impact is served
·
impact is served ·
receipts over rhetoric
Well, she’s fiiiiinally done it. After 15 years in impact communications, writing more annual reports than I have pairs of earrings (ok, maybe not that many), I’m excited to introduce the first-ever CARMEN GET IT! Impact Report ~ a colourful catalogue of the projects, choices, highlights, and “oh sh!t” moments that shaped the year that was.
Designed to be gulped down in a sitting or two, this is my live-your-values-on-the-outside attempt to show the workings behind a business driven by more than profit.
As a newly Certified B Corp, it felt increasingly important to turn the lens around. To ask the same questions of my own work that I ask of others.
What changed? Who benefited? What did I learn? What could I have done better? And, perhaps most importantly: Am I actually doing the things I say I care about?
come for the stats, stay for the stories
what’s inside
Across 36 dazzling pages, you’ll find the numbers and the narratives:
how I measure impact (and what I leave out)
pledges that shape my business (think: 1% for the Planet)
highlights and case studies from the year
impact snapshots and accountability audits
trends from across the purpose world
shout outs to the brilliant people and partners who made it all possible
It’s deliberately not a victory lap. There are wins in here, obviously, but there is also the not-so-shiny stuff, because I think perfectly polished isn’t particularly useful to anyone.
Plus, I can hardly call for others to be brave and not stay silent on issues that matter if I’m not prepared to do it myself.
The way you use your privilege, platform and power is an important part of your impact story. Because business is never just about what you make. It's about what you make possible. So here it is.
one last thing before you dig in…
Accessibility matters deeply to me, and I want as many people as possible to be able to enjoy and engage with this report. Alongside alt text and other features, I’ve also recorded audio versions of several key pages. Look out for the speaker icon throughout to experience some dulcet Carmen tones!
The report is designed to be experienced as a live site, but if a downloadable PDF works better for you, please email me at: hello@carmengetit.com.au and I’ll send one your way.
🫖 pop the kettle on, it’s time for…🥁
giving folks their flowers 🌼
For a business with my name on the door, there are a helluva lot of fingerprints on this work.
First, a huge thank you to Rowena at Preddy Creative, who took a fairly ambitious brief, approximately eleventy-billion ideas and turned it into the colourful creature before you. The ultimate creative design partner. I truly couldn’t have done this without her.
Then, there are my brilliant clients and collaborators. The people who trust me to help spruik their work, and generously let me share it. From GenderWorks Australia to Women’s and Girls’ Emergency Centre (WAGEC), and B Lab Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand (AANZ) to Electric Future ~ thank you. It’s an honour to do this work alongside you as we try to make this world a lot more inclusive and a bit less shitty.
Finally, if when you make it to the end, you’ll meet my crew. Whether it’s a baby or a business, they say ‘it takes a village’ for bloody good reason. None of us can create impact, let alone do life, alone. So this is my chance to introduce some of the goddess-sent humans who keep me ‘Carm’ in the chaos. The ones who give me heaps of moral and *actual/other* support as well as the occasional “maybe close the laptop now” reminder.
last words (for now!)
Putting this report together has been a true labour of love but I’m always looking to improve. So, if there is anything that would make it more accessible or helpful for you, I’d love to hear.
And by now, I hope you know that if you need a hand to make your next impact campaign or report a whole lot less beige, all you gotta do is…