Impact Posts Overview
Impact Posts are blog-style updates that include images or videos to keep your supporters engaged!
One of the key elements in attracting and retaining recurring donors is demonstrating the impact of their donations on your mission. Donors have increased confidence in and connection with you when they are reminded of what, how, and why their donation makes a difference.
Types of Impact Posts include:
A recent accomplishment (ex: "Because of your support, we were able to host a special community event allowing us to impact 100 more people!")
A progress update on a project or campaign (ex: "We just completed Phase 1 of our building project - here's what we accomplished...")
A client testimonial (ex: "Before receiving our services, Suzie & her family were homeless & hopeless. But with your support, they received XYZ and now have a home & a future!")
A data update on your cause (ex: "A new study has shown 250,000 kids are food insecure in our area. To support them, we are increasing our food distribution by 25% in the next 3 months.”)
How to Create & Edit Impact Posts
Impact Posts can be created and edited from the Posts section in your Harness Dashboard. For best practices on creating Impact Posts, see Impact Post Best Practices.
Creating New Posts
To create a new Impact Post, select the + New Post button in the upper-righthand corner.
A new Impact Post draft will open, and here you will build out the post that you will eventually share with your donors.
Using the Upload section at the top of the draft, you can attach an image, Canva design, or video to the Impact Post.
To upload an attachment (such as an image or video), click the 'Upload' section. A window will then open on your computer. Locate and select the file on your computer that you would like to attach to the Impost Post. See these guidelines for supported file types and best practices.
If you would like to link to an online video (such as a video on YouTube), paste the video's URL in the URL field.
Next, you'll want to give the Impact Post a title. Your donors will see the title when the post is shared with them. Enter the name of the post into the Title goes here... field.
You will also need to enter the content/body of the post into the text box beneath the title. The body is the main post that should be similar to a blog, and should contain all information/updates you would like to share with your donors. Feel free to use the built-in text editing tools to format your post. Links and emojis can also be added to the body of the Impact Post.
Once you have finished creating your Impact Post, be sure to save the post using the Save button at the bottom of the editor.
Once saved, the Impact Post will be "live" immediately and can be viewed by your donors. These posts can be accesses from any of your Harness fundraising pages, so be sure to finish creating the post before saving.
Editing Existing Posts
If you need to edit an existing Impact Post, that can be done by selecting the pencil icon next to the post. From there, you will be able to edit the post just as if you were creating a new post.
Deleting Posts
If an Impact Post needs to be deleted, use the X icon next to the post.
As a safeguard, you will then be asked to confirm that you wish to delete the Impact Post. Use the red Delete Post button to delete the post.
How to Share Impact Posts
Impact Posts can be shared with your donors in a number of ways. We'll cover the variety of ways these posts can be shared below.
Sharing a Single Post
The first place you can share your Impact Posts form is right from the Posts section in your Harness Dashboard. To share a post from there, click on the post's title.
From there, use the View Post button to open to the Impact Posts live page.
Then copy the Impact Post page's URL (aka link) from your browser's address bar. This URL can be shared with your donors and contacts through all of your communication channels such as emails and social media posts.
Sharing All Posts
You can share a link to all of your posts by using the View All Posts button found in the Posts section.
The same link can also be found on your Harness Dashboard's Home page by using the Posts button.
From there, copy the page's URL (aka link) from your browser's address bar. This URL can be shared with your donors and contacts through all of your communication channels such as emails and social media posts.
Sharing a Post in Text Messages
Impact Posts can also be shared with any of your donors/contacts in Harness who have opted into receiving text messages. We've covered attaching Impact Posts in guides related to each of our text messaging tools. Check out each of the guides below for instructions on how to do so.
Your Fundraising Pages
Your donors will also be able to find your Impact Posts on any of your Harness fundraising pages. This includes your Giving Forms, Campaign pages, and Event pages. On each of these various pages (as well as a few others), donors will see a "hamburger" menu in the upper-righthand corner, and Posts is the first option within the menu.
Your Organization Page
Your Organization Page, the link to which is found under Fundraising > Organization in your Harness Dashboard and is also accessible to donors from the "hamburger" menu in the upper-righthand corner of all of your Harness fundraising pages, has a Posts section as well that features all of your Impact Posts.
