nonprofit annual report cover letter

6 Ways to Motivate Readers'>Your Annual Report’s Opening Message: 6 Ways to Motivate Readers

I harbor no ill will toward opening messages. In fact, I believe they can be an important component of a nonprofit’s annual report. When done well–well being the operative word–they provide context for the rest of the publication. They personalize it and make it more immediate, and they help point readers to key information and calls to action.

That said, most opening messages, those “letters from the executive director,” make me want to get out my figurative red pen and edit away (at best) or, at worst, put the publication down or close my browser window. Of course you want your annual report’s welcome to excite readers and motivate them to read from cover to cover. Here’s how:

1. Keep your opening message short

I can’t emphasize this enough. Short is a few succinct paragraphs, a half page, 200-300 words. Short is not asking your graphic designer to “make it fit,” leaving audiences to squint at six-point font. Assume your reader is scanning. Make it easy to read. Use subheadings and bullet points. Hit the high points and move on.

If this sounds impossible–if you feel like it’s your one chance to say everything to everyone–then it might be a good time to revisit your communications plan. That feeling, and the resulting letter that goes on forever, could be a clue that you’re not regularly and consistently talking with all your constituents the rest of the year.

2. Open your annual report with a simple salutation

“Dear Friends”–or something similar–is great. You don’t need to spell out each audience, unless you want to waste several lines of valuable real estate (your letter is brief, remember?).

3. Keep the tone conversational

Keep it professional and formal, yes, but not stilted or distant. Somewhere between, “Hey, what’s up?” and “Dear Sir or Madam.”

Don’t be afraid to let some personality shine through either. Conveying the director’s sincere excitement about a particular accomplishment, his or her sense of humor, or a personal note or observation–these all make your opening message and, as a result, the whole report more engaging.

4. Show awareness of the year’s challenges

I once edited a “letter from the director” for a client who had a fantastic year. Unfortunately, though, colleagues at similar organizations did not fare so well. Talking about all the great things that happened without acknowledging others’ challenges during the long, hard recession felt wrong. It was nearly a missed opportunity to show camaraderie and gratitude. Phrases such as “In spite of difficult economic times, we were fortunate to … ” can go a long way.

5. Report candidly and transparently

Not a good idea to say how great the year was if it wasn’t. You can highlight the good while still being honest about areas you know need addressing. Your donors and other supporters want to know that you’re working to improve and that their time and/or money isn’t being wasted.

6. End with a positive note and call to action

Hint at a few things you’re excited about for the coming year, keep your ending hopeful but not artificial, and invite readers to do something–join you on social media sites, sign up for your newsletter, make a donation before the year ends, volunteer at an event, respond to a survey. Instead of making them drowsy, get them engaged–not only in reading your annual report but supporting your cause.

What techniques do you use to engage readers with your annual report’s opening letter?

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How to Create a Standout Nonprofit Annual Report + Template

For nonprofits like yours, a thoughtfully written and well-designed annual report can be an invaluable fundraising tool. It can be used to cultivate new relationships with donors, sponsors, volunteers, and other community members. Plus, it helps recognize and  retain  those who have helped you make progress toward your goals over the past year.

With so much at stake, it’s critical to take the creation of your annual report seriously and seek guidance on how to make it a useful resource for your organization’s community. To help you get started, this guide will cover all you need to know about nonprofit annual reports, including:

What is a nonprofit annual report?

Nonprofit annual report template & elements to include, choosing a format for your annual report, nonprofit annual report best practices, our favorite nonprofit annual report examples.

These tips and strategies will put you well on your way to creating a digestible, engaging annual report that inspires your audience to continue supporting your organization’s work. Let’s dive in!

An annual report is a document designed to highlight your nonprofit’s major accomplishments, build confidence in your organization, inspire readers to support your mission, and thank the donors and volunteers who make your work possible. 

Nonprofits typically compile and release these reports every year, although they aren’t always mandatory. On a national level, the only document you’re required to file to maintain your organization’s 501(c)(3) status is an annual tax return via  IRS Form 990 . However, some state governments request a copy of nonprofits’ annual reports to maintain their charitable solicitation registration in that state, so make sure to stay up-to-date on  your state’s filing requirements .

Benefits of Creating an Annual Report

Even if your nonprofit isn’t required to file its annual report with your state, there are advantages to compiling one.  For most nonprofits, the ultimate goal—and the ultimate benefit—of their annual report is simple: retaining current supporters and acquiring new ones.

To accomplish this goal, your annual report must fulfill several smaller purposes, each of which benefits your organization’s long-term health:

• Educate your audience about your mission.
• Demonstrate the impact your organization has made.
• Build trust through financial transparency.
• Show appreciation for your current supporters.

Additionally, although annual reports reflect on the past year, they can also establish a framework for your nonprofit to move forward and achieve more in the year to come!

Annual Reports & Prospect Research

It’s common for nonprofits to include the names of their major donors and the projects they contributed to somewhere in their annual reports. This information can help feed charitable giving databases that you can use for prospect research.  DonorSearch , for example, culls hundreds of annual reports to collect data on major donors’ giving history.

While your annual report can cultivate better relationships with existing donors and encourage others to support your cause, you can also use the information from other nonprofit reports to fuel your prospect research. Prospect research professionals can find a wealth of ideal prospects for your nonprofit just by looking at the annual reports of similar organizations. 

Let’s say that your nonprofit works to reduce food insecurity for children in your area. If a local hospital highlighted a major donor in their annual report who contributed to the hospital’s pediatric intensive care unit, your organization might want to target that person as a potential major donor, since you can infer that they’re likely interested in helping children.

If you’re creating your nonprofit’s first-ever annual report or looking to switch up your format, it can be useful to work off of a template. The template below is a representation of a page of your annual report or a shortened digital version you can deliver via email. The use of graphics and images provides a suggestion for how to effectively divide up the space and produce a more visually appealing layout:

This template includes the four most essential elements of a nonprofit annual report, which we’ll discuss in more detail in the following sections.

1. Clear Mission Statement

Dedicated, long-time supporters and individuals who are brand new to your organization’s community will both read your annual report. Each of these groups of readers should be confident in their understanding of your organization’s mission before diving into the data, which is why you should write out your mission statement at the beginning of the report.

Keep your mission statement to one or two sentences to help it stick in readers’ minds, and ensure it includes the most important details about why your organization does what it does every day. One nonprofit that does this particularly well is the  American Red Cross , whose mission statement reads, “The American Red Cross prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors.”

You can also include your vision statement alongside your mission statement. Your vision statement is a sentence that describes the future state your nonprofit is working toward—i.e., what you hope the world will look like when your mission is accomplished.

2. Major Achievements From the Past Year

The majority of your annual report should focus on the activities and projects your organization completed over the past year, from hosting fundraising events to coordinating volunteer efforts to delivering services in your community. Reflect on your organization’s audience and what would be most interesting to them, but make sure to share your biggest accomplishments!

First, use your  fundraising tools  to break down your achievements into statistics your readers can easily understand. You might report the total amount your donors gave, the number of hours your volunteers worked, or how many social media followers you gained. Then, format that data using graphs and visualizations to make it easier for readers to understand, and supplement the numbers with photos and true stories about your work to further emphasize your impact.

3. Financial Information

It’s no secret that your donors want to know how your nonprofit is using their money to further your mission. Being honest and transparent about your spending and fundraising builds trust with your existing supporters. Plus, it shows potential donors that your nonprofit can manage funds responsibly and effectively, which can make them more likely to give.

However, some high-impact donors who are very financially literate will want to see detailed records of your nonprofit’s financial status, while others would prefer an easy-to-follow, summarized version of the data. To accommodate both of these preferences, include graphical representations of key financial information in the body of your annual report, then attach detailed  financial statements  as appendices for donors who want to learn more.

4. List of Major Contributions

In addition to showcasing your nonprofit’s success, your annual report is also about thanking those who helped you achieve those goals. The best way to do this is by listing out and thanking your  major donors , board members, and organizational leadership.

Additionally, include a general statement of thanks to your volunteers and donors at all levels. Although you should have a more personalized thank-you cadence for each supporter when they contribute, a general shoutout will make them feel appreciated and seen by your organization!

Once you add each of the elements listed above to your annual report, you’ll need to decide how to present the information to your nonprofit’s community. While most organizations publicize their annual reports on a dedicated page of their websites, how you further publicize it will depend on your audience’s preferences.

A combination of hard-copy and digital annual report materials will generally reach the widest audience. Here are some popular formats in each category to consider:

Hard Copy Annual Reports

• Traditional bound book:  These can be anywhere from a few to 100 pages long and are great for compiling a large amount of information in a substantial, tangible way. No matter how long your report is, make sure to keep the content engaging and break up the text with plenty of visuals.
• Postcard:  If you’d like to maximize digestibility, postcards are a good choice. With well-designed infographics, pictures, and statistics, supporters can very quickly understand how your organization did last year. Because of space limitations, you’ll have to sacrifice some copy, so if you want to tell detailed stories or include a long list of donors, choose a longer-form option.
• Brochure:  Still considered a quick read, brochures are a middle ground between a postcard and a book. The folds in a brochure create natural divides to easily section your information and design.

Digital Annual Reports

• PDF:  If you want the space that a book offers but don’t want to spend the money or use tons of paper to print it, PDFs are a good solution. You can make them as long or short as you like, embed other digital content like links, videos, and PowerPoint presentations, and easily upload them to your website or attach them to an email.
• Video:  Video annual reports show, rather than tell, your audience what your organization has accomplished. Make sure your final video comes across as professional in its editing and  production , and recruit outside help if necessary.
• Interactive website:  Consider building a webpage or mini-site that houses an interactive version of your annual report. Your audience could click through a photo gallery, expand graphs for a more detailed view, and play multiple short videos, making for an immersive experience.

If you use multiple formats, think about who the primary audience is for each type. Newer, lower-level supporters will likely be happy with condensed versions of your annual report like videos or postcards, while important stakeholders will want to see more comprehensive information in a book or PDF.

Now that you know what to include in your annual report and your options for formatting it, you’re likely ready to dive into creating your own. As you compile the report, keep these six best practices in mind.

1. Start With a Clear Plan

The first step for every successful project at your nonprofit is creating a plan, and your annual report is no exception. You’ll likely need the help of multiple team members or departments to assemble all of the information, as well as compile and design the document. 

First, determine your report’s audience. This will likely include your current supporters as well as prospective donors,  corporate sponsors , and grantmaking foundations. If you have to file your annual report with your state government, they’re also part of your audience.

Then, consider your purpose and strategy. At its core, your annual report should persuade your audience to support your cause. However, you might have smaller objectives, such as highlighting a new project or attracting more local sponsors, that align with your nonprofit’s strategic plan. Because it’s difficult to cover everything your organization has done in a year in a single document,  focus your report on three to five core themes that point readers back to your objectives.

Finally, turn to the action aspect of your plan. This part of your strategy may include: 

• Delegating responsibilities and creating timelines for team members.
• Interviewing supporters, leaders, and beneficiaries.
• Compiling and formatting financial data.
• Collecting  key metrics  from fundraising campaigns.

When your nonprofit has a clear plan, the process of creating your report will go more smoothly, and the end result will be more impactful.

2. Highlight Your Supporters

As we’ve mentioned before, your annual report is a chance to showcase the good your nonprofit has done. That being said, it’s easy for nonprofits to simply celebrate  their  accomplishments and forget to mention the support that made them possible.

Rather than focusing solely on your achievements, highlight how different projects and programs were realized because of your supporters’ contributions.  Every form of support your organization received was essential to your success, so thank them for their monetary gifts, in-kind donations, volunteer time, event participation, advocacy for your cause, and more.

By showing donors and volunteers that your accomplishments were possible because of their support, they’ll know that you’re aware of everything they do. Plus, it demonstrates to potential donors that your nonprofit is built on the support of passionate people and encourages them to join that community.

3. Recognize High-Impact Contributors

In addition to discussing your supporters’ accomplishments generally, set aside space in your annual report to draw extra attention to the supporters who went above and beyond for your cause. Besides the customary list of major donors and the initiatives they supported, consider including stories about some of these donors or other individuals who have been especially impactful to your cause, such as a loyal volunteer or a long-serving board member.

High-impact supporters like this deserve much more recognition than a simple, generic thank-you message, and your annual report is a great place to publicly show your gratitude. When donors feel appreciated and valued in this way, they’re more likely to continue engaging with your nonprofit long-term.

4. Engage Readers With Compelling Visuals

Compiling all of your efforts and data from the past year and condensing them into a single document provides a lot of information for current and prospective supporters to read! This is where strategically placed visuals come in.

Along with capturing and keeping readers’ attention, annual report visuals have many benefits, such as:

• Breaking up blocks of text to make the report more skimmable.
• Transforming complex data into easy-to-understand graphs.
• Translating your mission statement into a tangible need that your audience can develop a passion for.

Incorporate a combination of graphical data visualizations and relevant photos into your report, and make sure to get subjects’ consent if the pictures include any people. For online reports, make some of your visuals interactive for increased engagement.

5. Be Truthful & Transparent

While your annual report is primarily about highlighting your success, it’s important to be honest about your organization’s progress. Sometimes your projects won’t go as planned—and that’s okay! 

By briefly mentioning your missteps and how you plan to correct the issue in the future, you’ll show your audience that you’re proactive in solving problems.  Make sure to address:

• The causes of your setbacks (if you know what they are).
• The changes you plan to make in the future based on the information you currently have.
• How you’ll gather and incorporate feedback from your supporters as you address these issues.

Touching on setbacks will paint a full picture of the previous year’s progress and demonstrate to donors that despite your challenges, you were still able to make significant strides in furthering your mission.

6. Inspire Your Audience to Take Action

Once you’ve effectively conveyed your mission and achievements in your annual report, many readers might be wondering, “What’s next?”

Dedicate space in your annual report to let readers know how they can support your cause. At minimum, include a link or QR code to your online donation page depending on what format you choose. You might also direct readers to other ways they can get involved, such as:

• Signing up to volunteer
• Registering for the first fundraising event of the new year
• Taking advantage of  corporate philanthropy programs  like employer matching gifts or volunteer grants

Additionally, mention other places where readers can learn more. Include your organization’s website URL, phone number, mailing and email addresses, and social media handles so your audience can stay in touch with you.

To show you these strategies in practice, we’ve compiled a list of our top five nonprofit annual reports. If you still aren’t sure where to start with creating your organization’s annual report, these examples might just spark some inspiration!

The Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy  (TNC) describes itself as “a global environmental nonprofit working to create a world where people and nature can thrive.” For their 2022 annual report, they chose two eco-friendly formats: an interactive website and a PDF that their international community of readers can download in English, Spanish, or Mandarin.

Some highlights of TNC’s report include:

• A concise explanation of their “2030 Goals” strategic plan with accompanying graphics.
• Articles on each of their key projects that highlight their donors and partners, along with relevant photos and opportunities to learn more.
• Multiple formats for their financial data, including a summary bar graph, a letter from the CFO, and a detailed accounting report.

Read The Nature Conservancy’s full annual report .

National FFA Organization

The  National FFA Organization  (FFA stands for Future Farmers of America) is “the premier youth organization preparing members for leadership and careers in the science, business and technology of agriculture.” FFA compiles a digital annual report that can be viewed as a downloadable PDF or on a dedicated mini-site.

Some highlights of FFA’s 2022 annual report include:

• An organized three-part structure based on the pillars of the nonprofit’s 2022-2025 strategic plan: Evolve, Engage, and Empower.
• A timeline highlighting the most important activity or achievement of each month.
• Branded graphics that compile and summarize statistics about all of the nearly 9,000 local FFA chapters.

Read the National FFA Organization’s full annual report.

World Vision International

World Vision International  (WVI) is a faith-based nonprofit organization that works to respond to poverty, provide emergency relief, and promote social justice around the world. Its eye-catching 2022 annual report is available as a downloadable PDF on their website.

