I’ve produced annual reports more than 60 pages long, and one thing that experience taught me is that no one should have to read all 60 pages to understand your impact. As someone who is responsible for producing them, I’ve come to realize that an annual report shouldn’t be a test of your audience’s attention span, but rather it should make your organization’s story easier to understand.
The goal doesn’t need to be making the report shorter but making every page work harder. If you begin with the reader instead of the organization, some people don't read annual reports cover to cover. They just skim the headlines and the numbers.. Others are drawn to photography, impact stories, or a particular program, and a strong annual report should work at multiple levels and for various audiences.
Annual reports often become a collection of everything an organization accomplished that year. Every department wants a page. Every program has an update. Every milestone feels important, and before long, the report starts reflecting the organization’s internal structure instead of the reader’s interests. When deciding what to include in your annual report, ask yourself this question: What do we want people to know about this organization if they take five minutes to read this report? Whatever your answer is, that will determine what you highlight and what you leave out.
Someone should be able to get the big picture within the first two minutes of reading the annual report. Clear headlines, short sections, quotes, powerful photography, data points, and visual breaks give someone who is taking the time to read the report an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the organization's story and impact, while easily being able to find details and topics of interest.
Annual reports are filled with numbers, and a strong hierarchy makes a long report feel shorter, so turn data into meaning. Students served. Dollars raised. Programs launched. People reached. Yes, you reported on the events, but no one cares about the numbers unless you tell them why. Unless you tell them what those numbers mean. If the enrollment went up, what could the non-profit take on now? If donors donated $1.5 million, what could it accomplish now? If a program helped 500 people, what difference did it make in their lives? The numbers are the proof point. The impact is the story.
When writing a long report, it's easy to make the school seem like the main character of the story. To combat this challenge, let real people help to carry some of the message and bring people into the story. Students. Employees. Donors. Alumni. Families. Community members. Partners can all infuse humanity into the pages of your annual report, and they can all convey impact more effectively than a few sentences of your organizational blurb. It also puts your audience in the loop as to exactly what all of your strategies, programs, and metrics are about.
Edit, don't feel like you have to be modest with this one. Chop and change your content as much as you need to, to really bring the stories on the pages to life. This is the dullest, yet most important part. Don't forget the theme you have decided on and make sure the stories you choose fit into the scheme of things for the report. Sometimes a short quote or small story can really make a big impact. Some stories deserve two pages, others deserve a paragraph. Some information belongs in a sidebar, and sometimes things simply don’t need to be included. Editing isn’t about minimizing the work your organization accomplished. It is about making sure the most important work doesn’t get buried by everything else.
Think beyond the annual report. After investing months producing an annual report, don’t publish it once and move on, but rather make it continue to work for you far beyond its release date. You’ve done the work and created an entire library of content that can be reimagined and repurposed for social media, donor communications, website stories, email campaigns, leadership talking points, presentations, fundraising materials, and even for public relations. One annual report can generate months of communications, which is a great return on the investment of time and effort that went into creating it.
A 60 page annual report definitely helps you, but if it reads like it was homework, no one is getting the most out of what you hoped you could get out of it. Tell your reader what is important and let them get a peek into your people. Make your data interesting, let them flow around your stories on the page in a comfortable way. A great annual report isn't about whether someone read all the way to the end, it's about whether they walked away knowing a little more about you, and why what you do matters.
An annual report should not only be about what your organization achieved within the year, but it should also be an opportunity to tell your mission story and show your impact. It's an opportunity to tell a great story and connect with your audience in a way that will keep them engaged for a long time. Are you telling the right story with your Annual Report? If you're looking to create a great annual report with strong storytelling, design, and data, let's talk. I can work with you to turn your organization's achievements into a great narrative that speaks to your donors, stakeholders, and communities.
