Turn year-end program numbers into donor-friendly impact bullets

About this exercise

You're writing the impact section of a year-end donor letter. Write exactly 3 bullets, each starting with a number and then saying what it meant for a real person (not a statistic), under 60 words, plain text. Use the audited numbers, not the preliminary ones, and make no claims the data doesn't support. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

• No size or shape. The AI writes a full narrative with a headline and a closing appeal. Try: Be exact: "Exactly 3 bullets, nothing else."
• Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 60 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Cap each part instead: "each bullet under 18 words."
• Using the first numbers. The preliminary numbers are listed first, and the AI uses them. Try: Add: "Use only the audited Nov 3 numbers."
• Leading with words. The AI writes "Thanks to you, many learners..." and the number gets lost. Try: Add: "Start each bullet with the number, then what it meant for a person."
• Inflating impact. The AI picks up the board chair's "thousands of lives". Try: Add: "No claims beyond the data."

What a strong prompt includes

• Uses audited numbers
• Starts with the number
• Rules out inflated claims
• Limits the bullets
• Sets a word limit

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