Social impact
What is social impact? How is it measured?
Social impact is the change a programme, organisation or venture causes in people's lives and in society. What matters is not how much work is done but what changes as a result: training 100 students is an output; those students doing better at school is impact.
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Output, outcome and impact
- Input: the resources used (time, volunteers, budget).
- Activity: the work done (training, distribution, event).
- Output: the direct, countable product of the activity (number of people trained).
- Outcome: the short- and medium-term change seen in the target group (knowledge, skills, behaviour).
- Impact: the lasting long-term change in society that can be attributed to the work.
How is social impact measured?
- Theory of Change: maps step by step why and how an activity will lead to the change.
- Indicators: measurable, comparable indicators are chosen for each outcome (e.g. share of participants who find a job).
- Social Return on Investment (SROI): compares the social value created, in monetary terms, with the investment.
- IRIS+: the widely used impact metrics set of the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN).
- Sustainable Development Goals: the 17 goals adopted by the UN in 2015 offer a shared language for linking impact to global targets.
Making your impact visible
Impact measurement matters for trust as well as reporting: donors, volunteers and partners want to see what has changed. Regular, open and comparable reports are an organisation's strongest introduction.
Social impact with hangel
On hangel your contribution is visible: impact points, badges and leaderboards let you follow your volunteering and the donations you make through shopping. NGO profiles show transparency scores and products show donation rates. The social impact inventory and data summaries in the civil-society library are open to everyone.
Social Business Global shares its work just as openly: its 2020-2025 Impact and Transparency Report shows 15,621 people reached at 126 events, 632 social enterprises reviewed from 54 countries and 2.48 million TL transferred to the Hatay Model Village Project.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between social impact and social benefit?
Social benefit is the positive value delivered to society; social impact is the measurable change a piece of work causes. Measuring impact shows whether the benefit really happened.
How can a small NGO measure its social impact?
Start with a simple theory of change and choose one or two measurable indicators per goal. Short surveys before and after activities, participant follow-up and an open annual report are a good start.
How can I see my own social impact?
On hangel your volunteering and the donations you make through shopping build up on your profile; impact points, badges and leaderboards let you follow your contribution.
About hangel
hangel is a transparent social impact platform that makes doing good part of everyday life. It brings NGOs, volunteers, student clubs and brands together: volunteering opportunities, events, open grant and funding calls, a civil-society library and hangel Market, where a share of your purchase becomes a donation to the NGO you choose, all in one place. Management panels are free for NGOs and clubs; every NGO profile shows a transparency score and every product shows its donation rate. There's no such thing as struggling alone.
Social Business Global
Social Business Global is a civil society organisation founded in Istanbul in 2020 that carries social entrepreneurship and social innovation from Turkiye to the world (officially Uluslararası Sosyal Fayda Derneği), and it works together with hangel. In 2020-2025 it reached 15,621 people at 126 events and reviewed 632 social enterprises from 54 countries.
Social Business Global website