Book excerpt: The goal of this updated publication, A Guide for Planning and Reporting Community Benefit,is to help not-for-profit, mission-driven health care organizations develop, improve and accurately report on their community benefit programs. More specifically, it will help organizations:* Identify community health needs and plan to address those needs.* Make prudent choices for using scarce resources and evaluate the impact of those resources.* Understand the characteristics of programs and activities that are and are not reportable as community benefit.* Budget proactively for community benefit programs and activities.* Use standardized accounting and reporting approaches.* Build and strengthen relationships in the community for community health improvement.* Demonstrate accountability and transparency to their communities.