Fillable Printable Sample Annual Report Template

Sample Annual Report Template

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Annual!Report!Template!

An!annual!report!is!an!accountability!piece.!!It!tells!your!donors!and!other!funding!

constituencies!how!you!spent!their!money.!It!reports!on!accomplishments,!financials,!and!

leadership.!The!objective!is!to!provide!these!key!audiences!with!transparency,!accountability,!

and!inspiration.!!To!that!end,!an!annual!report!should!be:!

• Easy!to!read:!No!fancy!font!or!complicated!design,!lots!of!white!space!

• Devoid!of!jargon:!Talk!to!your!donors!in!plain,!straight!language!

• Interesting!and!engaging:!Use!succinct!language!and!statistics!

• Specific:!!Tell!stories!and!use!examples!when!you!can!!

• Personal!in!tone:!!Write!as!if!you!were!talking!to!your!donors!

• Focused!on!the!impact!that!the!organization!has!on!the!world:!Don’t!dwell!on!the!story!

of!what!is!happening!inside!the!organization,!focus!on!the!impact.!

Below!is!a!template!for!a!simple!annual!report.!!Each!of!these!pieces!can!lengthened!and!

shortened!to!whatever!length!and!format!the!organization!you!think!is!right!for!your!donor!

audience.!!!

I.!Note!from!the!Executive!Director!or!Board!Chair!

What!to!include:!This!does!not!have!to!be!a!long!letter,!but!it!should!be!a!personal!letter!of!

reflection!by!the!ED!or!Board!Chair!about!the!past!year!AND!looking!forward!to!the!future.!!!

Design!tips:!It’s!very!nice!to!have!a!photo!of!the!person!and!a!“live”!signature.!

How!to!make!it!happen:!We!always!ask!the!ED!or!Board!Chair!to!take!their!first!draft!and!I!ask!

them!to!write!from!the!heart!with!a!few!prompting!questions.!!What!do!they!really!think!was!

important!this!year?!What!do!we!want!our!donors!to!know?!!What!impact!can!we!make!in!the!

future!with!the!help!of!our!donors?!!If!you’re!ED!or!Board!Chair!doesn’t!want!to!write,!consider!

having!them!talk!into!a!recorder!and!you!polish!the!letter!from!there.!

II.!!Core!Services!and!Accomplishments!

What!to!include:!!This!should!be!some!kind!of!description!of!your!core!serves,!but!not!a!laundry!

list.!!Consider!the!impact!your!services!had!and!try!to!capture!it!in!words!that!are!inspirational,!

but!limited.!!Remember!–!it’s!about!the!impact!your!organization!is!having!on!the!world.!

Design!tips:!You!can!also!use!numbers,!stories,!quotes,!and!photos!to!capture!the!essence!of!

your!work.!

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How!to!make!it!happen:!!Gather!information!from!your!front!line!campaigners!or!program!staff!

to!get!your!best!stories!and!numbers.!!Consider!interviewing!clients!served,!asking!outside!key!

constituencies!for!quotes,!and!using!recent!studies!or!community!surveys.!

III.!Volunteer!Spotlight!

What!to!include:!This!section!should!illustrate!the!support!you!have!in!the!community!as!well!as!

your!effectiveness!in!mobilizing!outside!resources.!!You!can!make!the!feature!a!story!about!a!

specific!volunteer!and!how!they!got!involved,!or!some!thoughts!from!the!volunteer!about!the!

satisfaction!they!get!from!their!work!with!your!organization.!You!can!also!show!the!breadth!of!

your!volunteer!network!by!reporting!on!the!many!kinds!of!volunteers!you!have,!rather!than!

spotlighting!just!one!or!two.!

Design!tips:!Photos!are!key!here.!It’s!great!to!have!a!“spotlight”!feature!in!the!annual!report!

with!a!photo!of!a!volunteer.!You!could!also!do!a!photo!montage!of!vol unteers!in!acti on .!

How!to!make!it!happen:!Ask!you!volunteer!coordinator!for!the!name!of!a!volunteer!that!might!

be!willing!to!be!highlighted.!!Ask!that!volunteer!to!write!their!own!story!or!interview!them!and!

then!write!your!own!version!(that!they!approve,!of!course!).!!For!photos,!consider!collecting!

from!the!volunteers!themselves!!