Some highlights of WVI’s annual report include:

• Large photos of smiling beneficiaries—several of which are accompanied by testimonials—to put a face to the impact data featured.
• A strong emphasis on the impact of supporters’ participation in the child sponsorship program.
• Graphs showing the organization’s increase in total revenue over the past six years and a detailed but easily readable summary of annual expenditures.

Read World Vision International’s full annual report .

Smithsonian Institution

The Smithsonian Institution’s  mission is to promote “the increase and diffusion of knowledge,” which it does through the 21 museums and one zoo under its control. Because there are so many cultural organizations within this one nonprofit, it produces an extremely comprehensive annual report book each year.

Some highlights of this organization’s 2022 annual report include:

• The statistics in the first spread of the book that highlight the audience’s impact right off the bat.
• First-person perspectives from staff members at many of the Smithsonian’s cultural organizations.
• A thorough and well-organized list of corporate sponsors and major donors.

Read the Smithsonian Institution’s full annual report .

Boston Children’s Hospital

Some large nonprofits, such as higher education or healthcare organizations, may benefit from producing multiple annual reports each year that each focus on one of their areas of work.  Boston Children’s Hospital , one of the largest pediatric hospitals in the United States, creates separate reports for each of its individual programs to better highlight the progress and supporters of each one. A few examples include:

• Neighborhood Partnerships
• Family Advisory Council
• Office of Community Health

Not only do all of these reports include high-quality data presentations and storytelling, but their visual design appeals to each program’s audience. For example, the Office of Community Health uses a dark color scheme when discussing serious health data, while the bright colors in the Neighborhood Partnerships report give it a welcoming feel. However, all of the reports still feature the Boston Children’s Hospital logo to unify them.

Final Thoughts

An annual report is an effective tool for closing out your nonprofit’s year. It empowers you to highlight your achievements and recognize everyone who has helped you along the way. With the tips and strategies in this guide, you can create an effective annual report that donors look forward to receiving every year.

Remember that annual reports from other nonprofits also provide value to your work. The information within those reports can offer deeper insights that you can use to identify and build relationships with prospective donors.

To learn more about boosting your nonprofit’s fundraising performance, check out these resources:

• Major Gifts: A Guide to Securing Large Donations . Dive deeper into the process of securing major gifts from the donors you’ll feature in the list of major contributors in your annual report.
• Your Annual Fund: A Definitive Guide to Boost Your Strategy . Your nonprofit’s annual fund provides a financial foundation for all of the initiatives you report each year. Discover the best strategies to fill this fund.
• Fundraising Intelligence: Using AI to Enhance Philanthropy . Explore how to leverage AI-powered tools to fundraise and report on your organization’s activities more intelligently.

Introducing Enhanced CORE

Introducing Enhanced CORE by DonorSearch — your organization’s gateway to AI. Our AI-powered fundraising platform is the perfect entry point for organizations looking to harness the power of predictive artificial intelligence. Join us in embracing the future of fundraising with confidence.

Nonprofit Annual Report: Creating Your Best One Yet! (+ 15 Examples!)

Imagine: it’s the end of the year and you’re celebrating all you’ve accomplished with your team. You sit down at your desk, do a couple of good chair stretches, get ready to write up your nonprofit annual report and… you blank.

So much has happened this past year, so where do you even start? What should you include? What should you leave out? How should you structure the document? 

Making a nonprofit annual report can feel like a big undertaking! After all, it highlights all of your organization’s success, celebrates donation impact and lays out all the numbers to promote transparency. Plus, the story an impact report tells is key to promoting donor stewardship.

But don’t panic—we’ve got the answers and the tools to make it simple! 

Here’s everything you need to know about writing an annual impact report, complete with a nonprofit annual report template.

What is a Nonprofit Annual Report and What’s its Purpose?

A nonprofit annual report is an end-of-year document that highlights your organization’s achievements from the past year. From celebrating campaign success to sharing benefactor stories to producing financial transparency, your annual report is a snapshot of how you’ve supported your mission.

This document also serves as a great big thank you for donors and volunteers! After all, your successes would not have been possible without them. Highlighting what you’ve achieved together is key to fostering donor stewardship.

A nonprofit annual report is similar to an impact report or donor report, but there are a few key differences:

• Annual reports lay out your accomplishments from the past year. They’re sent a couple of months after the financial year ends and provide a full overview of how you met your goals.
• Impact reports are typically sent out quarterly and are somewhat less common of a practice than annual reports. An impact report example could be highlighting the success of each quarterly campaign, which motivates your donors to support the next one.
• Donor reports are shorter, more frequent and very personalized. A donor impact report highlights—you guessed it!—donation impact and keeps your donors in the loop about what their support is helping you achieve.

Nonprofit annual reports aren’t technically required—an Annual Filing or filling out Form 990 are the only end-of-year documents you need to produce. However, that doesn’t mean annual reports aren’t important!

We won’t deny that making your annual report is a time commitment, which can feel difficult to spare during the rush of the end of year giving season. But with the way these reports build trust, donor stewardship and excitement for the year to come, you’ll feel the impact in both your wallet and your community.

10 Key Elements to Include in Your Nonprofit Annual Report

A year is long, and no doubt you’ve achieved all sorts of wonderful things! Here are some tips on distilling that information into what’s most useful for an annual impact report.

On a broad level, consider:

• Tone. Nonprofits typically benefit from being warm and personable—but they also need an element of authority! Your audience should trust that you know what you’re doing.
• Audience. Consider who you’re talking to. For example, if your demographic of donors are typically younger, they might prefer something more informal.
• Branding. Lay out your report in your organization’s branded fonts and colors. The document is celebrating your nonprofit, so it should wear your nonprofit’s clothes!

Now, the details! Here are 10 key elements to include in your nonprofit annual report:

1. Start with a table of contents

If this list includes 10 elements, you can probably imagine that there’s quite a bit of information your annual donor impact report will include! Make the reading experience smooth by including a table of contents.

Some of your dedicated supporters will want to read through the report front to back. Others might have specific areas of interest. For example, if one reader donated a huge sum to a specific campaign, they might just want to see how it played out.

A table of contents lets your readers know how to find the information that’s most interesting to them personally!

2. Add a letter from the President or Board Chair

Letters or messages from the Executive Director and Chair of the Board are standard fare in an annual report! After all, it’s super important for those leading the organization to sign off on the state of affairs and share their own pride in your accomplishments.

The opening letter can introduce the theme, summarize the content and give a personal touch to the report.

Your introduction should be:

• Short. A few succinct paragraphs will do the job. You don’t have to fill a page.
• Conversational. Don’t be afraid to let some personality shine through! Aim for a professional, but warm and friendly tone.
• Self-aware. If significant events are impacting your audience, organization or cause, briefly acknowledge that they’re there. Even a short nod to difficult circumstances, like, “Losing our building to a fire was incredibly challenging, but we’re still fighting the good fight,” can assure your audience that you’re in touch. 
• Candid. It’s okay to acknowledge setbacks and challenges. In fact, it’s not a good idea to say how great the year was if it wasn’t! Your donors and supporters don’t expect perfection, but they do expect transparency.
• Positive. Be honest, but project a hopeful, positive attitude. Hint at a few things you’re excited about for the coming year. Stay upbeat!

Short and sweet gets the job done in this executive message from Sarnia-Lambton Rebound .

3. Put the mission front and center

Your annual report is, above all, an opportunity to showcase your mission. 

It might feel redundant to emphasize your mission to people who’ve already supported it, but your supporters spend much less time thinking about the details of your mission than you do! They joined your organization for a reason—remind them what it is.

Include your mission statement in the report so the contents can directly show how your work is actively pursuing it.

The Voluntary Sector Reporting Awards (VSRAs) established Best Practices in Charity Annual Reporting . They recommend:

• Clearly stating the organization’s mission and tying it back to your activities throughout the report.
• Linking performance objectives and targets back to the mission.
• Disclosing your organization’s risks, issues and challenges in the context of the mission.
• Telling the reader how your organization governs itself and how that governance structure reflects your mission.
• Skipping out on individual committee reports in favor of a broad-based report that tells the organization’s story as a whole! The committee reports can be posted to the website if they are considered important disclosures.

Sarnia-Lambton Rebound reminds their supporters of their mission right from the beginning.

4. Highlight your major achievements

Don’t overwhelm your readers with every single detail—instead, choose your absolute highlights to celebrate in your annual impact report!

Gather a committee (or work with your board of directors!) and ask yourselves:

• If we could only tell donors about one thing we accomplished this year, what would it be? Don’t worry, you’ll be able to tell them about more than one! But see where the consensus is about your greatest successes.
• What are our key messages? The accomplishments you choose tell a story. What is it? 
• Is there a theme that might be fitting? How do your key messages relate to each other? Is there a theme, like growth, perseverance, hope or family?
• How do these accomplishments relate to our mission? Spell it out, even if it feels very obvious! Again, clarity is key so that your supporters know exactly how you’ve helped support your constituents.

Navos shares their year’s accomplishments with quick facts and engaging graphics.

5. Drive more impact with storytelling

The best way to showcase your accomplishments is through storytelling . A long list of achievements or collection of facts might be exciting to you, but it won’t necessarily capture your donors’ hearts.

Telling a story helps associate emotions to events . Choose which stories best highlight your accomplishments and your overall mission.

A good nonprofit annual donor impact report story:

• Tells the truth. You can simplify a story and change details to protect privacy. However, the bones of the story should be true. After all, you’re using it as proof that you deserve support!
• Focuses on a central character. As I mentioned before, it’s easier to connect with the story of one person than a group. Use one named person as the subject of your story.
• Uses the person’s own words as much as possible to tell the story. Quotes and first-person narratives are most compelling.
• Shows a change as a result of the nonprofit’s action and the donors’ gifts. Use a storytelling structure with a beginning, middle and end to show what changed.

If you created a new program, introduce readers to the problem it solved via one person’s story. A great example is this one from Nuru-International , which focuses on the story of Josphat, a single farmer. 

6. Present data in a visually appealing way

Nothing makes peoples’ eyes glaze over like a long block of text! If you want to engage your readers, it’s essential to present your data in a way that’s visually appealing.

Your nonprofit annual report could include:

• Attractive infographics. This will help your readers take in data at a glance! For example, breaking where your fundraising money went into a pie chart lets your readers see their donation impact without needing to dig.
• Compelling photographs. A picture’s worth a thousand words, right? With the right photo, all you need is a simple caption to get your point across.
• Consistent fonts. Don’t make your readers dizzy with a bunch of cluttered fonts! Stick to your branding all the way through to guide their eyes.
• Headings and subheadings. These features keep your impact report accessible and easy to scan. Make it easy for your readers to find what they’re looking for.

While the data itself is super important, how it’s laid out has an equal impact! If you know all the data but aren’t sure how to make it pretty, consult with your marketing or design experts.

7. Be transparent with a financial statement

It’s important to share your financial information in a way that makes sense to your audience. Give them an overview of where the revenue comes from and how it is spent.

You could do this with traditional financial statements, visual charts and graphs or infographics. By using plain English and clear visuals, your readers should understand the meaning behind the numbers in your annual impact report. Most importantly, they should always connect back to your mission, vision and values!

Aurora Cultural Centre promotes accountability, but doesn’t overwhelm their audience with their financial statement.

They also demonstrate what your numbers mean with visual organizers like charts and graphs.

8. Celebrate your donors

Many organizations decide to print the names of the year’s donors and the levels of their gifts in their annual report. This is a way to say thank you and show donors that they’re part of a large community of supporters!

Still—it’s a list of names, which means it’s likely to be skimmed. People look for their own names, but rarely read the entire list. Consider interspersing quotes and photos to get more value out of the pages.

And of course, make sure all spelling, titles and giving levels are correct. Double and triple check!

9. Recap events and milestones

Think of your nonprofit annual report as a celebration of your year’s greatest hits. What were the events you’re still talking about? What campaign moments had your whole team cheering?

Your members, donors and supporters have not had the same inside look into the organization as you. No matter how much they care about your mission, it’s very likely that they missed something during the year!

Brag away, and really lean into the impact these milestones had for your community. If these milestones link back to fundraising, lean into talking about donation impact.

10. Call to action: Keep the party going!

The work doesn’t stop with the annual report—in fact, it’s just beginning! The best impact report should inspire your donors to keep getting involved with your nonprofit.

Give them a next step with a strong call to action, reiterated throughout your report. 

For most organizations, this will be an ask for donations, but don’t limit yourself! Inviting people to volunteer, follow your social media or advocate for your cause is just as good of a way to help your organization grow.

SC Thrive closes their report with more ways to get involved.

A Sample Annual Report Table of Contents  

Setting up a table of contents is a great way to lay out expectations for readers—and to give you some structure starting out!

Annual reports are structured differently depending on the format and your organization’s goals. A traditional, printed report typically looks something like this:

• Welcome Letter/Introduction
• Summary of Highlights
• Financial Information
• Multiple Stories of Accomplishment

When it comes to your table of contents, you can either keep things simple and straightforward or get creative. Check out this annual impact report example from Feeding America .

This beautifully branded table of contents is attractive while also being super informative! You can easily see how long each section is at a glance.

How To Choose an Annual Report Format

With all of the room here for creativity, you might be wondering how to begin structuring your annual donor impact report.

Should it be printed and mailed? What images should you include? Is it really necessary to have every donor’s name listed? 

While the answer to a lot of these questions will depend heavily on your organization, here are a few things to consider throughout the process. 

Online Vs. Printed?

Before the age of the internet, annual reports were documents to be printed and mailed.These days, simply going digital is becoming more popular.

This is because posting your annual report online:

• Is more environmentally-friendly
• Saves you admin time
• Makes them easier for prospective members to read

If you have a group of donors who expect to receive a printed piece, feel free to make that option available upon request. It might also help you to conduct an online survey to get an idea of what your audience is looking for. After all, these reports are meant to connect you with your supporters!

What About Visuals?

As we mentioned earlier (and demonstrated in the Feeding America example!), visuals can be incredibly beneficial to your annual report. They keep the report dynamic, accessible and skimmable. Plus, who doesn’t love a good branding opportunity?

Note that digital annual reports also make it possible to use as many full-color images as you like! Another benefit to taking the online route.

15 Nonprofit Annual Report Examples to Get You Started

Want a little inspiration? Here you’ll find examples from charities, membership organizations and chambers of commerce. We’ve included organizations big and small, so there’s something for everyone! These are 15 of our favorite annual impact report examples:

1. Feeding America

What we like (again!):

• This annual impact report example is beautifully designed with a cohesive and engaging motif throughout. Text and easy-to-read visuals alternate.
• Real photos accompany the stories of people who benefit from the organization’s work, with a “special thanks” section which acknowledges the people who made it possible.
• Financials are creatively done with stacked plates.
• Lots of space is used to display the logos of corporate partners—they’re not squeezed onto one page, but spread over 23 pages.

2. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

What we like:

• This annual impact report example has viewing options for either a pdf or interactive report hosted on issuu.com.
• Striking visuals of scientific accomplishments, complete with comprehensive explanations for supporters who might be less familiar with scientific terminology.
• The financial section is done with engaging, branded visuals and graphs.
• The impact is broken down by the scientific field it is relevant to.

3. Buffalo Niagara Partnership

• This annual report is a slideshow embedded on the organization’s website.
• Sponsors and partners are given priority by placing their gratitude content on the third page of the report. There is also recognition space in the last few pages.
• Lots of photos with brief but descriptive captions, avoiding lengthy blocks of text.
• The webpage where the annual report slideshow is embedded also houses a summary video and yet another list of key sponsors.

4.  BC Cancer Foundation

• Instead of making a webpage, The BC Cancer Foundation has created an entirely separate website just for the annual report. Different sections of the report are accessible through links in the header, which stays in place as site visitors scroll through.
• The website is full of moving photos and animations, creating an engaging experience for the visitors. 
• A large “Donate” button is always present in the top right corner, inviting people to donate as they read the inspiring stories within the report. 
• Each section is collapsed to save scrolling space, but visitors can expand content if they’re interested in reading it in full. 

