Reporting & Metrics

Effective reporting demonstrates the impact of DAP in your state and helps secure continued support for the program. This guide covers what to track, how to report, and how to use data to improve.

Why Tracking Matters

Purpose	Benefit
Demonstrate impact	Shows National and lodge leadership what DAP accomplishes
Secure resources	Data supports requests for materials, funding, and support
Identify gaps	Reveals which lodges need help and which are excelling
Improve program	Trends help you focus efforts where they matter most
Recognize success	Provides basis for acknowledging outstanding performers

If It's Not Measured...

Unmeasured activities are invisible. The work your lodges do only counts toward state and national totals if it’s reported in CLMS.

Key Metrics to Track

Activity Metrics

Metric	What It Measures	Why It Matters
Youth Reached	Students who received DAP education	Core mission measure
Community Contacts	Adults reached at events	Broader community impact
Presentations	School/community presentations delivered	Direct education activity
Events	Community events, health fairs, Red Ribbon activities	Visibility and outreach
Materials Distributed	Brochures, books, ribbons given out	Resource utilization

Volunteer Metrics

Metric	What It Measures	Why It Matters
Volunteer Hours	Total time contributed by volunteers	Investment of Elks members
Active Volunteers	Number of people participating	Team size and engagement
Active Lodges	Lodges with logged DAP activity	Program breadth

Contest Metrics

Metric	What It Measures	Why It Matters
Schools Participating	Schools that submitted entries	Contest reach
Total Entries	Number of contest submissions	Student engagement
State Winners	Entries submitted to National	Competition success

Data Collection

CLMS as Primary Source

All DAP activities should be logged in CLMS by Lodge Chairs. Your role is to:

Ensure lodges are logging activities
Monitor for gaps in reporting
Follow up with non-reporting lodges
Aggregate data for state-level reporting

Supplemental Tracking

Some data isn’t in CLMS. Consider tracking:

Contest Data:

Lodge	Schools Contacted	Entries Received	Winners Submitted
#100	5	12	3
#101	3	8	2

Lodge Activity Summary:

Lodge	Q1 Activities	Q2 Activities	Q3 Activities	Q4 Activities	Status
#100	3	5	4	2	Active
#101	0	1	2	1	Emerging
#102	0	0	0	0	Inactive

Reporting Rhythm

Monthly

To Yourself:

Review which lodges have logged activities
Note any lodges with no activity
Track progress toward annual goals

Optional to National:

Share significant activities or successes
Flag any issues needing support

Quarterly

To National Directors:

Summary of state activity
Lodge participation rates
Challenges and support needs
Success stories

To Your District/Lodge Chairs:

Progress update
Recognition of active lodges
Encouragement for inactive lodges

Annually

Year-End Report:

Total youth and community reached
Total volunteer hours
Total events and presentations
Lodge participation summary
Contest participation
Key accomplishments
Goals for next year

Creating Effective Reports

Report Structure

Executive Summary

2-3 key highlights
Total reach (youth + community)
Total volunteer investment

Activity Detail

Events and presentations by type
Geographic distribution
Seasonal patterns

Lodge Participation

Active vs. inactive lodges
Improvement trends
Standout performers

Contests

Participation numbers
Winners and recognition

Challenges & Opportunities

What’s working
What needs attention
Support requested

Next Steps

Priorities for next period
Goals and targets

Sample Quarterly Report

QUARTERLY DAP REPORT - [STATE]
Period: [Quarter/Year]

HIGHLIGHTS
• Reached 2,450 youth through 18 presentations
• Red Ribbon Week: 12 lodges participated, 5,000+ ribbons distributed
• 3 new Lodge Chairs recruited and onboarded

BY THE NUMBERS
Youth Reached:        2,450
Community Contacts:   1,200
Presentations:        18
Community Events:     8
Volunteer Hours:      285
Materials Distributed: 3,500

LODGE PARTICIPATION
Active Lodges:        15 of 22 (68%)
Improving:            3 lodges increased activity
Needs Attention:      4 lodges with no activity

CHALLENGES
• 4 lodges without active Chairs
• Difficulty accessing 2 school districts

SUPPORT NEEDED
• Materials for new lodges
• Help recruiting Chairs for inactive lodges

NEXT QUARTER PRIORITIES
• Contest promotion (deadline April 15)
• Recruit Chairs for 4 vacant lodges

Using Data for Improvement

Identifying Patterns

Look for:

Geographic gaps: Are certain areas underserved?
Seasonal patterns: When are lodges most/least active?
Activity types: What are lodges doing most/least?
Participation trends: Are more or fewer lodges participating over time?

Questions to Ask

Pattern	Questions	Possible Actions
Lodge inactive for 2+ quarters	What’s the barrier? Chair vacancy? Lack of support?	Direct outreach, recruit new Chair
Strong Q3, weak Q4	Is January-March being neglected?	Emphasize contest promotion
Low materials distributed	Are lodges requesting materials?	Proactive distribution, education
High events, low presentations	Are lodges reaching schools?	School outreach training

Benchmarking

Compare your state to:

Previous year performance
Similar-sized states
National averages (when available)

Reporting to National

What National Directors Want to Know

Impact: How many youth and community members reached?
Engagement: How many lodges are actively participating?
Challenges: What obstacles are you facing?
Support Needs: How can National help?
Success Stories: What’s working well?

Convention Report

Prepare for Grand Lodge Convention:

Year-in-review summary
Key metrics and trends
Standout achievements
Goals for coming year

Recognizing Success with Data

Lodge Recognition

Use data to identify and recognize:

Most active lodge
Most improved lodge
Highest youth reached
Best contest participation
Most volunteer hours

Volunteer Recognition

Data supports recognizing:

Consistent contributors
Event leaders
School partnership builders
Contest champions

Sample Recognition Announcement

“Congratulations to Lodge #123 for reaching over 500 students this quarter through school presentations! Their dedicated team, led by Lodge Chair Jane Smith, delivered 8 presentations across 5 schools. Outstanding work!”

Tools and Templates

Simple Tracking Spreadsheet

Create a spreadsheet with tabs for:

Lodge Summary: Activity by lodge by quarter
Monthly Detail: Individual activities logged
Contest Tracking: Contest participation by lodge
Year-over-Year: Comparison to previous years

Dashboard Metrics

If you want a quick-view dashboard, track:

Total youth reached YTD
Total volunteer hours YTD
% of lodges active this quarter
Contest entries received vs. goal

Common Reporting Challenges

”Lodges aren’t reporting in CLMS”

Solutions:

Regular reminders about logging
Training on how to use CLMS
Follow up with non-reporters
Have District Chairs check in monthly

”I don’t have time to compile reports”

Solutions:

Keep running totals throughout the quarter
Create simple templates you reuse
Delegate data gathering to District Chairs
Focus on key metrics, not exhaustive detail

”The numbers don’t look good”

Solutions:

Focus on trends and improvement, not just totals
Highlight success stories alongside numbers
Be honest about challenges and your plans to address them
Remember: accurate data is better than inflated data

Data Tells Your Story

Good reporting isn’t about impressing people with big numbers. It’s about honestly showing the work being done and using that information to improve. Start simple, be consistent, and the insights will follow.