How We Will Report on Money and Impact

A supporter who gives time or money is owed a clear answer to two questions: where did the money go, and what did it actually achieve? Many organisations answer these questions late, partially, or in language designed to impress rather than inform. BeeCharity is setting out its reporting approach at the beginning so that we can be held to it.

Publish the target before the appeal

Our first commitment is sequencing. We publish a project’s funding target and budget before we ask anyone to contribute, not afterward. That way a supporter can see the plan they are backing rather than discovering the details once their money is already spent.

Separate plans from results

Everything we publish is labelled by stage. A plan is called a plan. A target is called a target. A result is only called a result once it has actually happened and can be evidenced. This may seem obvious, but the blurring of these categories is one of the most common ways organisations mislead — usually without meaning to.

If a figure on this site describes the future, it is a target or a plan. If it describes the past, it is a documented result. We will not let those two blur together.

What a project report will contain

When a project is delivered, its report will include the amount raised against the target, a breakdown of what was spent, the measurable outcomes achieved, supporting media where appropriate and lawful, and an honest account of what went well and what did not. Where a cost exceeded its estimate or an outcome fell short, that will be stated plainly.

Governance behind the numbers

As a registered Swiss association, BeeCharity’s finances are overseen by its board and governed by its statutes. Financial decisions are made collectively rather than by any single individual, and funds raised for a specific purpose are tracked against that purpose. Our public financial reporting is designed to reflect this governance, not to sit apart from it.

An honest starting point

At this stage, our impact figures are largely zeros, because we have not yet completed our first funded project. We could present projections as if they were achievements, but that would be exactly the kind of reporting we are trying to avoid. A truthful zero today is worth more than an impressive but hollow number. As real results arrive, they will replace the zeros — and the record of how we got there will remain visible.