5.  Save the Children

• This annual impact report example is done as an interactive online slideshow. Viewers can not only click through slides, but also click to read captions, play video and audio content or click through mini galleries of photos. 
• The report is full of moving stories and powerful photos. Because this is a report from 2020, the lead page shows a child with a mask, marking the way COVID shaped the year for the mission.
• Statistics are displayed over photos rather than just as graphics. 
• Messages from the organization’s advocates are recorded as audio and can be played by clicking on their photos.

6. Florida Farm Bureau Federation

• This annual report is hosted on issuu.com.
• The annual report is framed with the theme “Rooted in Resilience,” with each section broken down into what that means. For example, being rooted in policy, community, membership, leadership, etc.
• There is a consistent plant-based theme and branding strategy.
• The report ends with photos of people working in grassroots initiatives.

7. American Dance Festival

• This annual report is hosted on issuu.com, with the option to download the slides. The link can be easily accessed from their About page on the main website.
• The numbers and stats are broken down in an attractive and readable graphic.
• Stunning images of the dancers in action are highlighted throughout the report.
• ADF Fund contributors are listed at the end, broken down by their level of giving.

8. It Gets Better Project

• The It Gets Better Project has an attractive branded annual report with optimistic messaging that reflects the organization’s mission, vision and values.
• A media representation timeline shows the full year’s reach and impact in an easy-to-understand visual.
• The financials are broken down into straightforward numbers in a colorful chart, and include a pie chart to further represent what it looks like.
• The report ends with a Year Ahead section which expresses hopes and plans for the future of the organization.

9.  Salt Lake Chamber

What we like:  

• This annual impact report example is housed on a dedicated page on the organization’s website.
• It starts with a video message from leadership.
• The “Highlights” section contains brief paragraphs, with links to read more. 
• The report contains lots of embedded videos from events and award presentations. 
• Public policy and membership statistics are clearly represented with engaging graphics. 

10.  Raising Readers in Story County

• This annual report has a unique infographic format. It’s very concise—only three pages!—but still showcases just as much impact as more lengthy reports. 
• It includes achievements from the past year, program highlights, impressive statistics, quotes from parents and list of supporters. 
• The design of the report is visually appealing and is representative of the community this organization serves: young children and their parents. 

11.  Greater Chicago Food Depository

• This annual impact report example is housed on its own website, with a bar on the right hand side to show visitors’ progress through the homepage. Plus, the homepage ends with a call to get involved. 
• Many video elements: a welcome video from leadership, a video background on the homepage and video snippets to accompany impactful stats.
• Stories are presented as headlines and brief descriptions, with links to read them in full on other pages of the website. 
• Sections like “About Us”, donor lists and financials can be found on other pages of the website through links in the header.

12.  The Humane Society

• This annual report includes lots of large, impactful photos.
• Because this report is from 2020, it highlights the impact of the initial COVID-19 outbreak on the mission.
• It contains a spread summarizing the organization’s top achievements from the past year.
• Every story reminds us of both the short- and long-term visions that the story supports. 
• There are lots of interesting facts and statistics throughout the report.
• The last page of the report is a brief summary of financials (a more detailed version can be downloaded from the organization’s website). 

13.  ChildFund

• This annual report is full of impactful stories about donors and people who have benefited from the support. 
• It has lots of powerful photos and mini stories in their captions.
• Engaging graphics showcase statistics and impact.
• Colorful fonts reflect the fact that the beneficiaries are children.

14. Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce

• This nonprofit annual report contains a page with a summary of key objectives and achievements from the past year, as well as how they align with the organization’s mission. 
• There are lots of statistics and photos to accompany them.
• The report provides statistics about important areas of the organization such as membership, events, communications, resources, advocacy and partnerships.

• The report starts with the organization’s reach and scale, their mission and values and their code of conduct and policies. 
• Each impact story is accompanied by a few key statistics and a quote from someone who’s seen the organization’s impact first-hand. 
• Worldwide impact is shown by visually connecting each country’s story to where it is on the world map. 
• Full spread photos divide the report into sections. 

Your Annual Report Checklist

Before you get started on your annual report, it can be majorly helpful to create a checklist of everything you need to know to make it happen.

Your checklist should help you determine your:

• Team members: Is there a project leader, committee or board support?
• Objective: Who’s your key audience, and what action do you want your report to inspire them to take?
• Format: Digital, print, video? A bit of everything?
• Outline: What do you want to include, and what will your Table of Contents end up looking like?
• Key messages and themes: Which accomplishments do you want to highlight? What is the story that this report tells?
• Budget: How much do you want to put into expenses like content development, graphic design and distribution?
• Production schedule: What’s your target release date, and what workback schedule do you need to hit it?

For more detail on what you might need, we’ve made an easy-to-follow annual report checklist to take away the guesswork!

Nonprofit Annual Report Template to Get You Started!

Don’t fear your annual report.

Creating an annual report can feel like a big task, but remember that all the information you need is already available! You already know how to tell a good story, communicate impact and show gratitude to donors. All that’s left is to follow a structure and get creative.

(And download our annual report checklist if you want a little extra help!)

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Nonprofit Annual Report Guide: Examples & Tips for Creating an Impactful Design

Nonprofit annual report examples.

• Tips for Creating Your Report
• Impact Report Checklist
• Copywriting
• Visual Design

Is it impact report time already?!

If you need to create your nonprofit annual report (and you’ve somehow found your way to this blog post), I’m assuming you could use a little inspiration. No worries; I’ve been there, too, and I’ve got ya covered! In this post, I’m sharing my favorite nonprofit annual report examples—along with some very specific pointers about what makes each one so effective.

This list contains some of our favorite nonprofit annual reports, ranging from quick four-pagers to online-only landing pages to full printed reports of 80 pages and up.

Wild Montana

A gorgeous magazine spread worthy of your coffee table

Wild Montana’s 2020 Annual Report  makes use of gorgeous imagery—and for a conservation organization, pictures really do speak volumes! This report clearly showcases what’s at stake and what needs protection.

Here are a few highlights from this report:

• It has a very polished design with thoughtful use of colors, photos, and layout.
• It uses repeated motifs to tie the report together visually, such as the chalk-style divider line, the paper-textured background, and images with the background cut out.
• It uses the landscape orientation, which is uncommon in nonprofit annual reports and works well with the stunning imagery and wide landscape shots.
• They use very short headlines to keep the text easy to read and visually simple.

The only thing that’s missing in my opinion? A table of contents. Because this report is over 15 pages long, I would expect to see a table of contents to help readers understand and navigate it better.

AIDS Foundation Chicago (AFC)

The (all-online) impact report with the splashiest and snazziest animation

The AIDS Foundation of Chicago is the perfect example of a growing trend: nonprofit impact reports that are all online. This organization takes it one step further by featuring a creative animation at the top of their  2020 annual report . (I will say that some people might find the animation difficult to read—but it’s definitely professionally done!)

A few other notable points about this online impact report:

• Because everything is on a single web page, there’s no need to view a PDF through a separate website or worry about downloading anything.
• The organization makes great use of design motifs, including hand-drawn decorative marks, organic cut-out shapes, and colored photo overlays.
• This nonprofit annual report displays  tons  of statistics throughout the page.
• They keep the page easy to scan and well divided by using large headlines and alternating various background colors.

If I had to be picky about anything, I’d say that the body font could be a little thicker. It’s so thin (and uses such wide-set letterforms) that I doubt this would pass accessibility checks. People with low vision might not be able to read this report.

Mayan Families

A multilingual nonprofit impact report with an awesome cover

Does your nonprofit serve speakers of different languages? Then take a page out of the Mayan Families book and create an annual report in all of the languages you primarily serve!

This organization has compiled  one annual report in English  and  one annual report in Spanish —both designed to match the nonprofit’s brand and share the wonderful work they’re doing. If you have the resources to do so, multilingual support is a wonderful way to meet your audiences where they are.

Some other things I really like about these annual reports include:

• Really nice use of color palette, incorporating bright colors drawn from traditional fabric without becoming overwhelming
• Vibrant and engaging cover photo featuring four smiling women
• Nicely organized content sections including summaries of 2020 and plans for 2021 in each of their programming areas
• A map at the very beginning of the nonprofit annual report, making their work more tangible

If I were to make one recommendation for this organization from a graphic designer’s point of view, it would be to switch away from justified text and toward left-aligned text (also called “ragged right”). This would prevent some of the awkward text spacing that you can see in the example image below.

Native Governance Center

A simple, easy-to-read online report with a very powerful cover photo

The Native Governance Center is another example of an online-only nonprofit impact report. Compared to the extremely long report from the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, I’d say this version is a bit more realistic for many nonprofits. It’s detailed and information-rich but not so long and complex that it couldn’t be done in house.

Other things that are awesome about  the Native Governance Center’s 2020 annual report :

• Amazing  choice of cover photo—powerful, serious, professional, and still friendly
• Great use of statistics
• Simple but well-implemented color scheme
• Includes embedded explainer videos
• Includes a call to action button at the end (one of the great things about having a web page version of the annual report)

Community Foundation of Louisville

A beautiful nonprofit annual report design without a single photograph

Alright… so your nonprofit doesn’t have the stunning images that Wild Montana does? Have no fear! The Community Foundation of Louisville does an excellent job with their  2020 annual report —without a single photo to be had.

Instead of images, this organization uses a series of illustrations with a quirky, hand-drawn style that adds plenty of character. If you don’t have many photographs to use, this is a great example to follow.

Other points I love about this nonprofit annual report:

• Bright and varied color scheme, implemented well
• Excellent use of large statistics—12 different stats in just 8 pages
• Lots of white space in the design with plenty of room to breathe
• Creative use of textures, such as the bars in the bar chart shown below

Center for Urban Families (CFUF)

Powerful color scheme and typography with awesome focus on personal stories

The Center for Urban Families shows that nonprofit impact reports can be just as visually impactful as the work they do. I mean, couldn’t you see the cover image above as a Nike ad? It’s powerful, friendly, and empowering—plus the writer in me loves the play-on words.

What else is great about this  CFUF nonprofit annual report ? Lots of things, but here are some highlights:

• Clean layout with plenty of white space and easy-to-read columns
• Consistent use of color, type, and brand messaging
• Fantastic use of stories from all kinds of people: members, alumni, partners, board members, and staff
• Focus on including the reader in the message with key headlines like “Together we can do more”

A great example of a very long impact report that’s still easy to read

If you’re a large nonprofit with many distinct geographic locations and programming initiatives, then Cycling UK is the perfect example to follow. This nonprofit annual report is a whopping 81 pages long—probably because it combines the typical annual report information with financial statements and notes required by UK law.

Despite the length, the impact report is still very easy to read and well organized overall. I especially love the:

• Table of contents—definitely necessary for such a long report!
• Page for organizational values, featured prominently in the inner cover
• Excellent use of branded color scheme throughout the document
• Great use of statistics with icons for easy scanning
• Good incorporation of COVID-19 and the unique challenges of 2020
• Creative use of maps, which are important to a group of cyclists

100 Black Men

The perfect way to show appreciation to sponsors (plus excellent storytelling!)

Do you have a lot of sponsors to include in your nonprofit impact report? 100 Black Men of America, Inc. has taken a fantastic approach.

Instead of listing sponsors in a basic list at the end of the report, they’ve highlighted sponsors  within  the stories they tell (see the screenshot below for an example). This is a great way to show sponsors just how much work they’re helping you accomplish—and to give them a place of prominence that makes them feel appreciated.

Here are a few other things that this impact report example does well:

• Tons of testimonials, stories, and case studies sprinkled throughout the report
• Simple color scheme that’s on brand and easy to read
• Liberal use of bullet points for easy scanning of program activities and results
• Wonderful variety of photos including portraits, group photos, action shots, etc.
• Use of a logo cloud to show sponsors—more visually interesting than a list

Tips for Creating Your Nonprofit Annual Report

As you can see from the nonprofit annual report examples above, there are a million ways to design an awesome report—which I guess is part of the challenge, right? It’s hard to narrow down what your report should look like and what it should contain when there are so many right ways to do it.

As you design your impact report, keep these tips in mind:

• Spend some time choosing an impactful cover photo—you don’t get a second first impression!
• Weave high-quality photos throughout the report if you have them. You can also add some pizzazz by using royalty-free photos as background elements—try websites like  Pexels  or Unsplash.
• Don’t forget the table of contents if you’re creating a long report. (If you’re making an electronic version, you can hyperlink to the pages for even easier navigation.)
• If you’re making an online-only report, make sure that it’s easy to navigate in a browser. Make sure that the table of contents isn’t hidden, and there aren’t too many scrolling sections within scrolling sections, which can become frustrating to use.
• For an online nonprofit annual report, make use of the medium! Add animations, interactive maps, embedded videos, and links to really make the most of the digital format.
• Consider having your report translated if you serve multilingual audiences. This can really demonstrate that you value  all  of your people.
• When in doubt, add more stories! Personal stories are one of the most  effective ways to create a nonprofit brand that people remember . You can tell stories about your board, staff, volunteers, participants, and more.
• Not sure how to make your impact report cohesive? Try to create a theme! Choose a few words that really embody your nonprofit’s year—maybe  resilience  for 2020—and then use synonyms, idioms, and imagery around this theme.
• Make each report unique. Highlight what made this year different and what you’ve learned to take into the next year. You don’t want your nonprofit annual reports to sound the same year after year.
• Sprinkle statistics throughout the report. These not only provide easy scanning, but they can also break up a page visually.

Bonus tip : Once your report has been created, don’t forget to share it! You can send it out in your  nonprofit newsletter , share it on social media, and link to it throughout your website. (Since funders may look for your impact report along with your financials, it’s a good idea to keep these items in one easy-to-find place on your site, too.)

Annual Report Must-Haves: A Quick Checklist

Before I go, I want to finish this article with a quick checklist for your nonprofit annual report. Before your design is finalized and sent off to print (or to be posted on your website), make sure that it has these items:

✓  An opening message—often a brief letter from the ED or a short summary paragraph

✓  Summary/highlights of individual programs during the year

✓  Statistics or other information to express program results

✓  Stories, quotes, or case studies to connect with the audience

✓  Anything especially unique to happen this year—some interesting challenge, leadership change, global pandemic, etc.

✓  Some kind of vision, plan, or message for the upcoming year

✓  Summary of financials

✓  A thank you to donors—often listed out by name and/or giving level

✓  A call to action—how can readers learn more, donate, or join you?

Let’s see… what else? In terms of design, I recommend including as many photos as possible and adding even more white space than you think necessary. In terms of copywriting, try to make sure that you’re speaking in a reader-centric way, using “you” and making the reader feel  important  to your work. A good rule of thumb is start from a place of, “Here’s what we did together this year,” rather than, “Here’s what our nonprofit did for you.”

That’s it! With these nonprofit annual report examples and tips in mind, I hope you’ll feel a little more inspired to get started on yours.

How does your org create its nonprofit annual report? Do you have any tips to share?

Andrea is Creative Lead for Pixel Lighthouse, where she helps nonprofits better tell their stories through the right combination of design and content. Outside of work, Andrea is a hand embroidery artist, a mom, and a lover of all things literature. Her favorite spot in the world is her grandmother’s table in Tokyo.

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Many nonprofit professionals greet the annual reporting process with apprehension. This is because nonprofit annual reports have a bad reputation. They’re often seen as a drain on time and resources.

However, you don’t need to dread the creation of your annual report! When well crafted, this resource can be a vital tool to retain and grow donor support .

This post is designed to guide your organization through the nonprofit annual report creation process. We’ll walk you through tips to make your report as effective as possible (with helpful templates along the way to provide formatting examples). Here’s what to expect:

What is a nonprofit annual report?

Nonprofit annual report template, best practices for creating your annual report, tools for creating your nonprofit annual report, inspirational nonprofit annual report examples.

Ready to dive a little deeper into nonprofit annual reports and learn how you can craft yours to maximize the impact at your organization? Let’s get started.

A nonprofit annual report is an externally-facing resource that recaps an organization’s accomplishments and challenges within a year. The audience for this report is the donors, volunteers, constituents and other stakeholders who have been involved with the organization’s projects and programs throughout the year.

