Annual Reports: Five Keys to Creating an Annual Report for Your Nonprofit
Legal Law

Annual Reports: Five Keys to Creating an Annual Report for Your Nonprofit

At the beginning of my second year as CEO of a nonprofit housing organization, I thought I had prepared well for my first annual meeting until the day of the event when I realized that we had not produced an annual report as required. our statutes. laws Since this was thirty years ago, before most nonprofits had computers, you can only imagine the work my secretary and I did to produce the basic report we needed that night. We fulfilled the requirement of the statutes, but we certainly did not produce something that our organization would show.

Fast-forward three decades… you have a good computer and printer in your office, a staff member who writes well, and the wisdom to give yourself enough time to create an annual report that will serve as both a marketing and fundraising tool. in the next year Unless you have ample resources at the bank or a marketing company that will donate their services, you’ll likely create your report in-house. Follow these guidelines to ensure your report ends up being “read and released” instead of in the trash.

1. Determine the message you want the report to convey.

You can do this by focusing on a specific program that has had dramatic results this year. You can also focus on your mission and highlight a few things you’ve done that clearly resonate with that mission. Plus, you can highlight the people you serve with various programs or the donors who have made this a great year. Just remember that this message must be consistent throughout the report, from the opening letter from the Chairman of the Board to the closing financial report.

two. Avoid using too many stats.

In the words of Mal Warwick, “If statistics could tell a story, calculators would be invited on talk shows.” Your auditor may be impressed by the numbers, but readers of your annual report want to know about the people he’s helped and the changes your nonprofit has made to make the world a better place.

3. Make sure you use a lot of stories.

If your orchestra offers free concerts for inner-city children, focus on one child and talk about their reaction to the concert. If you provide shelter for rescued animals, talk about the rescue and then about the permanent home you found for the animal. If your mission is to help drug addicts recover, focus on one or two who have completed your program and show how they have become productive members of the community. Use any success story that matches your mission and you’ll grab the reader’s attention.

Four. Include images that are dramatic and showcase the work you do.

Avoid traditional group shots (board members, staff, and a neighborhood group) and use images that reveal strong feelings. For example, you could show the delight on the face of a child hearing a live concert for the first time, the excitement of a new owner leaving the shelter with a rescued animal, or the joy of a former drug addict playing basketball with a group. of teenagers. . You can also include photos of board members and staff; just make sure they’re doing something active, like participating in a board meeting or working with clients. Candid shots can be great if you can get them. A word of warning here: be sure to get signed releases from the people photographed (or their guardians).

5. Present your financial reports in a readable and interesting way.

Most people who receive your annual report are not interested in your balance sheet or income statement. If you feel you need to include them, add a short description that highlights what the numbers really mean about running your nonprofit. What interests many readers is how much money you have spent on programs compared to the cost of administration or fundraising. The clearest way to report this is on a pie chart.

Once you’ve used these ideas to complete an annual report that has the potential to impress your readers, be sure to distribute it widely. Don’t just hand it out at your annual meeting. Mail it to all your donors, partners, clients, and anyone you want to interest in the work you do. Also, put it on your website so everyone can see how the world is changing.

©2010 Jane B. Ford

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