For social entrepreneurs and purpose-driven organisations, having a clear understanding of your challenge, solution and intended impact is not just helpful – it’s essential. That’s where a logic model or theory of change comes in. These tools help you map out how your work creates real change, from the resources you need, to the activities you’ll run, to the outcomes and long-term impact you’re aiming for. They provide a clear framework for planning and evaluating your work – and just as importantly, they help you communicate your value to funders with confidence and clarity. Whether you’re applying for grants or refining your strategy, a logic model helps turn your passion into a roadmap for measurable impact.
This interactive session, led by Lotterywest’s Melanie Bainbridge, offered social enterprises and purpose-driven organisations a live walkthrough of the Community Impact Hub and Planner – a practical tool to help plan, measure and communicate social impact. Melanie walked us through how to build a logic model, select meaningful indicators, and sharpen our impact narrative to support funding readiness and strategy development.
This is a must-watch video for anyone serious about applying for grant funding – or any kind of investment. It offers practical insights to help you craft a compelling application, clearly articulate your organisation’s impact, and confidently communicate your value to funders.
Planning a Lotterywest grant application or want to share your experience? We’d love to hear from you – get in touch at [email protected].
Watch the recording of the workshop here!
Watch the full video below – and check out the TL;DR version below.
Using the Community Impact Hub – Hot tips
Step 1: Track Your Community
Before applying for funding, you need to prove the problem you’re tackling actually exists. The Track Your Community tool is your best friend for this. It has data for every issue area across the state – completely free to use. There’s even a webinar/demo showing you how to get the most out of it.
This section is gold. You can look at what other NFPs and social enterprises are doing – what worked, what didn’t. You can filter by beneficiary group, region and more, which helps you avoid reinventing the wheel.
Searchable by region, issue area, target group and funding amount. Really handy for seeing what kinds of projects have been supported before.
There are regular webinars and other resources available to help build your skills.
Step 2: Using the Community Impact Planner
This is the tool you’ll use to build out your grant application, with a logic model that steps you through your project. It all links back to your Theory of Change, and everything in here should be proportionate to the funding you’re applying for. (https://tool.communityimpacthub.wa.gov.au/)
While the Community Impact Planner takes you through a particular order, Melanie recommends flipping the order around so you work through the model more logically – follow her instructions below.
Key Steps
- Name your project
- Hot tip: Scale your laptop screen to 100% so you can view the full planner page.
- Issue or Opportunity
Include detail and evidence about the problem you’re tackling. Use data from the Community Tracker and your own research. Referenced stats go a long way. Include your own interviews, feedback, and what people have told you – it all counts. - Inputs
List everything you’ll need – funding (from various sources), volunteer time, staff (“contractors” or “consultants” – Lotterywest funds contractors, not wages), resources, tools, etc. Prioritise this list: what can you do without if you don’t get the full amount? - Activities
This is what you’ll actually do – community consultation (critical, even if time-heavy), training, getting licences, project delivery. Always include impact measurement as one of your activities and allocate resources to it. - Assumptions
What needs to be in place for your project to succeed, even if there’s no hard data behind it? - Risks
Don’t be shy here – Lotterywest knows every project has risk. Just show that you’ve thought about it and have a plan B. Include mitigation strategies alongside each risk to give assessors confidence.
Step 3: Impacts, Outcomes and Outputs – In This Order
- Impacts
Always link to a Lotterywest priority impact area. These are the broad, long-term societal changes your project is contributing to. - Outcomes
The specific changes you expect to see through your project. These should align with the impact area and focus on what’s different because of what you’ve done. - Outputs
The measurable stuff – how many people attended, how many volunteers were involved, how many sessions were held. These show how your outcomes were achieved.
Step 4: Indicators and Evaluation
Once you’ve written your outcomes, you’ll need to select indicators. If you’re using a Lotterywest outcome, there are ready-made indicators available (based on validated research). If you’ve written your own outcomes, you’ll need to either:
- Use an external indicator bank (like UTS’ scientific or environmental indicators), or
- Design your own.
Qualitative data counts. Conversations, testimonials, quotes, or even asking people to post a photo about what the project meant to them—all valid. Keep it simple. You only need a few short questions (3 is enough!) to gather meaningful insights.
Timing matters:
Collect data early and during your project – not just at the end. Retrospective surveys rarely work. People forget, get busy, or simply won’t engage.
A Few Practical Tips
- If you’re asking for under $20k, don’t over-engineer your data. Broad outcomes with some basic anecdotal evidence are enough.
- Make sure all your workers are listed as contractors.
- Don’t overwrite – keep it tight and clear. The planner helps structure the info in a way that’s digestible for assessors.
- Use your theory of change as the summary for your grant – top tip.
- Know your beneficiary group. Be specific and realistic. You can talk about secondary benefits in your narrative but don’t include them in your data.
- Once finished, go to your Theory of Change section. It’s a short summary of your highest-order outcomes (don’t worry, you haven’t lost progress).
- Save and export regularly – it’ll email a copy to you with your project editor link.
- When sharing with your team, send the PDF – not the live link – so they don’t overwrite your plan.
- Incorporate their feedback and update your application.
This workshop with Lotterywest’s Melanie Bainbridge highlights just how powerful these tools can be. Using the Community Impact Hub and Planner, she demonstrates how a strong logic model can guide your thinking, sharpen your story, and set you up for funding success. Whether you’re new to this or already familiar, it’s a must-watch for any social entrepreneur serious about amplifying their impact and unlocking support. After all, having a well-defined theory of change doesn’t just help you plan better – it helps others believe in your vision too.