As 2017 recedes further into our memory and fundraising totals have been tallied, many nonprofits are getting ready to prepare annual reports to share accomplishments with their supporters.
Although the task can feel like a chore, it remains an effective means to thank donors, demonstrate how they helped advance your cause, and inspire them to keep giving.
You don’t need to spend a huge amount of time or money to produce an annual report that fulfills these purposes and serves as a marketing tool for your organization.
The Chronicle spoke to experts who shared their top tips for developing an annual report that will help your nonprofit cultivate its supporters and attract new ones, no matter the size of your budget or staff.
First, focus on your readers.
Rather than asking yourself what your executive director or trustees want to see in your annual report, “figure out who’s really going to be reading this piece of communications,” says Kivi Leroux Miller, a nonprofit marketing consultant.
If your nonprofit has a large base of individual donors, it may make sense to create a short report that’s “very accessible and easy to understand,” she says, “and then provide the back-up, detailed financial information on a PDF on your website that’s super easy to find.”
But if most of your support comes from foundations or government grants, she says, you could opt for a more traditional report with the financial details “that those institutional funders are going to really care about.”
Meet your donors where they are.
Although annual reports have increasingly been shifting from print to online, Miller says, it’s important to “stay in the channel where [your donors appear] to be most comfortable.” So, if your organization still gets many of its gifts by mail, she says, “you want to report back to those donors through the mail.”
A money-saving tip: Consider trimming your mailing list to include only supporters who have given in the past year or two, and reaching a broader audience online.
Say more with less.
For nonprofits that want to switch from a traditional annual report to a new approach, a two- or four-page format is “a great place ... to start,” according to Miller. “You should be able to say everything you need to say about your year’s accomplishments to an individual donor in four pages.”
To do that, “focus your messaging on a couple of key wins,” advises Elizabeth Hilbert, an account manager at Classy, a company that develops fundraising tools for nonprofits. See how Stupid Cancer took this selective approach in its 2016 annual report.
If getting traction online is your goal, Miller says, “some sort of infographic that may or may not be included in the four-pager” can be an effective way to get donors’ attention and inspire sharing on social media, which could also attract new supporters for your nonprofit. For instance, when some organizations announce their annual reports to their donors, Hilbert says, instead of a “simple email with a link to that PDF ... they’ll send out a really beautiful email” that “looks like an abbreviated report in a visual format.” That way, even people who don’t click through to read the full report will still be caught up on your biggest news.
Don’t forget design.
As nonprofits continue to focus more on building a strong identity, Hilbert says, “one place where that really shouldn’t get lost is their annual report. It should look like an extension of everything else your supporters have seen from you online and offline.”
Strong visual elements are also vital, whether that means an infographic, high-quality photos showing your nonprofit’s work and the people it serves, or a video, Miller says. And making a full-on video report is not a bad idea, she says. “They’re much easier for people to share, to see online, to absorb quickly.”
For example, Feeding San Diego’s 2015-2016 annual report uses interactive features that are consistent with its overall branding.
A piece of advice: Pick a few things you want your supporters to remember, such as numbers, stories, or superlatives, and use them as “little hooks around which you can create some of those graphic elements,” Miller says. And free online tools like Canva, Piktochart, and Noun Project can help.
Ask for support.
Whether it’s asking readers to donate, volunteer, or join a junior board, many nonprofits are building strong calls to action into their annual reports. “There’s no other real opportunity to show everything you do in one clean report, and no better time to catch people while they’re more inspired,” says Colleen Ennis, an account manager at Classy.
Along with highlighting what they’ve accomplished, she says, these organizations are also saying, “We have more work we want to do in the next year, and we have no chance of doing it without your support.” In its 2017 “year in review,” Urban Ventures asks people to give and includes a built-in app so they can do so directly from the report.
Share stories, not lists.
Your annual report should help create “as much connection for your supporters to the communities you’re serving” as possible, Hilbert says. And a great way to do that is through storytelling — especially for nonprofits that don’t have a lot to spend on design.
Instead of listing every donor, as many nonprofits continue to do, consider featuring an outstanding individual supporter, Ennis says, such as a “peer-to-peer fundraiser who raised a few thousand dollars” in a creative way. “It makes your cause so much more relatable to anyone looking at the report,” she says.
See how Technoserve’s 2016 annual report links to stories of people affected by its work through a photo mosaic, rather than including the testimonials in long blocks of text.
Don’t wait until the last minute.
Gather photos, quotes, and data throughout the year, Ennis suggests, so you’ll have a bank of strong materials to draw on when the time comes. Think about testimonials and faces, she says, not only of people your nonprofit has helped, but also supporters.
Try something new.
Don’t be afraid to “push the envelope a little bit [and] change things up,” Ennis says. Even if your nonprofit has always produced and delivered its annual report in a certain way, she says, it’s worth taking time to consider “what would really resonate with supporters and would make sense with your organization’s capacity” right now.
For instance, more nonprofits have started hosting their annual reports directly on their website, rather than linking to a downloadable PDF. “There’s a lot more you can do visually [with a hosted report] to make it really engaging,” Hilbert says, such as integrating gifs, videos, or interactive quizzes.