Traditionally, this report was a printed document or brochure shared with relevant stakeholders. Nowadays, annual report formats vary widely. They can be presented as PDFs, videos, interactive web pages, online booklets or in other unique formats.

Are nonprofits required to publish annual reports?

In short: no. You may be thinking of Form 990 — every year, nonprofits are required to submit a Form 990 to the IRS. This document contains information about your nonprofit’s revenue and expenses throughout the year. Because this information is publically available, supporters can use your nonprofit’s annual Form 990 to track your financial transparency.

Technically, Form 990 is the only required annual report for nonprofits. However, your annual tax form doesn’t thank your donors, make them feel proud or give them new reasons to engage and grow their relationship with you. A comprehensive annual report can fill this role. That’s why we highly recommend including a full-fledged annual report in your annual strategy.

So, what should a nonprofit annual report include? Here is a basic template that can provide a starting point for building your annual report strategy:

As shown in the template, your annual report should include the following elements:

• Your organization’s mission statement. Feature your mission statement at the very beginning of the document. This will provide context for those who may not be as familiar with your organization and serve as a reminder to those who are.
• Financial information. Again, be as straightforward as possible with these numbers for transparency with your supporters. Donors want to know how you used their funds, so show them that your nonprofit is a responsible steward of their donations by providing context behind major expenses. Get specific about what you were able to accomplish by including statistics about the total number of people you helped, animals you rescued, etc.
• Projects from the year. What projects did you start? What did you finish? Which digital fundraising campaigns were most successful? What still needs to be done in order to reach your nonprofit’s goals? Include photos or videos to show what your efforts looked like.
• Appreciation for your contributors. This is a great opportunity to acknowledge and appreciate your nonprofit’s donors. You can also thank other key stakeholders like volunteers, corporate partners and board members.

Since there is no legal requirement for nonprofits to publish annual reports, there are no specific guidelines for what you must include in your report. However, if you completely omit your financial information from your report, for instance, some supporters may consider it fishy. Promoting full transparency is key to maintaining donor trust and your nonprofit’s reputation.

Now that you have a basic understanding of the elements of an annual report, you can build on your approach to make the report as engaging and effective as possible. Here are a few best practices to keep in mind when developing your nonprofit’s annual report:

1. Incorporate your annual report into your larger strategy

Your annual report will provide the greatest long-term benefits when it supports a larger goal and strategic plan for your organization. You can recoup the time and resources spent creating the report by turning this report into a valuable donor engagement and retention tool.

For example, you can use your annual report to bolster your fundraising strategy . You can support your donor retention efforts by spotlighting top donors and partners in your report and highlighting exciting upcoming initiatives for supporters to get involved with.

You can also use the report to further your marketing approach. Consider the core messages your organization has pushed throughout the year. How can you incorporate those same messages, tone and visuals into your annual report?

Carefully thinking through the purpose of your annual report will help you create a resource that reinforces and supports your other strategic goals.

2. Create a donor-centric nonprofit annual report

Your annual report should be donor-centric to reach your audience on a personal level. Review these strategies for keeping your report centered on your supporter community:

Consider your audience

Your annual report’s format is a key decision to make and you can base the choice on what you anticipate your audience will read. Understanding your audience demographics and preferences is the first step to ensuring your annual report is designed for their needs.

You may have some donors who want all of the details about your organization’s efforts as soon as possible. They value and appreciate a book-style annual report with detailed stories, infographics and charts.

You may also have some donors who won’t sit down to read your newsletter, much less a lengthy annual report. You may consider sending a single page of infographics rather than a full report to these donors.

Apply a you-attitude throughout the document

A you-attitude is all about presenting accomplishments as your donors’ rather than your organization’s. Try to keep supporters centered at all times. For instance, compare the following sentences:

The second sentence uses you-attitude and is more likely to hold the attention of your supporters throughout a document like your nonprofit annual report. This subtle shift lets the donor know you’re truly grateful for their support.

Create visuals to feature important metrics and information

It can be overwhelming to pick up a large packet of information with pages and pages of text. Instead, break up the text with infographics, graphs and charts, images of supporters and volunteers and other interesting graphics.

Visuals make it easier for supporters to scan your nonprofit annual report and pull out the data that means the most to them.

3. Choose a nonprofit annual report format

The traditional nonprofit annual report is a book-length document. Since some donors prefer having extensive information about your organization, these lengthy reports aren’t a waste of time and energy.

Sending comprehensive annual report booklets to the right donors can pay off, like in the case of The Rhode Island Foundation . This organization published a well-designed, well-written report. They cut down on the number of reports they mailed directly (and made the report available online) but made sure to continue sending the paper version to some local lawyers.

An elderly man walked into the office of one of these local lawyers, prepared to write a will and get his affairs in order. While he waited to be seen, he picked up one of the copies of the Rhode Island Foundation annual report. He hadn’t quite known what to do with his sizable estate before that moment. Years later, upon his passing, the Rhode Island Foundation received a small fortune from that generous man, all thanks to a printed annual report.

This story illustrates the benefits of a traditional report format. However, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t adapt to the times. Analyze your audience and create your annual report according to what they’re most likely to respond to.

Remember that you can always post your full report online and use other formats to summarize information and invite your supporters to visit your website to view the entire document. For example, let’s review some other unique formats that you may use to convey your annual report:

Large Postcard

Postcards are designed to be brief so that supporters can quickly and easily skim the information rather than read a lengthy document (or book). Your goal shouldn’t be to jam-pack this postcard with all of the information that you would include in a traditional report. Instead, you should highlight only the most important details.

Your postcard should:

• Convey impact and results . Due to limited space, you may need to be selective about the most important metrics to incorporate. Remember, this is the opportunity for your nonprofit to show the world the good you’ve done in the last year.
• Visually display information. Make sure the information is easy to read. Charts, graphs and prominently-displayed statistics help draw attention to the most important aspects of the postcard.

While you may not have the opportunity to include every detail in this format, you can leverage additional platforms alongside your postcard. For example, you may leave out appreciation messages for major donors in your postcard, but include a QR code leading to a virtual donor recognition wall to show your gratitude in another way.

Here is a template for what your annual report postcard might look like:

This template includes financial information, a short summary of the accomplishments during the year and key statistics that reveal the organization’s impact.

Self-Mailer

Another option for sending your nonprofit annual report is creating a 2-4 page document self-mailer. Self-mailers can be incredibly useful because they bypass the issue of getting your supporter to open an envelope in the first place since the address and postage are printed directly on the document. It’s easy for your supporters to simply open the document and read what it says.

Follow these best practices when designing a self-mailer:

• Include clearly stated next steps. When you designate the next steps supporters should take to further engage with your organization, you ensure the mailer won’t just get lost with their junk mail. By incorporating a list of upcoming events or the URL for your donation page, you increase the likelihood that they’ll keep the report for a longer period of time.
• Incorporate plenty of images. Break up the text with images to engage your readers without distracting them from the copy. Be sure the mailer is visually compelling and not overwhelming for your readers.
• Keep your copy concise. You have more space with a self-mailer than a postcard, but it’s still somewhat limited. Condense your copy to make sure it’s short, sweet and to the point, but still cover all of the important aspects of your annual report.

While this type of nonprofit annual report is designed to be physically mailed, it’s also a good idea to send a PDF version via email to gain the attention of those who might have missed it in their mailbox.

Here is an example of what your self-mailer could look like. It contains the same information we highlighted in the postcard, but in a multi-page format:

A well-designed, compelling video is a great way to not only tell your supporters but also show them the impact they made on your organization’s mission. Follow these steps to create an effective video:

• Be picky about your videographer. Video annual reports need to be professional in order to make an impact on your supporters, and hiring a videographer is the easiest way to ensure this. As you review your top options, carefully examine their past videos. If they don’t inspire you, move on. Home movie quality just won’t cut it.
• Follow a prepared script. Gather your staff’s best writers to craft the script to discuss all of the important metrics and accomplishments that you want to highlight in your annual report. The other shots in the video will support the speaker’s words.
• Use relevant footage. If your organization focuses on reducing water pollution, then show footage of rushing rivers and streams. If you help abandoned animals find new homes, incorporate clips of dogs meeting their new families for the first time. Use the video format to its fullest potential by including maps when discussing location or by featuring videos of volunteers when you discuss their involvement.

You can share your video report on your website, social media and email newsletters.

4. Choose compelling visuals for your nonprofit annual report

Your report’s images and graphics should be thoughtfully chosen. Here are a few examples of the types of visuals you might include in your annual report:

• Brand the visuals to your nonprofit. Your entire annual report should flow together cohesively. This means you should make sure your logo is prominently displayed and that your usual colors and fonts are used in images and infographics.
• Diversify the type of images you use. Instead of only including photos of your constituents or staff, diversify your images to help convey more information. For instance, pie charts are a great opportunity to display financial allocations and statistics graphics help draw the reader’s eye.

• Keep donors engaged. Don’t overwhelm your readers with too much text or too many images. Rather, there should be a healthy balance of text and images.

Images should never be distracting. They should be helpful guides when it comes to conveying important information within your nonprofit annual report.

Ask for volunteers to review the document and provide feedback about the imagery used before you send your report out. Or, you might hire a professional graphic designer to help organize all of the information in a visually compelling way.

5. Be honest and appreciative in your nonprofit annual report

Honesty really is the best policy, especially in your nonprofit annual report.

Sometimes things don’t go as planned and you may not reach a specific goal or complete a certain project. However, if you try to cover up mistakes or missed opportunities, you can foster mistrust among supporters.

If you haven’t quite accomplished one of your goals within the last year, briefly mention it in the annual report. Then, follow it up with a game plan to adjust your strategy and show your donors that you’re taking a proactive approach.

Address information such as:

• What the setback was and what caused it
• Data-informed adjustments you’re planning to make to address the issue at hand
• How and when the setback should be addressed in the future

Stay transparent about all of your nonprofit’s activities, including finances, campaign results and external threats, such as any data breaches you may have experienced.

6. Use your nonprofit annual report to look forward

Providing information about your future plans and projects will get people excited about what’s in store for your nonprofit.

When looking forward, make sure to spell out the expectations regarding your organization’s future actions and goals:

• Remind supporters about goals in progress. For example, you might provide an update as to whether or not you’re on track for the capital campaign that you started in 2022 and will wrap up in 2025.
• Get donors excited about the next long-term project for your organization. What major changes are on the horizon for your nonprofit? Let donors know what opportunities you’ll be pursuing next year to show that you’re constantly seeking new ways to grow and evolve.

Forward-facing plans excite your donors and inspire them to continue contributing in the future.

Make sure that after you’ve provided insight about your future plans, you also provide opportunities for your supporters to get involved. Provide some action items that supporters can take part in right away, such as the URL to your donation page, meeting dates and upcoming event registrations so that they can show their support.

You don’t need to be a graphic design expert or set aside a large amount of your budget to build a compelling annual report. There are plenty of free and inexpensive ways to develop your report using user-friendly online resources.

A few helpful design tools for creating your annual report include:

• Yearly , which is an annual report design tool specifically made for nonprofits. You can use the user-friendly drag-and-drop builder to design a professional, mobile-friendly report customized to your nonprofit.
• Venngage , which is a visual storytelling design tool. Using this platform, you can create branded infographics for your digital report without having to consult a graphic designer.
• Canva , which is another free graphic design tool that can help you create your annual report in multiple formats. Canva offers templates for all types of printed and digital designs, including reports, postcards, social media graphics and more.
• Visme , which is a visual communication platform for developing presentations, infographics, data visualizations, videos and more. You can try this platform for free or upgrade to a starter plan to access a wider range of features.

Choose your annual report platform based on the report formats you’re looking to create. Also, take advantage of any free trials or demos before investing in paid plans.

It can be intimidating and hard to get started on a project when you’re just looking at a blank page. That’s why it can be so helpful to review examples to help get you started on your nonprofit annual report.

Here are seven inspirational nonprofit annual reports and the factors that make them so effective:

1. Feeding America 2023 Annual Report

Feeding America’s 2023 Annual Report is a classic example of the traditional PDF annual report format. However, the nonprofit elevates this basic format with eye-catching graphic design and engaging imagery.

In the screenshot above, you can see an example of the unique way the nonprofit depicts its annual financial statement. The organization cleverly ties in its mission with the use of food imagery, giving readers a more engaging way to explore the nonprofit’s financial situation.

Elsewhere throughout the report, images showing the smiling faces of supporters, volunteers, and beneficiaries help foster an emotional connection and provide greater visual intrigue.

2. Leukemia & Lymphoma Society 2023 Annual Report

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) 2023 Annual Report theme is “Transforming Lives.” The organization uses this theme to tell the stories of patients supported throughout the year, from a veteran who survived blood cancer to a student-athlete who received successful treatment.

The report accurately illustrates LLS’ approach to 360-degree support for beneficiaries. Through colorful graphic design and a cohesive theme, readers can get a complete overview of the organization’s successes and financials from the past year.

3. 2023 WWF-US Annual Report

The World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) 2023 Annual Report is rife with engaging imagery showcasing the organization’s conservation mission. The report switches back and forth between stories that highlight both global and local impacts of the organization’s conservation work. This format gives readers a better sense of the scale and scope of WWF’s projects and the different types of ecosystems they support.

At the end of the post, readers can dive into the nonprofit’s statement of activities, including a clear breakdown of operating revenues, expenses, and other financials. The report also includes a detailed list of ways to give, allowing readers who feel inspired after reading the report a clear way to show their support.

4. Rhode Island Foundation 2022 Annual Report

The Rhode Island Foundation annual report is a booklet document that takes a deep dive into the various projects and campaigns from the year. Primarily, they use pictures of supporters, beneficiaries and team members to bring their mission to life.

On the page above, we can see how the foundation used charts and spacing effectively. Rather than including these statistics in the paragraph-style text on the left side of the page, they’re pulled out and made larger and more prominent. This draws the readers’ attention to the most important data points and conveys the organization’s impact more effectively.

5. Georgia River Network Annual Report 2022 Video

The Georgia River Network is an organization that promotes the protection of Georgia’s rivers and watersheds. At the end of 2022, the organization released a brief Annual Report 2022 video with a few key statistics of the progress made throughout the year.

In the video above, you can see how the organization used bold text and lots of white space to make the numbers stand out. The video’s caption includes a call to action to support the nonprofit’s projects and programs in 2023 by donating. This gives supporters a clear way to stay involved in the organization’s future activities.

6. American Heart Association 2022-2023 Annual Report

The stand-out quality of the American Heart Association’s most recent annual report is its comprehensiveness. Anyone picking up this report, whether a donor, beneficiary, or community or corporate partner, is met with a thorough overview of where the organization currently stands.

The organization’s top priorities, from improving rural health to fueling scientific research, are detailed in-depth. Maps, charts, statistics, and images are available to enhance readers’ understanding of the issues.

The report also pays homage to one of the most important groups of nonprofit donors: corporate sponsors . Each major corporate sponsor is given a specific mention and description of how they’ve supported the mission.

7. CaringBridge 2022 Annual Report

CaringBridge is a nonprofit that helps people stay in touch with their loved ones during a health journey using websites and digital updates.

The organization’s 2022 annual report does an excellent job of combining images, text, statistics and stories. As you can see in the image above, they even provide QR codes throughout the report for readers to scan and get more information on stories that spark their interest.

This allows readers to engage with the parts of the report that matter most to them and interact with the report on their mobile devices.

8. Habitat for Humanity 2023 Annual Report

Habitat for Humanity’s 2023 annual report takes a unique spin on illuminating the organization’s mission to provide affordable housing for those in need. Rather than a traditional PDF format, the report is a compelling web page full of text, videos, images, and other multimedia elements that bring the organization’s mission to life. The page uses engaging elements such as bold statistics, pullout quotes, and parallax scrolling to draw readers into the content.

The report also includes a convenient, sticky top-level menu that allows readers to browse the page more easily and jump to different sections that interest them.

9. Girls Who Code 2021 Annual Report

Many nonprofits are taking a digital-first approach to their annual report, including Girls Who Code.

