{"id":300,"date":"2026-11-05T23:03:30","date_gmt":"2026-11-05T23:03:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/?post_type=ht_kb&#038;p=300"},"modified":"2026-11-06T11:51:52","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T11:51:52","slug":"what-to-include-in-your-updates","status":"publish","type":"ht_kb","link":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/help\/what-to-include-in-your-updates\/","title":{"rendered":"What to include in your updates"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A good update is short, specific and visual. Tell your funder what&#8217;s happened, show it with a photo or video, and let the people involved speak for themselves. You don&#8217;t have to write a report.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When to post<\/h2>\n<p>You post at least two updates on every funded project:<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Update<\/th>\n<th>When<\/th>\n<th>What to cover<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>First update<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>When your funding arrives<\/td>\n<td>Thank your funder, say when you&#8217;ll start and what your plan is.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Second update<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Partway through delivery<\/td>\n<td>How the project is going, and any early impact you&#8217;re seeing.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>You can post more than two. Many projects post at milestones, such as a first session, an opening day or a finished build.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What to include<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Progress.<\/strong> What you&#8217;ve done since your last update. Numbers work well: &#8220;We&#8217;ve run six sessions with 42 young people so far.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li><strong>Photos and video.<\/strong> Show the project in action. A photo of a planted bed or a full room tells your funder more than a paragraph.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The people who benefit.<\/strong> A quote from a participant, and a photo if they&#8217;re happy to be in one, shows the difference your project makes.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Your team.<\/strong> Funders like meeting the people behind the projects they fund. Share a photo of your staff or volunteers at work.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Challenges.<\/strong> Be honest about what&#8217;s been hard and how you&#8217;re handling it. Funders trust organisations that tell them how things really are.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Always ask permission before you photograph or film anyone.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Examples from funded projects<\/h2>\n<p>For inspiration, take a look at these updates:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.actionfunder.org\/project\/8?projectUpdate=45\">Bridgend Eco-Bothy Build<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.actionfunder.org\/project\/125?projectUpdate=20\">Alive Dementia-Friendly Allotment<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why updates are worth the effort<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Your funder is notified every time you post, so they see your progress first-hand.<\/li>\n<li>Funders are more likely to fund you again if you&#8217;ve kept them in the loop.<\/li>\n<li>Your updates stay on your project page, building a track record that future funders can see.<\/li>\n<li>Each update is ready to share on social media with the <strong>Share<\/strong> button.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Want to say something privately?<\/h2>\n<p>Updates are public. To ask your funder a question or share something that isn&#8217;t for your project page, send them a message instead. <a href=\"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/help\/how-do-i-communicate-with-my-funder\/\">Messaging your funder<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/help\/posting-a-project-update\/\">How to post an update<\/a><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Questions?<\/h2>\n<p>Our team is around Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Email: hello@actionfunder.org<\/li>\n<li>Phone: 020 3805 2835<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A good update is short, specific and visual. Tell your funder what&#8217;s happened, show it with a photo or video, and let the people involved speak for themselves. You don&#8217;t have to write a report. When to post You post at least two updates on every funded project: Update When&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"ht-kb-category":[27],"ht-kb-tag":[],"class_list":["post-300","ht_kb","type-ht_kb","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","ht_kb_category-updates-and-your-funder"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/ht_kb"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=300"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/300\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":402,"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/300\/revisions\/402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"ht_kb_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb-category?post=300"},{"taxonomy":"ht_kb_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb-tag?post=300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}