Impact Verification

Verify your impact in a few simple steps

Impact Verification is an evidence-based, peer-reviewed process for certifying the annual impact of any social program using Impact Genome Standards.

View The Registry

What is Impact Verification?

Social programs self-report annual impact claims to the Registry, which are then validated and verified.

how it works

Guided and Intuitive Process

The Impact Verification process includes 5 simple steps. Social programs submit annual impact results to the Impact Genome Registry, and trained verifiers (Social Impact Associates) review and certify the results. Our guided intake process is intuitive and doesn’t require deep technical knowledge. Programs provide the basic information and we'll do the analysis.

Register

Nonprofit or social enterprise registers a social program.

Report

Social program reports annual impact claims.

Validate

Impact Genome verifiers validate outcome eligibility.

Verify

Impact Genome Social Impact Associates apply rigorous protocols to evaluate impact claims.

Issue Verified Impact Unit (VIU) Credits

Impact Genome certifies the impact results.

Why Verify

Impact Data You Can Trust

The biggest challenge in the social sector is that investors and grantmakers don't have reliable impact data to use in allocating funding. Using the Impact Genome Registry and Standards to independently Verify results, solves that dilemma. It allows investors and social programs to focus on what matters most: impact.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a cost for impact producers to enter the Impact Genome Registry?

Impact producers can enter the Impact Genome Registry for free and self-report their program outcomes. This will be self-reported only, so it won’t be evaluated by our in-house experts.

Impact producers have the option purchasing our membership ($1,000 per program). They can either ask their funders to purchase it for them or buy it themselves.

This membership lets impact producers get their program verified, receive an Impact Verified™️ Scorecard, and get key metrics on how their program is performing and build capacity for the future through 1-1 guidance from our experts.

What is the user experience like for impact producers?

The user experience for impact producers is extremely easy, self-served, and quick.

They answer a few dropdown questions in a multiple-choice format, provide data that they already have, and attach evidence. No need to collect any additional data.

In which social impact areas does the Impact Genome Registry measure outcomes?

The Impact Genome Registry has impact producers making an impact in several social impact areas. They can be viewed in our public registry.

Note: The public registry only shows programs that are verified. It doesn’t include non-verified programs (which means only registered & self-reported). These can be accessed when impact producers get our membership, where they will see a longer list of impact producers in these areas.

Does the Impact Genome Registry incorporate feedback from impact producers?

Throughout our platform, impact producers have an opportunity to provide feedback on their experience with our reporting platform. This feedback is reviewed on a regular basis and changes are made to the standards as necessary.

Whenever larger changes are made to the standards, impact producers are included as part of the advisory committee that reviews these changes for publication.

How rigorous/difficult is it for impact producers to complete?

The Impact Genome Registry is designed to be filled out quickly by impact producers.

When registering their social program for the first time, it takes around 2-3 hours to fill it out. However, doing it the 2nd time (example - for multi-year programs) is much quicker because impact producers can clone their previous report and just make the necessary changes.

To make it easier, we provide a list of everything they need before they begin, so they can keep it handy while completing registration. Multiple people can collaborate on it as well, making it quicker.

Do impact producers have any way to provide supporting data while registering their social program?

Yes, we have included an open text field where they can report separately if they want to add additional comments or context.

What do the funders and nonprofits pay for?

Funders pay to get access to the impact data created by their funding within their portfolio. This includes all the interactive, detailed dashboards.

Impact producers, on the other hand, can join our Registry for free by self-reporting their program metrics. However, they can also purchase a nonprofit membership. This membership is commonly paid by the funders ($1,000 per program) and it lets the impact producers get their program verified by our in-house evaluation experts, receive an Impact Verified™️ Scorecard, get key metrics on how their program is performing, and build capacity for the future through 1-1 guidance from our evaluation experts and advisors.

Is the Impact Genome Registry's verification process ESG auditable? (third-party verified)

Yes, we’ve created ESG Assurance reports for our clients that they’ve used for their external reporting like ESG and CSR reports.

What are the elements of the evidence assessment?

The Impact Genome Registry’s evidence assessment takes into account a few elements:
- The evaluation design (example - whether the data is anecdotal, outputs, point in time, pre/post, quasi-experimental or experimental)
- How/whether the instrument was developed, tested, and validated
- How well the evaluation aligns with the definition of our standardized outcomes.

What should impact producers include while calculating their Cost-Per-Outcome?

Impact producers are asked to report the actual (not budgeted) overall cost of producing impact for the most recent program cycle. This figure includes program-specific costs as well as all relevant overhead.

This overall cost, divided by the number of outcomes produced, is used to calculate the program's Cost-Per-Outcome.

How does the Impact Genome Registry track the quality of data reported by impact producers?

Our team of Social Impact Associates (SIAs) go through every social program’s data while verifying them and they flag anything that looks incorrect back to the impact producer before creating their Impact Verified™️ Scorecard.

What if impact producers cannot find the outcome they produce while registering their social program?

Impact producers often require help in choosing the right/closest outcome to their work, which is where our team of evaluation experts work 1-1 with each impact producer during the verification process to guide them & ensure the right outcome is chosen.

Are your outcomes direct service-focused or capacity focused?

Our outcomes are a mix of both - direct-service and capacity focused.

Does the Impact Genome Registry measure outputs?

We only measure outcomes but we ask nonprofits to share any data they already have that will help provide context to their program (including outputs).

JOIN THE REGISTRY

Join the Registry

Receive a free evaluation and access to new funders by registering your social program today!

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