Every year you spend a lot of time creating a comprehensive report of your organizations activities and financial statements. And every year, a majority of the people who receive the report don’t read them. According to Kivi Leroux Miller, president of Nonprofit Marketing Guide, “Nonprofits are investing way too much time, energy and money into long, printed reports that no one…will read.”
To make the reporting process easier and to ensure your report is read, we’ve put together some tips to help you create reports your board of directors and donors want to read.
Ways to Make Your Annual Report Stand Out
Highlight accomplishments – Instead of listing all the activities your organization participated in, talk about what those activities accomplished. How much visibility did your cause receive? How much money did you raise? How many meals did you serve? How many hours did volunteers donate? This will be much more effective in showing just how much good your nonprofit is doing.
Include testimonials/profiles from volunteers/people affected by mission – Readers want to see how their support is benefiting the cause. Include testimonials from volunteers or personal profiles of people touched by your organization to show success and accomplishment.
Add photos from events – Insert positive, uplifting images from the past year to further showcase the support your cause is generating.
Show how far you’ve come with a chart/graph – Highlight historical data with a chart or graph to make the information more powerful. (This will also make it easier to read.)
Make financial information easy to understand – Financial jargon is difficult to understand. Make it easy for your readers to know what you’re talking about by spelling out abbreviations, using charts and graphs when possible, tying financial data to the overall mission, and keeping the financial information short.
Give thanks – Your organization wouldn’t be able to continue without the generous support of your donors. Remember to thank them throughout the report, letting them know that their dedication and support doesn’t go unnoticed.
Include calls to action – After you’ve explained (and showed) how amazing your organization is doing, tell your donors how they can get involved! Tell them when the next big event is, show them where they can volunteer, or simply ask for donations.
Nonprofit Accounting Solutions for Easier Reporting
Make financial reporting easier by using nonprofit accounting software that can help organize and streamline the reporting process. Solutions like, Abila MIP Fund Accounting, enable you to put together easy-to-read financial reports – perfect for sending to your board of directors and donors. To learn more about Abila MIP and other nonprofit fund accounting solutions, contact Bob Schilling by calling 877-889-0629 , emailing bschilling@capitalbusiness.net or filling out this online form.