The organization’s 2021 annual report is an interactive, engaging web page that includes infographics and interactive maps, videos, photos, and news articles. The result is a visually delightful report that provides a well-rounded look at the organization’s mission to teach girls how to code.

10. Save the Children 2021 Annual Report

Save the Children’s 2021 annual report also takes an effective digital approach, with a robust web page that features financial information, a year-in-review video, and a link to the full 50-page annual report.

This gives supporters multiple ways to view the report based on their preferences. If they’re just interested in a quick overview, they can view the financial chart and watch the brief video. If they’re looking for a more in-depth review of the year, they can browse through the digital booklet.

Supporters appreciate having options when it comes to how they learn more about a nonprofit’s activities.

Your nonprofit’s annual reports will receive much more attention when they’re thoughtfully crafted, compelling, and well-designed. Ensuring that your report is engaging and educational for your supporters will go a long way in building stronger, long-lasting relationships.

The templates and annual report examples throughout this article should help your nonprofit get started making your annual report the best it can be. If you’re looking for more information about donor communications and effective nonprofit reporting, check out these additional resources:

• The Ultimate Donor Engagement Guide + Top Strategies . Your annual report should work in tandem with your donor engagement strategies to enhance your audience interactions. This guide offers top donor engagement tips and strategies.
• How To Develop A Successful Nonprofit Fundraising Strategy . As mentioned, your annual report must support your organization’s fundraising strategy and other strategic goals. Review this guide for more information about developing a solid fundraising plan.
• 16 Top Donor Management Software Solutions (+ Buyer’s Guide) . Your donor management software can generate reports on fundraising campaigns and donor engagement efforts to fill your annual report with rich data. Use this guide to explore top donor management solutions.

Discover How to Maximize the Lifetime Value of Your Donor Database!

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Nonprofit Annual Reports

Annual reports can be used to highlight a nonprofit’s mission and impact, thank volunteers and supporters, and make a case for donating to the organization. What makes a nonprofit annual report compelling?

Today, more and more nonprofits are going paperless with their annual reports. Should your organization do the same? And here's an idea: the  Living Annual Report,  updated weekly by the Tableau Foundation.

For Starters

Here are two questions to help focus your annual report:

• Who is your audience?
• What do you need to accomplish?

Your annual report will probably be geared towards individual donors, foundations, and perhaps other audiences, so consider the best ways to reach each of them. The contents of your annual report should be visually compelling, underscore your nonprofit’s commitment to  transparency , and explain your organization’s mission, progress, and outcomes.  

Annual reports usually document what your nonprofit has accomplished in the past year, but consider including a vision of what lies ahead. Most annual reports feature photos and financial reports (illustrating the nonprofit’s revenue and expenses), and acknowledge contributors. Annual reports are an opportunity to be candid and transparent about your nonprofit’s finances and outcomes and build trust with your audience.

Paper vs. Paperless

When you are thinking about ways to increase efficiency, whether reducing cost, reaching a wider audience, or attracting more attention, think about whether going paperless is the right choice for your nonprofit. Many organizations have cut back on paper copies or supplement their print material with online resources. Others opt for a completely paper-free path, releasing their annual report as an infographic, a video, or even a Zoom meeting.

Also consider including:

• Interviews (recorded or transcripts)
• Photo galleries
• Screen shots or links to presentations (Prezi, PowerPoint, e-zines)

Practice Pointers

• Be honest and acknowledge both the highs and the lows
• Direct quotes and first person narratives draw the reader’s attention
• Keep it short, simple, and  easy-to-read
• Technology doesn’t always save money or time. Employees need to learn the software and spend time developing the product, which may take just as long as creating print materials.
• Paper copies have their advantages: they can still find their way to influence donors. (Even famous investor Warren Buffett  has been influenced by annual reports! )
• Consider providing paper copies upon request or distributing smaller, more condensed versions of your full annual report. Even a postcard could find its way to the right audience.

Above all, remember that nonprofits are  required to disclose certain information when requested by the public .  Annual reports are not usually the place to disclose that required information, but are  another tool  to help build donor trust, which is important to maintain and easy to lose.

You won’t always have a donor’s ear at just the right moment, so let your nonprofit’s annual report do some of the talking for you!

• Video (examples using  Youtube , etc.)

Sample Annual Reports from the Experts - State Associations of Nonprofits

• CalNonprofits’ Impact Report 2021
• Colorado Nonprofit Association  (2021, infographic)
• Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement  (2021, animated)
• Florida Nonprofit Alliance  (2021)
• Maine Association of Nonprofits ’ 2021-2022 “Impact Snapshot”
• Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits ’ 2021-2022 Annual Report, presented in Flipbook 4, can be easily shared, saved, or opened as a PDF

Disclaimer: Information on this website is provided for informational purposes only and is neither intended to be nor should be construed as legal, accounting, tax, investment, or financial advice. Please consult a professional (attorney, accountant, tax advisor) for the latest and most accurate information. The National Council of Nonprofits makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy or timeliness of the information contained herein.

How to Write a Nonprofit Annual Report: The Ultimate 2024 Guide

Reviewed by:

July 7, 2022

Last Updated:

January 12, 2024

Table of Contents

If your fiscal year wraps up midyear, then it’s also time to start thinking about a very strategic nonprofit document—your organization’s annual report. If the thought of tackling an annual report makes you weak in the knees, don’t worry.

Read on to gain insight into how to write a nonprofit annual report that will motivate people to action and inform your existing donors!

Let’s jump in.

What is a Nonprofit Annual Report?

An annual report is different from the IRS-990 filing which must be submitted annually. Instead, an annual report is a way of reporting back to your donors and supporters about what their gifts helped you achieve, showing the tangible impact of their generosity. It’s also a way to cultivate new donors and to lift up your brand.

A nonprofit annual report can be very simple–a small brochure or an oversized postcard–or a bigger production, such as a four-color printed booklet, a PDF, or even a professionally produced video. ‍

The nice thing about fancier annual reports is that they can be posted on your website to help raise visibility.

If you're looking to start building your own annual report, get started quickly by using our Annual Report Template for Nonprofits . The template is made in Canva, an an easy-to-use creative design tool. You can jump right in, change colors, add your logo, and adjust the copy so it fits your brand.

Why start from scratch when you can use one of our templates?

Why Do You Need a Nonprofit Annual Report?

Remarkably, some nonprofits don’t bother producing an annual report.

This is a mistake.

Even a small annual report can provide essential information to your supporters and can be an effective tool for communicating to foundations and corporations:

• Your organization’s successes
• Your organization’s challenges
• Inspiring stories
• Celebrating donors
• Financial information
• Ongoing call to action

Writing an inspiring annual report isn’t easy, but it should be done. Putting a face to the people you serve or causes you advocate for helps produce an emotional response, and that kind of response often leads to philanthropy.

Being transparent about your challenges, as well as your financials helps build trust. Spotlighting a donor or a group of donors demonstrates why people give to your organization and expresses appreciation for their generosity.

Discover Your Next Grant

5 key things to nail when writing your nonprofit annual report.

There are five things you should focus on nailing to make your nonprofit annual report stand out.

1. Have a plan

Sit down with your team and hammer out the details.

Ask your team key questions such as:

• Who is providing what data?
• Who is providing what stories?
• When is the due date?
• What are the points you’re trying to get across to your constituents?

Choose three or four key themes you want to communicate to keep your report focused and clear.

2. Use visuals

In our digital world, people tend to skim copy and pay more attention to visual images. Take a look at this page from the Natural Resources Defense Council’s 2021 annual report . ‍

Make sure you make the most of visuals, including photographs and infographics, which are a great tool to display important numbers visually. Use photographs of your volunteers in action. Break up blocks of text with visuals and pull-quotes.

3. Be donor-centric not organization-centric

Make your donors and volunteers the heroes of the story you’re telling. In other words, don’t toot your own horn. Present the facts of what you accomplished thanks to your donors.

You wouldn’t be able to accomplish your goals without your donors and volunteers, right? Feature at least one donor profile, and don’t forget to include a list of your donors somewhere in the report.

Peers influence giving, and if your prospective donor’s name isn’t on your list (but their friend’s is) that could stimulate a new gift to your nonprofit. And it’s always nice to feature at least one heart-warming story demonstrating how your volunteers power your organization.

4. Be intentional about your tone

Much as is done in good direct response materials, using the word “you” rather than “we” can engage your readers and also signal to them your gratitude for their support.

Compare these two sentences:

“Thanks to your generosity, we were able to serve 10,000 hot meals to hungry and homeless people”

“Your generous support fed 10,000 hungry and homeless people”

Subtle, right? But effective. Don’t just make your annual report a laundry list of your accomplishments, but rather a celebration of your supporters. In other words, be careful not to pat yourself on the back.

5. Include a Call to Action

Since an annual report is focused on your donors and celebrates how they’ve empowered your mission, if you don’t include a call to action, you’re missing out.

Besides informing and inspiring people, galvanize them. Give them an opportunity to participate by giving–for the first time, or again. Mention other ways they can get involved like volunteering, participating in matching gifts, or donating in-kind gifts. If you have an upcoming special event, include that. Be sure to include your website’s URL, your phone number, and social media links.

For instance, the San Francisco Aids Foundation posted this on Facebook when it’s 2021 annual report went live online: ‍

And Keep Austin Fed , a nonprofit that redistributes food in Austin, TX, tweeted out a promotion of their annual report. ‍

How to Format Your Nonprofit Annual Report

When thinking about how your annual report should be presented, take into consideration two things—your audience and your budget—as you decide on its format.

Using tools like Canva or Vista Create can turn anyone into a designer.

Annual reports can be presented:

• On an oversized postcard in a four-color format. This is a great way to economize on both printing and postage, but be sure you choose the most important metrics since space is so limited.
• As a self-mailer . A self-mailer is a short 2 to 4-page piece that folds down and is sealed shut for mailing. One of the reasons self-mailers are so useful is your constituent doesn’t have to wrestle with opening an envelope. On the downside, self-mailers can be mistaken for junk mail and tossed. Consider emailing your constituents before the piece drops, including a PDF of what it looks like.
• As a PDF . PDFs are great because they don’t require mailing. You can also use a tool such as issuu or Yumpu to turn a PDF into an online flipbook to include on your website.
• As a video . If you choose this route, you can post your annual report to YouTube and social media, embed it on your website, as well as email it to your constituents. Be cautious, though, because you want something that’s professional and uses good lighting, rather than looking like an amateur Tik-Tok.
• As a bound magazine . A traditional way to present a nonprofit annual report is a bound, four-color magazine of 10-18 pages. This is by far the most expensive option, but it can serve as a leave-behind at meetings with donors or foundations, can be included in press packets, and can be left in reception areas as reading material.

5 Best Practices For Nonprofit Annual Reports

To create the most engaging nonprofit annual report, follow these five best practices.

1. Highlight your mission statement

Your mission statement should be up-front in your annual report to remind people what you do and why. Everybody needs a reminder sometimes.

For instance, download the 2020 annual report from Girl Scouts of America . Not only does this copy-heavy report run a mind-boggling 62 pages, but nowhere does it state the organization’s mission. Compare that with Girls Who Code ’s terrific annual report which immediately reminds you of their mission, is beautifully visual, and is easy to digest. ‍

2. Always include a letter from your Executive Director and/or Board Chair

This puts a formal stamp of approval on the report and acts as a preview of the report’s contents and important data points. It should be written in such a way that the reader can get the gist of what’s being said just by skimming the text and seeing the visuals.

3. Recap the past year’s major achievements

This is where you can get creative with storytelling and infographics to communicate vital data points powerfully and effectively. Look how Habitat for Humanity’s 2020 annual report nailed data points connected with the then-emergent COVID-19 pandemic. ‍

4. Use transparent financials

Take a look at this beautiful financials page from the 2021 annual report of SheJumps. Nothing ho-hum about the color palette or the way the data is captured and presented.

Use a pie chart and other graphics to break down your expenses and revenues into an easy-to-understand format. And don’t forget to explain any shortfalls which may have occurred. ‍

5. Celebrate your donors

A listing of at least your major donors should be included, including foundation and corporate gifts. Most nonprofits will rank order the gift amount and then alphabetize each list by last name.

For instance: ‍

Others simply list all gifts over $1,000 (or whatever your major gift threshold is.) Take great care to ensure that those who have requested anonymity receive it and make sure everyone’s names are spelled accurately.

7 Common Nonprofit Annual Report Mistakes to Avoid

Especially if you’re new to the nonprofit sector, it can be easy to make a few rookie mistakes when writing a nonprofit annual report. This list will help you stay on your toes.

1. Don’t write by committee.

While it’s fine to have a working group or committee, they shouldn’t be the final arbiters of your annual report’s copy. By having one or two people as the editors, you’ll avoid having groupthink taint the final product.

2. Don’t get bogged down with long sentences.

You’re not writing the Magna Carta, you’re writing a nonprofit annual report. People are often put-off by lines and lines of text. Keep your text relatively short and simple and rely on charts, graphs, compelling photographs, and other visuals to break things up and keep your annual report engaging.

3. Don’t focus on your organization only.

Very often, nonprofit annual reports (not to mention direct mail appeals) are all about the nonprofit, rather than the potential donor. Draw your readers in by thanking them for the impact their giving made, demonstrating that impact, and even sharing a donor story or two. Use words like “together” and “your” and use the word “our” sparingly.

4. Don’t overlook your annual report as a cultivation tool.

Not only does a nonprofit annual report provide financial transparency and a chronicle of the past year’s achievements, it is also a vital tool that can be used by development officers and grant writers. An annual report can also be the catalyst that converts a prospect into a donor, and it can also aid in donor retention.

5. Never be dishonest or dodgy.

Did your finances take a hit during the height of COVID? Did your CEO abruptly resign? Did something embarrassing happen? Don’t fudge. By being honest about your challenges, as well as your accomplishments, your nonprofit’s annual report can help your organization generate more trust and gain more credibility.

6. Don’t forget to include a table of contents.

If your annual report is going to be more than four pages long, a table of contents is a must, whether the report is digital or printed. It helps readers find what they’re looking for and to more easily navigate the document or site.

7. Don’t forget to publish your annual report on your nonprofit’s website.

By doing so, you can include animations, interactive visuals, a soundtrack, and more. Or, create a flip book and embed it on your site. Consult with your webmaster or IT department, as well as your marketing folks.

P.S. Don’t forget to use good SEO optimization here, either.

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Successful Nonprofit Annual Report Examples

This is the fun part. We’re giving you some examples of annual reports that are absolutely spot-on with ideas you can draw inspiration from!

The Salvation Army 2021 Annual Report ‍

Some people who think of The Salvation Army as being a bit stodgy might be surprised to learn that the organization was a pioneer in digital annual reporting. It published its first digital annual report in 2009 as an antidote to people not reading an expensive publication.

Their recent report opens with the theme “Hope marches on” and is followed by letters from both the National Commander (CEO) and the chair of the National Board of Advisors. Financials are shown in both graphic and monetary forms, and broken down by category. The Army also gives viewers the opportunity to download the report as a PDF.

This is a great example of an annual report that both captures the organizational culture, as well as making it easily accessible to all.

San Francisco AIDS Foundation 2021 Annual Report ‍

The San Francisco AIDS Foundation uses a vivid color palette to make their work come alive. The report starts with a letter from their interim CEO, gives immediate shout-outs to their partners and supporters, and details their vision, their work, their locations, and finally, their financials.

Besides the vibrant colors used, this annual report is packed with compelling photographs, and the financial section makes good use of some graphs. The financials are the least imaginative portion of what is otherwise an excellent nonprofit annual report.

We particularly love the unique layout of the report with clickable subtitles which take you to the content.

Animal Legal Defense Fund 2021 Annual Report ‍

The Animal Legal Defense Fund is a purpose-driven nonprofit that files very visible lawsuits to protect companion, wild, and farm animals from harm. In addition, they provide free legal assistance and training to prosecutors to assure animal abusers are held accountable for their crimes, support strong legislation protecting animals, fight laws harmful to animals, and offer opportunities to both legal professionals and law students to advance animal law.

