from sports to medicine and so much more. This holistic look allows donors to experience the full impact of an institution. 

Each of the following examples created in Storyraise Reports covers a different area within the higher education system: University of Maryland’s is about the football program, University of Michigan’s is about student scholarships and University of Miami’s is about the medical school. But what all these reports have in common is that they aren’t static, just like higher education itself. They are clean, interactive and fast moving, an experience reminiscent to donors from their own time in higher education.

1. University of Maryland: Jones-Hill House

This report about University of Maryland’s football program captures attention with its bold numbers and pop-out quotes. When donors are clicking through a report, they want to see the impact – quickly. This example does that seamlessly by highlighting statistics that stakeholders care about and visually showcasing the effect of their donations with inspirational photos.

The impact report is short and sweet, getting to the point quickly without sacrificing quality. It’s easily digestible, well-crafted and visually appealing, energizing donors to make a commitment.

2. University of Michigan: LEAD Scholarship Program

This report focusing on University of Michigan’s LEAD merit scholarship program takes the “digital” in digital reporting one step further by including video. Embedding links to YouTube allows donors to experience the full impact of their dollars by giving them a glimpse into the lives of LEAD scholarship students. Accompanying donation buttons make it easy for stakeholders to further their impact while it’s fresh on their minds.

Eye-catching numbers and charts throughout the report offer poignant reminders of the program’s influence, and the inclusion of specific testimonies from scholarship students and alumni of the program allows the beneficiaries to voice their gratitude in their own words. This makes for an airtight report, one that appeals to both the minds and the hearts of donors.

3. University of Miami: Miller School of Medicine

This report about University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine highlights an alternate case where a report needs to be text heavy. With complicated terminology and detailed explanations of medical advances, this report keeps its audience in mind by appealing toward alumni and medical professionals who are looking for the specifics. To break up the text, the report uses photos and video, giving readers a multimedia experience. 

Clear, colored titles and section headers help to categorize the text and make it more digestible, while an easy navigation system with bottom buttons and a side panel helps readers revisit the sections that interest them most. Pop-out quotes lend a personal side to this report, putting a face alongside the science. The website hyperlink at the end encourages readers to continue researching the impact of the Miller School of Medicine, cultivating them as potential donors.