The key to any successful and impactful annual report is the ability to tell a story. Like any other written medium, annual reports can easily get bogged down by clunky, drab, and boring content. When that happens, nonprofits lose the interest—and possibly the essential support—of some key donors and stakeholders in their communities. To avoid that pitfall altogether, let’s dig into some best practices for storytelling in your annual report.
1. Invest in visuals
Long gone are the days of wordy testimonials, write-ups, and highlights. The good news? Graphic content is in—it’s hip, trendy, and much more compelling. Using some expert tools from platforms like Yearly, you can easily embed video and images directly into your report and even craft eye-catching graphs and charts. The more you can keep your audience’s interest, the better.
2. Always provide context
In order to ensure that your readers get the most out of your annual report, and the story you’re telling, make sure that you always add context where necessary. If a statistic is potentially misleading, or doesn’t help readers to understand the full picture you’re trying to paint, don’t leave it up to their imagination to fill in the gaps. While you want to avoid being too verbose, you do want to be as clear as possible.
3. Make it as human as possible
It’s easy for an annual report to suddenly feel jam-packed with numbers and stats. While those components are certainly necessary to include, be sure to incorporate as much information about the people involved your nonprofit—your staff, stakeholders, and supporters—as much as you can. The more you can remind your community of the people that make your organization a success, the more the story of your mission will shine through.
4. Come back to your values
When crafting your annual report, consider all of the values that make up the heart of your organization. Consider whether or not the addition or the omission of certain information aligns with those values. By remaining consistent in your nonprofit’s goals, and using your values as guideposts, your audience will feel connected to your story and inspired by your objectives.