Their beautiful 2021 annual report includes gorgeous four-color photographs, opens with a donor-centric message from the CEO, and highlights their legal successes during a year that was otherwise quite challenging. As we mentioned earlier, never be dodgy. COVID struck a huge blow on the entire economy and shook us all to the core.

National Park Foundation 2021 Annual Repor t ‍

Here’s another fine example of an excellent digital annual report. There’s no dearth of compelling photographs to be taken in a national park, and this report revels in nature’s beauty.

The artful layout connects pages by using a graphic looking like a trail map.

The Foundation’s enviable donor pool, including a legacy giving society, is thanked and recognized, and there is a call to action with a direct link to their giving page. The Foundation also thanks its numerous corporate supporters.

Its financials are presented as charts, with the option of downloading detailed financials as a separate PDF.

The San Diego Foundation 2021 Annual Report ‍

This artfully designed digital annual report for San Diego’s community foundation is a winner. They celebrate their donors as well as reporting their many successes.

Take a look at the donor stories—the one about a middle school student who sold packages of dried fruits and nuts and raised $450 and donated to the Foundation is compelling. She realizes her work made an impact on others and shares that with the Foundation’s friends.

The report ends with a strong call to action as well as opportunities to give or open a donor advised fund. This nonprofit annual report is beautifully imagined and masterfully delivered.

Wrapping Up: How to Write a Nonprofit Annual Report

Did we convince you that your nonprofit really should have an annual report of some type? We hope so.

A high-quality annual report helps your nonprofit stand out in a crowd, helps build your brand, assists in retaining donors and gaining new ones, lays out your financial situation, and lets you tell your donors about compelling reasons they should keep giving to you.

By avoiding common mistakes, and by following best practices for nonprofit annual reports, you’ll reap the rewards of a job well done for an organization that’s doing good.

P.S. If you are looking for a way to research funding opportunities and manage your grants pipeline, check out Instrumentl . Our 14–day free trial is available to you at no obligation.

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6 nonprofit annual reports to inspire your organization

Your annual report is a staple of your nonprofit organization’s annual routine. It’s a powerful tool for communicating your impact, but it’s most useful when structured in an effective and digestible manner. Ultimately, you’ll want to make sure your annual report is coherent, shareable, and engaging for a broad audience that includes not just loyal donors but also new supporters. 

To save money, time, and effort while putting together your annual report, we’ve compiled six nonprofit annual report examples to help inspire your organization and get you started. But first, let’s examine the components of an effective annual report.

Annual report essentials

To create an effective annual report, you’ll need to make sure it’s informative, emotionally moving, and empowering. You can create a successful annual report by including some or all of these elements:

• Table of contents
• Your nonprofit’s logo, color scheme, and other branding aspects
• Lots of photos, as well as interactive elements  where the format allows
• Your organization’s background and purpose statement
• Easily understandable charts and graphs with relevant data
• Quotes from those you serve and your supporters
• Lists of donors  organized by tier
• Highlights from the past year, such as events hosted and goals achieved
• Calls to action
• Financial statements
• A letter from your organization’s president or board chair

While these elements can be a strong starting point, you should customize your annual report to include the information that your current and prospective supporters most want to know. Before  drafting your first annual report , make sure to plan with your team and board so you cover all of your desired information. 

6 top examples of nonprofit annual reports

Now that you know what goes into an effective annual report, let’s look at how some of these essentials are used in practice. Here are six of the best nonprofit annual reports that your organization can look to for inspiration.

1. Pathfinder International

Pathfinder International’s annual report combines thoughtful design, powerful graphics, individual stories, and gorgeous portraits to vividly showcase its beneficiaries. While the organization uses visually appealing graphics to highlight key data points, it never overshadows the focal point of the report: the people it serves. 

One section that stands out is titled “Pathfinder’s Global Impact,” which communicates how the organization has strengthened primary health services in the wake of COVID-19. Additionally, it details how its post-abortion care program in Tanzania has improved health facilities across the region. Each page combines clean data visualization and concise, bulleted information on how Pathfinder made an impact, while still giving the spotlight to the individuals the nonprofit served.

2. The WNET Group

While many nonprofits present their annual reports in a static PDF or print format, adding interactive elements can take yours to the next level. For instance,  The WNET Group’s “Year In Review” series  allows for audience interaction in its web design to create a  dynamic story . The user can expand the information they’re interested in learning more about, making them more likely to absorb the information.

3. The Humane Society

Keeping with the organization’s purpose to save animals in need,  the Humane Society’s annual report  includes ethical and effective appeals to emotion on every page. Including photos of a wide range of animals demonstrates how its programs benefit hundreds of species across the country. Readers will likely see their favorite animals featured, which helps them connect more deeply with the Humane Society. 

Besides the impactful graphics, the organization provides clear and concise information about the progress it has made in the U.S. and internationally alongside compelling copy and analytics. Throughout the report, the focus remains on beneficiaries while still highlighting the organization’s important updates. 

4. The American Kidney Fund

The American Kidney Fund  features eye-catching graphic design, but what it does best is center the donor’s impact. The impact summary page speaks directly to supporters and gives them credit for furthering the organization’s purpose. It also summarizes the year’s metrics and milestones by combining colorful illustrations and bolded statistics. The American Kidney Fund’s annual report offers donors valuable reasons to give again in the future while presenting impressive impact statistics.

5. Broadway Cares

Broadway Cares  demonstrates the importance of consistency while creating annual reports. To boost user-friendliness, readers should be able to easily access the information they’re looking for. By hosting the information directly on  the organization’s website , without downloads and with a convenient drop-down menu selection, supporters can track their impact over the years, no matter how long they’ve been donating.

6. Brookings Institution

The Brookings Institution annual report  is comprehensive. It weaves a consistent narrative throughout the report, combining  nonprofit storytelling  with data-informed impact. Brookings also contextualizes the report in terms of those years’ notable current events. This highlights how they remained committed to producing real-time, thoughtful analysis and practical policy recommendations during a challenging time.

A final note about nonprofit annual reports

While there are some elements that remain consistent across annual reports, your overall report should be unique to your nonprofit. As you write, ensure your supporters can identify your organization’s purpose and values, as well as how you’re making an impact. Through consistent branding and content structured around your accomplishments, your organization can make your annual report an effective and inspiring tool for connecting with existing and future supporters.

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18 Best Nonprofit Annual Reports | Digital & Small Examples

18 awesome nonprofit annual report examples and what you can learn from them.

18 Best Nonprofit Annual Reports: Great Digital & Small Examples & How You Can Learn From Them

Nonprofit annual reports. A useful community engagement communications piece, or a complete time suck that takes your organization months to produce? Nonprofit annual reports are a standard communications piece nonprofits produce every year and we often view them as an obligation. Something we have to do, as opposed to other, more inspiring, creative communications pieces in your portfolio. We’re here to say that creating annual reports does not have to stink!

In fact, we think it’s time that you let go of the boring, uninspired annual report and set a new standard. We’ve rounded up a few of our favorite nonprofit annual report examples and shared key takeaways you can apply to your nonprofit’s next annual report.

Nonprofit annual report comparison chart

Plus, we've added some honorable mentions for organizations that have used statistics, storytelling, and assets with superb foresight.

What are the best nonprofit annual reports? Here’s our top 5 list:

These are some of the best nonprofit annual report examples of the last few years. They're engaging, gorgeous, and most of all, they clearly describe their nonprofit's impact. Read on to discover a why they stand out and which annual report makers were used to create these masterpieces.

1. National Parks Foundation nonprofit annual report (Best Use of Photos)

The National Parks Foundation is doing awesome work preserving and expanding parks around the country. Their annual report is the perfect opportunity to show off that work to supporters, bringing transparency around their work and impact. Many pages of the National Parks Foundation's report are dedicated to donor recognition lists, a very traditional component of annual reports.

Let your photos shine in your nonprofit reports

Because of the nature of their work (see what we did there?), the National Parks Foundation has a lot of photo ops for their nonprofit reports. Their use of photos throughout their report showcases impact locales through beautiful photos. What a way to bring the work directly to your supporters! Photography might be a “nice to have” investment for your nonprofit, but consider the mileage you can get out of a set of really good photos: social media posts, annual report graphics, website photos, and so on.

2. UNHCR annual report (Clearest Summary and Data)

The UNHCR is a huge international development organization with dozens of programs. Like most nonprofits, they release an organization-wide annual report each year. But unlike some nonprofits, they also release program-specific annual reports. Enter the Educate a Child Annual Report 2018 . We’ll admit this report is meaty at over 100 pages. Even so, we think there are some useful takeaways that you can apply to your annual report.  

Develop a summary of highlights

Given how in-depth this report is, we think it’s a super smart idea to provide a summary of the report highlights at the outset. After all, not everyone is going to read the report cover to cover. Giving them a summary of the highlights is a great way to make sure readers get the essential information.

Bring data to life

We’ve all "read" those great annual reports that are chock full of numbers and stats. Sometimes they are literally presented in a laundry list format. It’s 2-thousand-something, nonprofit friend, so let’s get a little more creative with how we present data. The UNHCR has a wealth of data and they’ve smartly found ways to bring that data to life through infographics, charts, and other illustrations.

3. Calgary Zoo annual report (Great Use of Social Media)

This annual report is a few years old, but we think it offers some pretty interesting innovations when it comes to digital annual reports. For starters, it has a standalone Instagram account that uses the platform the deliver and share the annual report. Talk about an interesting way to rethink using a digital platform! Here's a key takeaway you can apply to your nonprofit’s annual report.

Rethink digital engagement

We think the Calgary Zoo’s annual report is a big invitation to rethink what kind of engagement annual reports can encourage. Given that this annual report is shared through a series of Instagram posts, the nature of the report inherently invites engagement. Readers can like, reshare or comment on each of the images. This is a pretty big contrast to a hardcopy paper annual report.

While your nonprofit may still want to produce a hardcopy or PDF version of your annual report, how could you repurpose your annual report to encourage digital engagement? You may not need to open up a separate Instagram account, but we’re willing to bet that you’ve got some creativity waiting to be unleashed.

4. Operation Lifesavers, Inc. annual report (Top Annual Report Journey)

Not everyone is interested in setting up a social media account or live online party for their report, but that's not the only way you can put tech to work! Continuing the enhanced digital experience theme, check out the interactive menu in Operation Lifesavers, Inc.'s annual report .

Regulate the journey

Their report was put together with Yearly.report 's digital tools, which can produce some prrrettypretttty great reports. In this example of an annual report for a nonprofit, the reader's journey is regulated by the sectioning of the contents so that scrolling is easy but each chapter can stand on its own. And with as many different topics as OLI touches, forcing the reader to slow down and smell the stats is crucial.

5. Best Friends Annual Society annual report (Can’t-Click-Away Report)

Best Friends Animal Society is a beloved nonprofit with huge brand recognition. They have their full annual report available to download on their website and they ingeniously created a kind of mini version of their report for the landing page . It gives all the key highlights from the report for readers who just want to the top level information. But being the nonprofit nerds that we are, we also enjoyed reading the full version of their annual report so we could give you a few ideas for your annual report.

Keep ‘em scrolling

The full version of the Best Friends Animal Society report lives on a web page, which creates a problem that most digital assets must deal with: keeping people’s attention all the way to the end. This report solves that problem by keeping things visually interesting. As you scroll, text placement, font size, and images are changing, which makes you want to see what’s next. You can apply a similar principle to hardcopy annual reports by making them visually interesting in a way that keeps eyes scanning.

And while it sounds like we're encouraging shorter reports, there's something to be said for longer reports that keep the super engaging info rolling along. Would you rather read a 3-page report with dense blocks of text or an 8-page report that breaks up the text with pictures, infographics, and clickable resources?

Play up your best assets

It’s kind of a no-brainer that people love pics of dogs and cats. Best Friends Animal Society uses that to their advantage in their annual report by integrating a ton of adorable animal photos. They give the people what they want! Your nonprofit can do this too, even if you don’t work with dogs and cats. Chances are, there's some aspect of your nonprofit’s work that gets your community and supporters revved up and excited. Whatever that thing is, play it up in your report.

Bonus: The best nonprofit annual report

Invisible Children's annual report . Overall, this is an amazing sample nonprofit annual report that utilizes all of the takeaways we've noted here. With a targeted goal and vision, a celebratory look back at past work, gorgeous, on-brand photos and design, and a solid online presence, this gets top marks across the board.

Small nonprofit annual report examples

Just because you're a smaller nonprofit doesn't mean that you can't have an annual report with big personality! These small nonprofit annual report examples will show you just what you can do with a bit of time, creativity, and a great nonprofit annual report maker.

1. The People Concern (overall best small nonprofit annual report example)

The People Concern may not be a huge nonprofit, but their annual report humanizes the data in a way that shows the enormous capacity of their impact. The smiling faces, personal messages and stories, and custom branding all bring us on a journey instead of shoving numbers in our faces.

Make it personal

When you look at this annual report nonprofit example, what's the first thing you notice? The people. The images and stories that go along with them have a distinctly moving effect on a normally dry annual report. Your takeaway? Bring the smiles and the love.

2. Encircle

This annual report is consistent, from the font to the image styles, to the copy. No matter which page you flip to, you can tell that it's part of Encircle's annual report.

Keep it on the level

Staying consistent with your imagery is almost as important as keeping your message consistent. At the end of the day, your goal is to provide transformational value to the people or community who need your services—even when you're building an annual report.

3. Zoe Empowers

Check it out! Zoe Empowers gives a by-country breakdown in this colorful annual report. Combined with joyful, playful photos, this annual report celebrates the growth and impact in each country.

Break it down

It's common to break out annual reports by different programs, but this example shows growth and adoption by country. Find common threads among your programs and constituents and mix up your measurement methodology!

4. The Phoenix

The Phoenix is one of our favorite nonprofits for the out-of-the-box way they're tackling addiction recovery. Their annual report works as hard as they do, and relies on community in the same way.

Never underestimate the power of testimonials

Yeah, community pulls the weight in this annual report! Get your supporters, clients, and staff involved: quotes keep your amazing data grounded while action photos emphasize the effort required to make change.

Best digital annual reports

Digital annual reports make it easy to keep your donors and supporters updated on your nonprofit's impact. Cost-effective, eco-friendly, and shareable, the best digital annual reports use technology to keep their message engaging, organized, and motivating so that supporters become donors and donors spread the love.

1. DIGDEEP (overall best digital annual report)

Honestly, what can we even say about DIGDEEP? This annual report is so cool, so fun, so impactful, so... digital! The colorful waves are reminiscent of water, the section organization is engaging, the dedication is heart-wrenching, and the impact is growing.

Make it reflect where you're going

The #1 best thing about DIGDEEP's annual report isn't the exciting images or insightful words, it's the focus on what's happening next. Not just a look back at the year in review, this annual report dives in hard to upcoming projects, provides links to all the relevant resources, and ends with an ask.

2. Code 2040

Code 2040 took a page from their fundraising campaign sites and built a website just for their annual report. Don't worry, they created an annual report pdf as well, but their site is the real masterpiece.

Go with what you know

Don't be afraid to use the tools that you know work for you—this standalone annual report website pulls in recognizable and familiar tools like impact cards, tables and graphs, and moving background and images.

Find yourself a nonprofit annual report tool

As important as annual reports are to nonprofits, not all of us have been blessed with report-building skills, so find a nonprofit annual report maker program software thingy and follow the template or instructions or whatever. Everyone will think you're a data-designing, impact-exhibiting, storytelling annual report master. (Don't worry, your secret's safe with us.)

GLAAD’s comprehensive annual report takes supporters through twenty-five pages of data-driven impact demonstrated through storytelling, statistics, timelines, and compelling images that correlate seasons and awareness days to the impact they made all year long.

Show off superlative statistics

We're awfully glad that GLAAD could join the annual report party! Their colorful and eye-catching annual report delivers equally delightful impact achievements. You can do the same by looking at your impact by month or season rather than by campaign or program.