IV.!!The!Financials!

What!to!include:!It’s!important!that!the!financials!be!presented!in!a!way!that!is!easily!

understood.!!The!key!questions!are:!!Where!does!the!money!come!from!(sources!of!revenue)?!!

How!is!the!money!spent!(percentage!of!money!spent!on!admin,!program!etc.)?!!How!have!our!

programs!grown!(the!financial!results!over!time)?!

Design!tips:!Make!it!easy!to!read!and!easy!to!understand.!!Consider!using!bar!and!pie!charts!

where!you!can.!!

How!to!make!it!happen:!Get!the!financial!data!from!your!finance!staff!and!ask!them!to!help!you!

to!put!it!into!a!format!that!answers!the!questions!outlined!above.!

V.!!Donor!highlights!

What!to!include:!!Many!nonprofits!include!all!of!their!donors!in!their!ann ual !report!and!some!

even!put!them!in!categories!by!their!giving.!!My!recommendation!is!that!you!not!do!that!

because!it!gets!to!be!a!very!timeYintensive!job.!Instead,!I!suggest!you!create!a!donor!page!that!

thanks!all!of!your!donors!and!highlights!a!few!through!stories!or!testimonials.!!F or!example,!if!

you!just!received!a!large!bequest!from!a!donor,!consider!telling!that!story,!complete!with!some!

information!about!the!donor.!!If!you!really!want!to!highlight!monthly!giving,!hi ghli ght!a!monthl y!

giving!donor!and!ask!them!to!tell!their!story.!!You!can!also!use!numbers!to!illustrate!the!breadth!

of!your!support.!!Consider!giving!donation!statistics.!!(An!example!=!“Over!1,000!donors!gave!

more!than!$1!million!donors!this!year!and!that!enabled!us!to!serve!100!more!people!than!we!

did!last!year.”)!

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Design!tips:!!Use!photos!if!you!are!highlighting!individual!donors.! !Sp end!the!mon ey!on!

professional!photographs!–!it’s!worth!it!!

How!to!make!it!happen:!Consider!the!message!you!really!want!to!get!across!to!your!annual!

report!audience.!Do!you!want!them!to!feel!thanked!and!special?!!Do!you!want!them!to!know!

how!much!support!you!have!across!the!community?!!Do!you!want!them!to!know!about!

different!kinds!of!giving?!!This!page!will!be!shaped!by!the!messages!you!are!trying!to!get!across.!

VI.!!Ways!to!Give!

What!to!include:!While!annual!reports!are!supposed!to!tell!donors!about!how!the!organization !

spent!their!money,!their!other!purpose!is!to!inspire!donors!to!give!more.!!So,!be!sure!that!you!

tell!your!audience!all!the!ways!they!can!give,!volunteer,!and!spread!the!word!about!your!great!

work.!!Every!fundraising!piece!has!a!call!to!action!and!this!is!the!call!to!action!for!the!annu al!

report.!

Design!tips:!!Just!like!any!call!to!action,!make!yours!easyYtoYread!and!compelling.!Use!bullets,!

bold,!and!design!to!bring!the!eye!to!this!part!of!the!report.!

How!to!make!it!happen:!!Do!a!brainstorm!with!program!staff!on!all!the!ways!that!donors!could!

help!to!accomplish!the!mission.!Is!there!something!more!than!money!they!could!do!to!help!

make!an!impact?!Could!they!sign!petitions,!post!on!Facebook,!thank!their!Congress!people,!or!

forward!your!eYmails?!!What!could!they!do!to!be!an!active!and!involved!donor?!!!

VII.!!Leadership!

What!to!include:!A!listing!of!staff!and!board!members,!including!staff!titl es!and!bo ard!member!

affiliation.!!You!do!not!need!to!include!bios,!but!af fil iati on s!are!helpful !because!they!show!th e!

networks!and!communities!that!the!community!has!access!to!through!board!members.!

Design!tips:!!It!can!be!nice!to!include!photos!of!staff!if!they!are!interacting!with!volunteers!and!

donors.!

How!to!make!it!happen:!!Use!your!board!list!and!if!you!don’t!have!affi li ation s,!go!to!your!next!

board!meeting!and!collect!that!information.!!You’ll!use!it!many!times!in!the!future!!