Annual Report:
A Year Round Marketing Tool

Annual Reports can do more than fulfill a requirement to report financial information. The government doesn't require any pictures or color; black and white photocopied pages will do. But if you want your Annual to work for you all year long, you may want to invest in a great one.

An annual can serve many purposes. Start with the required one - reporting the facts and figures for the year. Then, there is the opportunity to reflect on your accomplishments and forecast your future growth. There is also the chance to share pictures, especially if your annual is to serve as a key marketing piece throughout the year (both online and in print). Donors will be particularly interested in this opportunity to read about your status.

These are the typical Elements of an Annual Report:

1. A letter from the President or Executive Director (or both!)
2. Highlights of the Year - these can be as simple as a list or as showy as a two-page spread with photographs for each event or program.
3. Financials - usually a minimum of pie charts or tables showing income and expenses 4. Donor list - this can end up being half or more of the total book, they are usually at the end.

A Checklist to Plan Your Annual

Hopefully these planning tips will help to get you started:

1. Figure out what purpose your annual will serve. Is this simply a reporting tool? Is it one of several printed marketing pieces you will do this year? Or the only one?
2. Decide who will manage the project. Annual reports are big projects and need to be well managed. Whoever is in charge should create a production schedule. It can take months to complete the project, from start to finish. A financial audit is necessary; knowing when that will be done will help you determine when the annual will be finalized.
3. Now chose a theme. Themes give you purpose and direction. You do not need a fancy title yet, just a general theme. It could be inspired by an anniversary, one major accomplishment; it could be a story from the past year or highlight some aspect of your mission. You will follow the theme through using the best photography, copywriting and design talent you can afford. Scroll down for more on this topic.
4. Gather photographs. If you're lucky you have great photos neatly filed and/or digitized ready to use. If not, start gathering! If you don't have good current photos, try your best to line up a great photographer (pro bono, if you can!). Photos should document your work and your mission.
5. Begin to identify resources. Will you use an outside copywriter and designer or a marketing firm? If the budget doesn't allow outside help, do you have volunteers to do the work?

Some tips that may be helpful:

• An annual report used as a marketing tool is not a do-it-yourself project (unless you are an organization of graphic designers).
• Your annual will be an important tool to use when you approach major donors.
• You'll want to strike a balance between being impressive and NOT looking like you spent the whole budget on producing the book.
• Printing is expensive, look for discounts or donations.
• Collect annual reports that you like from other nonprofits and from corporations. The ideas will be useful.

Choosing a Theme

Choosing a theme is the fun part! It's an opportunity to be creative. As in most creative exercises, I suggest you start with brainstorming. So gather a group. I prefer a creative team consisting of an interesting mix of people, representing as many constituencies as possible. So gather a staff member, a volunteer, board member, donor, client, guest... whatever makes sense for your nonprofit.

Before you are all sitting in a room together (or on a call together) you should know what it is you want to get from the session. You might start with a list of the highlights of the year. Or you could ask the team members to suggest what they consider the highlights. This list should not be limited to events, try including goals met, turning points, anniversaries... You get the idea. Have fun. Be creative.

Here are some ideas that we have used:

A housing organization wanted a theme of many people coming together. They felt that the strength of their organization was the work of volunteers, the ongoing participation and interaction with clients and a great staff. Several things had happened that year that demonstrated this unity. From this concept came the image of a quilt - many pieces sewn together to produce something beautiful. The result was an annual report titled "There's no Place like Home," and each block was a house. (I actually hand quilted the cover image, it still hurts my fingers when I look at it.)

Another example is a job training and placement agency. They were celebrating a significant anniversary. We have done numerous anniversary materials but this group wanted something playful and lighthearted. So we used a birthday concept rather than the more traditional anniversary theme. They carried the theme through for their annual dinner.

A college was in the midst of a capital campaign and wanted an annual that would support that effort. With a theme of "Impacting the World," we profiled individuals related to the college including a donor, trustee, student, alumna, professor and parent, who were notable for their achievements. This gave the school the clout they were looking for.

In 2001, with patriotism at a highpoint, a human services organization wanted to focus on the concept of interdependence. Their report became a striking "Declaration of Interdependence."

Make your annual report a key element of your branding and marketing. It will be working for you all year long.