5. The Gathering for Justice

The Gathering for Justice uses their annual report to galvanize and mobilize supporters to continue advocating for and alongside the organization. We love the call to action on the last page of their report, which gives supporters the opportunity to make an instant, direct impact.

Call. To. Action.

Build your annual report with action in mind. Your audience will naturally be so moved that they're going to want to support the organization that made so much change. Give them what they need to help you do even more in the coming year.

6. Red Tent Women's Initiative

Red Tent Women’s Initiative is breaking down their annual report data into a comprehensive overview of their lifetime achievements that lives in a legacy page on their website! Easy access to impact info? We love to see it.

Let it live on

You've put a ton of time and effort into an awe-inspiring annual report. Don't let it go to waste by letting it languish—make a permanent place on your website for not just yearly reports, but also specific, significant accomplishments that show progress and growth over the years.

7. A New Way of Life Reentry Project

A New Way of Life Reentry Project knows that statistics are stories that deserve to be told. That’s why they use their annual report to tell the stories of those they serve and the lives they impact.

Give a face to the facts

Facts can be dry and boring, especially if you've got a whole report full of 'em! Humanize your data and turn stats into stories. Not only will this highlight the impact behind the numbers, it will also carry your audience through what could otherwise be a dry annual report.

8. The Bloc Chicago

As a youth-focused org, The Bloc Chicago's fiscal year ends in June, making winter the perfect time to cherry-pick compelling impact info collected for their annual report.

Use your annual report all year long

Once your annual report is created, you'll see which pieces resonate the most with readers. Take those moments and build them into standalone assets that you can use in ads, social posts, and even as individual campaigns throughout the year.

More nonprofit report resources

• Nonprofit Annual Report Tools: Make an Impressive Report with Ease
• The Best Way for Your Nonprofit to Do an Annual Review of Your Fundraising Program
• 8 Must-Have Fundraising Reports Every Nonprofit Needs

There are lots of ways your nonprofit can jazz up its annual report this year. By looking at awesome examples of nonprofit annual reports, we hope you’re feeling inspired and ready to roll up your sleeves. ‍

Set your sights on success with our downloadable Annual Report Manual

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Blog Business 11 Nonprofit Annual Report Examples & Templates

11 Nonprofit Annual Report Examples & Templates

Written by: Jessie Strongitharm Aug 10, 2022

As a nonprofit, you know your efforts are worthwhile. And you know your organization’s doing important work. But how do you convey the fruits of your labor to existing and potential contributors in a clear, concise and compelling manner?

Look no further than a nonprofit annual report . 

When done well, these documents do much more than summarize your fundraising campaigns and financial activities from the previous year. They communicate vital information that demonstrates accountability, builds trust with your audience and has the potential to drum up further support. 

But to achieve all this, you’ll want your annual nonprofit report to be as visually appealing, effortlessly engaging and easy-to-understand as possible. 

With this in mind, I’ve outlined 12+ nonprofit annual report examples to serve as your guide to creating a truly outstanding document. (P.S. all you need to do is choose a template and use Venngage’s  Report Maker  to get started.)

Click to jump ahead: 

What is a nonprofit annual report?

• 11 nonprofit annual report examples and templates

4 Benefits of making a nonprofit annual report

Nonprofit annual report faq.

Akin to the  annual reports  published by businesses,  a nonprofit annual report is an in-depth, comprehensive document that provides an overview of a not-for-profit organization’s objectives, achievements and key metrics from the preceding year. 

These reports are often used as  marketing tools  to impress stakeholders, attract new donors and showcase an organization’s impact. 

Though their contents can vary, nonprofit annual reports typically contain a high-level rundown of an organization’s mission, milestones and objectives, along with financial and stakeholder-specific information.

Check out this nonprofit report example to see a typical layout.

Nonprofit annual reports can be housed as a digital file, or exist as a physical document to be sent out to donors, distributors and anyone else who’s been instrumental to the cause. 

For more information, check out our nonprofit annual report FAQ at the bottom of this article. 

11 Nonprofit annual report examples and templates

It’s time for some nonprofit report examples! Keep in mind that each of the templates below can be 100% customized in  Venngage  to suit your  nonprofit needs .

Annual report infographic

• Year-in-review infographic

Charity nonprofit annual report 

Purple nonprofit annual report , pink nonprofit annual report , nonprofit financial report, nonprofit treasurer report , nonprofit impact report, illustrative medical nonprofit annual report , children/community-focused nonprofit impact report , hunger-focused nonprofit annual report .

This  Annual Report Infographic Template  is perfect for nonprofit organizations that are new to the game, or those looking to give fast facts. Taking the form of an  infographic , this compact design provides an overview of a nonprofit’s funding, supporters and impact on a single page. You can also customize the contents to showcase any other info you want to relay by the numbers.

A note: while this template works fabulously as a one-glance visual aid, you’ll have to explore other templates for more in-depth  business reporting . 

Year in review infographic

Keen to express yearly accomplishments in an orderly and engaging way? Look no further than our  Year In Review Infographic Template . This one-page design is perfect for showcasing an organization’s milestones and achievements at a glance. Plus, there’s space provided to add information about your donors and distribution channels.

For those looking to facilitate a deeper dive, this  Green Charity Annual Report  is a great option. Ample space is provided so you can communicate background info, any ongoing initiatives and their impact, alongside financial data, future projects and ways to show support. This makes it a top choice for organizations looking to invite further participation and donations.

Dazzling with your document is easy with this template. Featuring a captivating aqua and purple color scheme, this five-page report is the perfect canvas for any high-level organizational overview. All you need to do is swap out the text, add (or import) your own values to the pie charts and choose from a  diverse selection of icons .

Ready to think in pink? Then this  Nonprofit Annual Report  template is for you! 

Featuring icon lists, image lists, pie charts and text, this polished and modern report paints a succinct picture of your organization’s prior year. I particularly like how each section starts off with a takeaway (and I’m sure any audience keen on gaining insights would appreciate that too!) 

Sometimes you want the numbers to do all (or most) of the talking – this  Nonprofit Annual Report template  does just that. Those aiming to educate viewers on the financial side of things will appreciate how it reads like a  financial statement  or balance sheet. For a light touch of visual interest, pie charts summarize an organization’s funding sources.

This minimalist template is different from the above examples, as it solely focuses on income and expenses over time. This makes it a great choice for those interested in a concise summary of treasurer information. While financial insights such as these can be standalone documents, attaching it to your annual report certainly ups the convenience factor. 

This  Company Nonprofit Impact Report  offers a calming blue color scheme, and uses bold iconography to capture reader’s attention. Along with a financial summary, organizations looking to showcase their leadership, current standing and tangible achievements over the past year will find this template useful. 

Adorned with stylized elements, this  Illustrative Medical Annual Report Template  is an excellent choice for nonprofits in the medical field. An opening letter from leadership provides a personal touch before a concise review of financial matters and donor information follows. Instead of using real-life images of affected patients (which could stir up difficult emotions, given the subject matter), pictographics add a lighthearted quality to the report.

If your cause is centered around children or community development, look no further than this template. From its cheery rainbow color palette to its extensive use of visuals, this report is perfect for engaging readers from start to finish. A page for contact info is provided to inspire more interaction. 

Fighting world hunger? 

First of all, you’re the best. Second of all, our  Hunger Nonprofit Annual Report Template  has your name written all over it. This two-page template uses charts, icons and stats to rouse interest by breaking up the text with visuals. 

Pro tip: while this template is geared towards organizations dealing in food insecurity, don’t be scared to make it speak to your own cause! Venngage’s powerful editor lets you easily customize your design – simply swap out any visual elements for ones that suit your needs.

Before we dive into some nonprofit annual report examples and templates, let’s take a moment to touch on the benefits that come from their creation. Aside from providing a summary of an organization’s year, there are many advantages these documents offer…

Highlight the importance and impact of your organization

In summarizing their objectives, metrics and motivations, a nonprofit annual report highlights key information about an organization’s impact, direction and leadership. 

Translation: these documents pack quite the illuminating punch.

For example, donors can get a glimpse at how successful a nonprofit is at executing on their initiatives, and see if resources were allocated accordingly. Readers of these reports can also gain insights over a nonprofit’s decision-making processes, and where the organization is headed. 

Build trust through financial transparency

Let’s face it: the misappropriation of funds is nothing new. (Ahem,  Trump Foundation  anyone?). 

So by providing information about an organization’s revenue streams and allocation of funds – in other words, the amount of money they’ve raised and the ways it’s been spent — nonprofit annual reports help assure donors that their contributions are being put to good use. 

Check how this annual report template provides a snapshot of a nonprofit’s financials, alongside impact, to validate the cause:

Even if revenue targets and charitable impact goals were not achieved, being forthright about the flow of funds affirms an organization’s legitimacy. There’s no need for platitudes or promises when anxieties can be quelled, and confidence conferred, just by checking over a document.

Raise awareness and attract potential donors 

Did you know  only 56% of Americans  trust nonprofits? 

Combine that statistic with the fact there’s an ever-increasing pool of competition, and you’ll understand why accountability is key for potential backers’ buy-in. After all, folks are more likely to support your cause — and feel comfortable donating — when they see evidence that they can trust you with their money, time and energy. Luckily, a nonprofit annual report does just that. 

What’s more, upping the engagement factor with appealing visuals can spark new interest in your cause. These components liven up dry information, make  complex data  digestible and can even reinforce your  organization’s branding .

 No design skills? No problem! Simply choose one of the templates below and use  Venngage’s My Brand Kit  (available with a  Business account ) to apply your brand colors with one click. Then, drag and drop in  data visualizations  throughout.

Express gratitude to contributors and stakeholders

Last but certainly not least, nonprofit annual reports are a great opportunity to thank all those who’ve contributed over the last year. Your gratitude goes a long way in building loyalty and rapport with donors, volunteers and board members (whose ongoing support is your key to accomplishing anything).

 As Mother Teresa so aptly said, “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”

Is an annual report required for nonprofits?

Unlike publicly-traded companies, nonprofit organizations aren’t required to file an annual report with the government or revenue services. However, that doesn’t mean you should skip out on creating one! 

Particularly as a not-for-profit entity, accountability re: your finances and activities is key — and an annual report is a great way to show stakeholders exactly what you’ve achieved. Use them as a tool to reaffirm your mission, actions and progress. 

What should be included in a nonprofit annual report?

Looking for specifics? Here’s a breakdown of the info typically found in most nonprofit annual reports:

• Information about your organization  – This includes background details about your organization, as well as a summary of the objectives you’re working to achieve. Some examples include vision and mission statements, letters from leadership, future aspirations and your organization’s long-term outlook.
• Major achievements  – Outline what you’ve accomplished in the last year, drawing attention to any milestones and success. 
• Financial statement  – Provide a breakdown of your annual income and expenses.
• Account of contributions  – Typically, this section contains both qualitative and quantitative information regarding sponsors and donor contributions. In addition to providing details on the funds and supplies your organization’s accumulated over the last year (i.e. their value, sources and allocation), you may also want to recognize those who’ve contributed along the way.

Is there a difference between an annual report and financial statements?

Yes! While annual reports provide a high-level summary of an organization’s activity over the past year (i.e. objectives and accomplishments) in addition to financial information, financial statements only speak to how funds were managed (i.e.  income vs expenses ).

The bottom line: don’t confuse a nonprofit annual report with your organization’s yearly tax filing.

How long should an annual report for nonprofits be?

Technically speaking, a non-profit annual report can be as long or as short as you want. To keep things focused, create an outline for your annual report with your audiences and goals in mind. Aim for all content to abide by the 3 C’s: the information presented should be clear, concise and compelling. 

Looking to cut down on space? Ask yourself what  data visualizations  you can use in place of text. (Psst: Venngage’s free  Report Ma k er  offers the most user-friendly way to bring dull information and complex data to life through engaging visuals — no graphic design experience required.) 

Should my organization upload our nonprofit annual report online?

Many nonprofits have taken to uploading a digital version of their annual reports. While there are some minor drawbacks (e.g., large file size, lack of backup etc.), myself and the rest of the Venngage team believe digitization is the way to go.

 Aside from reducing paper waste, online versions tend to reduce production and distribution costs, as the report’s contents can easily be shared through a link, or showcased on a website. Most people do their reading and due diligence online anyways.

How can a nonprofit annual report help those who’ve contributed feel appreciated? 

By recapping an organization’s social and financial impact, and thanking the contributors who’ve made it all possible, nonprofit annual reports work to instill a sense of confidence and belonging in vested parties. Donors, volunteers and board members can verify their emotional connection, physical involvement and financial support was not only appreciated, but used in good faith. The document also provides clarity over future initiatives, and reiterates why the effort is worthwhile in the first place.

In essence, a nonprofit annual report is a vehicle for organizational accountability.

Create an annual report for your nonprofit with Venngage

You’ve put in a lot of time and energy towards a worthy cause, so your documents should dazzle accordingly.

A well-executed, beautiful nonprofit annual report design allows you to do just that: effortlessly engage viewers,  tell your organization’s story  and prove that your fundraising and hard work made a real impact. 

With Venngage’s  nonprofit report templates  and data visualization excellence, you’re guaranteed to achieve all that, in a flash. Simply choose from any of the above templates, swap in your text, desired icons and brand colors and you’re off to the races. 

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What to Include in Your Nonprofit Annual Reports

Source: Aurora Cultural Centre

Top Contributors/ Gratitude Report

You can use DonorSnap’s Donation Strata report to share who your top contributors were for the year. If you are going to do a full on gratitude report and thank all of your donors, your Donation Strata report will also show you all of your donors at various giving levels. 

Volunteer Numbers

If you have a good volunteer program consider highlighting how many volunteers you had in the year and what their combined hours of service were. It is important to encourage your volunteers to submit their hours, and they can easily do so through the volunteer hours form available in DonorSnap’s Responsive Forms tool. If you collect volunteer hours you can get this data from the Volunteer Report in DonorSnap.

Source: Hands on Hartford

What Format Should You Use For Your Nonprofit Annual Report?

How you package your annual report depends on your audience. There are benefits to both a digital and print annual report. Many nonprofits will do both! 

With online giving on the rise, and the overall increase of people being online, having a completely digital annual report is doable.

Having a print annual report is nice to have when meeting someone in person, or to leave out for people to read at events. However, the cost of printing annual reports can be pretty steep. 

If you create an online digital report, you can include an option for a downloadable PDF. This will cover all of your bases when deciding how to format your annual report. 

How Long Should Your Nonprofit Annual Report Be? 

The length of your nonprofit annual report depends on your audience. It is important to know what type of content best resonates with them. If you aren’t sure, ask them! Before putting together your annual report, survey your audience and ask them what information they would like to see and in what format. (Hint: you can create a survey using DonorSnap’s Responsive Forms.) 

The length of your nonprofit annual report also depends on your capacity as an organization. If you don’t have much time or resources, it is okay to have a short and punchy annual report that highlights key metrics and a few short stories. Sea Hugger has a short annual report , but uses compelling graphics and the most important high level information. 

Source: Seahugger.com 

If you have a large staff, and lots of great content to add, you can consider adding more storytelling to your nonprofit annual report. The Sierra Club which is a large organization includes snippets of stories with links to learn more. This keeps the annual report from looking too long and overwhelming, while also giving the option for readers to dive in deeper. Their use of video also helps sum up the large amount of content in a smaller package. 

How to get people to read your nonprofit annual reports

Once you have done all of the work of putting together your nonprofit annual report, you need to get it in front of your audience. Make sure that your annual report is easy to find from the home page of your website. Also consider running an email campaign and sharing your annual report on social media. In addition, if you have a welcome email series or welcome packet to new supporters, always include your current annual report. 

Final Thoughts

Nonprofit annual reports are a great opportunity for organizations to cultivate and steward donors. They can be customized to meet the unique needs of an organization but should aim to thank supporters and highlight impact. Nonprofit CRM systems like DonorSnap can help nonprofits collect valuable data to include and highlight in their reports. Annual reports can vary in length and format that best fits the needs of a nonprofit and its audience. Finally, after putting in the hard work of building an annual report, nonprofits should have a comprehensive distribution plan to get them in front of readers.

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Home » Analytics » 15 Inspiring Nonprofit Annual Reports | With Bonus Template

15 Inspiring Nonprofit Annual Reports | With Bonus Template

by Laura Clevenger

Analytics Digital Media

Nonprofit annual reports play an important role as we head into the end of the fiscal year or the onset of  giving season . Although they are not an IRS requirement, compelling annual reports can sway potential donors and show current donors how their money is helping your organization to make an impact. In our data culture , we suggest your nonprofit takes the time to put one together as a means of showing your organization’s transparency — and bragging about your success in the past year.

However, throwing a million charts and graphs together or writing a 10,000-word essay on why your nonprofit is the best isn’t going to be so effective (or worth anyone’s time). Your annual report should communicate the success of your organization and its financials in a concise, visual way. It can be tough to find the right balance between information and overload. We’ve gathered seven of the best nonprofit annual reports that strike this balance. We hope they give you inspiration for your own nonprofit’s annual report. If you’re feeling ready to create, get started with our nonprofit annual report template .

Update: It’s 2024, so we’ve gone in and checked on our original favorite annual reports and refreshed their links. What’s more, we’ve created an annual report template so you don’t have to start from a blank slate and can rather focus on illustrating your impact!

1. DREAM (formerly Harlem RBI)

DREAM’s annual report is doing everything right: beautiful images, student stories, and (of course) thanking their donors. We especially love how they paired a full-page image of a student with key stats that support the organization’s overall mission, a mix of showing and telling. Moreover, the image is focused on an individual which allows the reader to empathize with the child and imagine her succeeding — and the key stats about the DREAM community suggest she will! DREAM also hosts its annual report on Issu, a great third-party platform for a well-designed digital reading experience.

2. ICA Fund Good Jobs

There are two fundamental things we love about ICA Fund Good Job’s annual report : The table of contents and the graphics. It’s easy to underestimate the importance of the table of contents — many reports treat them as an afterthought. However, you want the reader to know what they can find inside the report. We like that this particular report’s table of contents is interactive, allowing readers to skip ahead to the sections they are most interested in. We also love the evolving design for each year’s report. 2018’s impact report emphasizes impact with strong, but inviting fonts, and 2019’s report doubles down on that theme with a high contrast black, blue and white color scheme to deliver information via sleek graphics.

3. Girls Who Code

It shouldn’t be surprising that a nonprofit focusing on closing the gender gap in technology has a beautifully-coded annual report built right into its website. The influx of nonprofits building annual reports into their websites offers two huge advantages: 1) It takes transparency to the next level if the report is a living, breathing section of the website. 2) It makes it easier for the user to interact with the report, which can save space and help keep things concise. We love how Girls Who Code built an interactive map of the U.S. that allows readers to change years and see how their program market has increased over time. In a traditional PDF, this would take 5 separate charts and even then we wouldn’t get the same effect of watching this program grow on a national level. That said, Girls Who Code does have an option to download the whole report as a PDF for those who still like the old-school version.

Annual report template

Save time on design and focus on showing your impact

4. Charity: Water

Sometimes it’s best to keep it simple. Charity: Water’s annual report is the perfect example of keeping it simple, but effective. There is a great balance of faces and facts, blending visual narrative with the fiscal. We love how they use maps to show where their work is having the greatest impact. They clearly show how they raised X which equaled Y and resulted in Z. This is an easy to follow “formula” that your nonprofit could use as well.

The annual report from 350.org combines a lot of the elements we love from the reports above: Fun colors to keep the reader engaged, interactiveness, and a sticky table of contents that follows the reader as they scroll down the page. A unique element to this report that we don’t see very often: video. The grassroots climate justice advocates at 350.org integrated videos throughout the report so readers can get more information about two of their campaigns — Exxon Knew and Break Free — all while keeping the word count down. We think that’s a win-win!

6. Power Poetry

Full disclosure: This is from our founder George, who also co-founded PowerPoetry.org , the largest teen poetry platform in the US. Power Poetry developed this quarterly/annual report in a customizable way from a Google Data Studio template built by Whole Whale. The dashboard lives on PowerPoetry.org/data , a URL shared with supporters.

(click to advance through pages of report)

7. Fight CRC

Fight Colorectal Cancer (CRC) is a health impact organization dedicated to ending colorectal cancer and supporting those affected by the disease through patient support, funding research, and impactful policy change. We love how their web-native 2019 Impact Report looks great straight from the browser. No cumbersome download required, this report knows its audience by calling out important impact efforts without bogging down the casual user with superfluous detail and text. We also found the embedded videos to be a dynamic and useful inclusion, and appreciated how good the report looks on a mobile browser! (Full disclosure: Fight CRC is a Whole Whale client, but we really do love their annual report!)

Based in Bangladesh, BRAC is one of the largest international development organizations in the world, and their 2018 Annual Report uses innovative design elements to present their numerous programs and initiatives in an accessible way. Instead of presenting all their programming and reporting information at once, BRAC’s interactive report allows you to click through to subjects or campaigns of interest. Partners, researchers, and power-users can read through their comprehensive 112 page traditional report , but for everyone else, Brac provides the highlights in a well-designed and accessible way.

9. Pencils of Promise

Pencils of Promise is an international development organization focused on education, and we love their 2018 Annual Report for its simple but informative design. Their annual report is highly skimmable — it’s easy to find the most important numbers like “teachers supported” alongside more detailed program descriptions. Their use of joyful photos of individuals or small groups helps personalize the program descriptions, as does highlighting an employee’s efforts, like those of Margaret Mary Debre, PoP’s Lead WASH Coordinator in Ghana.

10. National Public Radio (NPR)

NPR (National Public Radio) does an excellent job of making their annual report relevant. NPR’s 2018 Annual Report boasts a classic red, white and blue color scheme and clean design. What stands out about NPR’s report is how timely it feels. The report does an excellent job of using real-world events to highlight how NPR’s reporting and programming respond to the moment. NPR emphasizes how its “Muslims in America: A New Generation” series explores the multifaceted experiences of muslims living in a post-9/11 America, while its Hidden Brain episode “Why Now?” offers a profound analysis of #MeToo.

Keshet provides community and support to LGTBQ Jews, provides Jewish organizations with the knowledge and skills to create spaces where LGBTQ Jewish youth feel seen and valued, and works to advocate for LGBTQ rights nationwide. Their 2018 annual report does an excellent job of carrying through design elements from page to page, weaving bright colors and solid rectangles through the various stages of the report.

12. Natural Resource Defense Council

Sometimes, you just need some good photos to take your report from good to great. Cue the giraffes. The Natural Resources Defense Council makes good use of beautiful photos in their 2018 Annual Report . Who doesn’t love innocent looking deer, bears, or giraffes? The answer is no one. The photos are the centerpiece of NRDC’s handsome report, and they compel readers to read more about the programs and advocacy projects of NRDC in their effort to protect our planet. The magazine-like quality to the report makes it accessible to high school kids and corporate sponsors alike.

13. International Rescue Committee

The International Rescue Committee responds to humanitarian crises around the world by supporting refugees and communities affected by violence and disaster. Their stellar 2018 Annual Report helps distill the operations of a very large International NGO into a readable and well-designed report. We especially like how the IRC uses branded colors to build call-out boxes to give us the low-down on important statistics or the outcome of a program. While you’re at it, read about the IRC’s awesome partnership with Sesame Workshop , BRAC and NYU to develop the largest early childhood intervention program in history with the support of a LEGO Foundation grant!

14. Donate Life America

Donate Life America helps Americans easily register to be an organ donor. With so many people on the organ donation waitlist, every donation counts! Donate Life’s 2019 Annual Report uses fun design elements to highlight their work in a style that resembles the accessibility of a magazine. We especially love DLA’s report for highlighting how their digital marketing funnel of engagement drives conversions. They even give Whole Whale a shoutout! (Full disclosure: Donate Life America is a client of Whole Whale.)

We hope these nonprofit annual reports gave you some inspiration for your own nonprofit’s annual report — and this is just the tip of the iceberg, check out our master list of nonprofit dashboards . Do you have any favorites that we missed? Please share them with us on Twitter with the hashtag #WhaledIt! We’d love to see what reports are sparking your creativity.

15. YB Youth Build – Lake County

The web version of the YB Annualy report:  https://yblc.org/annual-report-22/

Yout Build’s mission is to provide underserved young adults with the education, training and life skills necessary to become gainfully employed and build a better future. Here at YouthBuild, we believe that every young person has the power to succeed and create a better life for themselves and their families with access to the right resources and support system. We offer free programs for underserved youth in Lake County to obtain their high school diploma, earn industry-recognized credentials and certifications, develop career readiness skills, and complete hands-on work experience so they can move into careers, college or vocational schools.

Bonus: Annual Report Template

Hey! You read the full article. Your organization does great work. Show donors, boards, and the public what is happening behind the scenes using a dynamic and customizable annual report template that we crafted to help you show your org’s impact.

How to Craft a 1-Page Nonprofit Annual Report

Because your donors like knowing what their donations made possible.

They want to know they’re part of a winning team.

An annual report is a great way to give both donors and the community an overview of what your nonprofit accomplished during the year.

But donors don’t want to read a lot. And you don’t have time or money to produce an elaborate multi-page piece.

Well, good news! Designing an annual report doesn’t have to be hard, glossy, or time-consuming. In fact, there’s a way to create something super easy to read and understand without it taking a lot of your time.

Curious? Good.

Let’s start with the purpose of your annual report.

What’s a Nonprofit Annual Report?

Your annual report has one job: to provide an overview of your nonprofit’s activities and key metrics for a specific year.

It tells the story of what you’ve accomplished during that year.

Some people call it a Generosity Report since you’re sharing the impact of the community’s generosity from last year and how that generosity changed lives.

Call it what you like, just create one and share it shortly after the end of your fiscal year.

Maybe you’re thinking, “I know I need to do one, but I just don’t have time.”

But listen, if you want people to keep giving, you MUST keep them in the loop about how things are going. And an annual report is a great way to do that.

So, let’s make it quick and easy for you to create and simple for the reader to understand.

The 1-Page Nonprofit Annual Report

The 1-page nonprofit annual report is basically a big infographic.

It’s a visually interesting way to quickly show what your nonprofit did during the year.

What I like best about it is how skimmable it is. You can glance over it and get the gist fast.

People are busy and won’t read a lot of text, and with the 1-page nonprofit annual report, there’s not much text to read.

Since it’s only one page, it’s easily sharable on your website, social media, and through email. And if you need to print a copy to mail to specific donors, you can do it without it being expensive.

Choosing an Infographic Tool

Choosing the tool first might be helpful so you can pick the template you want to use. Based on the template you pick, you’ll know how many pieces of data and images you’ll need.

Tools like Canva , Venngage , and Piktochart have infographic templates that make quick work of creating an infographic. Just pick the template you like, replace the placeholder text and images with yours, and voila! You have a 1-page nonprofit annual report!

The tools aren’t terribly hard to use. I created my first infographic annual report in Piktochart learning as I went and it took me about an hour. Not bad for a professional-looking piece from someone who isn’t a professional designer!

Once you pick your template, you’re ready to gather some info that represents your year to plug in to your template.

Data to Include in Your Nonprofit Annual Report

If a lot has happened in your nonprofit during the year, it can be hard to pick only a few key pieces of info to share.

Just remember that your donors don’t need to know everything. They only need the most important things.

So, what 3 or 4 key performance metrics can you share that’ll give someone a good idea of the impact of your work during the year?

Honestly, this is the hardest part of the whole thing.

Put yourself in the donor’s shoes – what is she interested in? What does she want to know?

Then, find the intersection between what the donor NEEDS to know and what they WANT to know that you can report on.

You’ll probably have room for a photo, so pick one that best illustrates your organization in action and let that photo help bring the story to life.

Be sure to customize the template so it’s on brand for your nonprofit. Make sure you swap out your brand colors and fonts for whatever is in the template, and don’t include anything weird that would make your favorite donors wonder who this report is from.

If you’re not much of a designer, choosing the right template or layout can be tough. Here’s a Pinterest Board with some good examples to help get your creative juices flowing.

Other Info to Include in Your Nonprofit Annual Report

Regardless of the length of your nonprofit annual report, there are several must-include pieces of info:

Fiscal year. Seems obvious, but some people forget to identify the fiscal year that the report covers.

Mission statement. You need a short, to-the-point version of your mission statement that’s free of jargon and easy for the average person to understand. If you have a good vision statement, you can include that, too, as long as it’s short.

Financials. The best way to show financial information is in pie charts. Create one for revenue and another one for expenses, showing the information in broad categories with names the average person can understand. Here’s an example:

You don’t need audited financial numbers, though you can use them if you have them. Just use your official, final numbers for the year and be ready to answer questions from donors if any of the pie slices look too big or too small.

Contact information. Don’t forget to include your nonprofit’s name, mailing address, phone number, website, and main email address, just in case someone wants to reach out to you.

Sample Time!

Here’s a sample 1-page annual report from Draft Gratitude:

If you’re a Fundraising TV member , grab the Annual Report Swipe File to see dozens of examples of great annual reports.

Where to Share Your 1-Page Nonprofit Annual Report

Once you get your nonprofit annual report all put together, share it everywhere! It’s a great relationship building tool, and we recommend you use it as part of your donor nurture plan.

• Post it on your website.
• Email it out to your entire list.
• Post it on your social media.
• Send a print copy to your best donors along with a handwritten note.
• Send a copy to your local and state elected officials along with a cover letter to let them know what your nonprofit has accomplished in their constituent area. By the way, this is a great tactic if you’re planning to ask these people for money later.
• Send it as a follow up to grant funders.

By the way, when you send out your annual report, don’t ask for money. I know it’s tempting, but don’t do it.

Let this be one of your relationship-building communications with no Ask. There’ll be time for asking for money later.

The Bottom Line

Keeping donors and the community in the know about what your nonprofit has accomplished is key to building relationships.

Good information helps build trust, and a 1-page nonprofit annual report is a great way to share the overview of what your nonprofit did during the year – especially if it’s easy to read and understand.

Plus, it’s a versatile tool that you can use in a variety of ways to show your nonprofit’s impact from last year.

And once you see the response from your donors, you’ll know just how powerful the 1-page nonprofit annual report is.

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About the author: sandy rees.

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Great resource! thank you!

This is a great option for many and a reminder that not everyone needs the “works” when it comes to their annual report. I think many nonprofits will benefit from using this approach and hopefully avoid some of the bigger mistakes sometimes made! I wrote a similar piece and included a few examples plus a template for nonprofits to use. Your readers might find that helpful: http://www.oneninedesign.net/blog/annual-report

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9 Great Annual Report Examples (And Why They're Great)

Josh breland.

After using Anedot:

Table of contents, 1. focus on the family, 2. navy seal foundation, 3. charity water, 4. samaritan's purse, 5. wounded warrior project, 6. midwest food bank, 7. feeding america, 8. compassion international, 9. ducks unlimited.

Every year, your nonprofit has the opportunity to inform, celebrate, and motivate your community of supporters with a great annual report.

Sadly, many nonprofits struggle to produce an annual report that communicates the hard work and impact of the past year.

Below are 9 annual report examples that will inspire and guide you to your best annual report ever.

9 Annual Report Examples

View Annual Report

Why this nonprofit annual report is great:

They clearly communicate their mission.

They communicate impact with detailed numbers.

They are transparent with their budgeting and resourcing.

They use social proof (testimonials of impact).

They use high quality people-centered images throughout.

They include partnerships (logos).

They recognize their top supporters.

They keep the report brief (Approx. 5-10 minute read time).

They use limited copy per page (very readable).

They use the power of storytelling to draw in the reader.

→ Learn about the best software for nonprofits in 2021

They end with a motivating call to action.

→ Learn how to collect cash donations at a food bank !

They celebrate their volunteers.

They include partnership (logos).

They include partnerships.

They recognize their top volunteers.

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