A Good Annual Report Tells Your Story. A Great One Moves People to Join It!

Your annual report isn’t just a transparency requirement; when strategic and timely, it becomes a powerful tool to tell your story, spark new support, and rally people behind your work.

When Sara, the Executive Director (ED) of a small youth nonprofit, finally had a minute to breathe in April, she realized something: their fiscal year had ended four months ago, and they still didn’t have an annual report.

This is not an uncommon situation for nonprofit leaders. Especially for smaller organizations, the annual report often becomes the thing that gets pushed to “when we have time.” Financials are delayed, program teams are deep in delivery mode, and the person tasked with pulling the whole thing together—usually the comms lead or even the ED—has no capacity left to take it on.

But here’s the truth: Your annual report isn’t just a transparency requirement; when strategic and timely, it becomes a powerful tool to tell your story, spark new support, rally people behind your work, and help your board stay on message when representing your work.

Even with limited time and resources, there’s a way to get it done and to make it count. You just need a plan and a few strategic choices. Here’s how to make it happen:

A jargon-heavy 20-pager won’t move the needle. But people will remember, share, and act on a concise, story-driven report that shows what changed and how they helped make it happen.

Define the audience. Annual reports often try to speak to everyone—donors, funders, board members, volunteers. But if you want to use it to raise support, focus the report on those who fuel your fundraising. What matters to them should guide what you highlight, how you frame your story, and even how much you include. A jargon-heavy 20-pager won’t move the needle. But people will remember, share, and act on a concise, story-driven report that shows what changed and how they helped make it happen.

Measure and track impact year-round. One of the biggest time-sucks in report season is trying to remember what happened. Set up a shared document now. Drop in quotes, milestones, media hits, key metrics, photos, and anecdotes. When it’s time to draft, you’ll have the ingredients ready to go.

[...] powerful stories, framed with honesty, dignity, and context, can show your impact more clearly than a dozen infographics. [...] Don’t shy away from complexity. Show the connection between your work and the world you’re building.

Highlight stories that showcase impact. One or two powerful stories, framed with honesty, dignity, and context, can show your impact more clearly than a dozen infographics. If you’re in advocacy or systems change, don’t shy away from complexity. Show the connection between your work and the world you’re building.

But don’t just drop in a few stories. Build the entire report around a clear narrative thread. Everything, from your program data, financials, leadership message, to success stories, should tie back to a clear, central theme. Maybe it’s “One Vision. 10 Years. A Community Transformed” or “Turning Barriers into Pathways.” Whatever theme you choose, it should serve as a through line that helps your audience connect what you did, why it matters, and how it contributes to real change. A number like “1,200 people served” becomes more meaningful when paired with a face, a story, and a glimpse of the broader impact. When you show how individual experiences connect to community or systems-level outcomes, your report becomes far more powerful.

[...] a beautiful report without strategy is just decoration. What makes a report truly work is how clearly it reflects the heart of your mission. And that takes more than design. It takes people who understand the weight of what you do.

Consider other report-like tools: We know that things can get busy, and sometimes organizations are not ready to produce a full report just yet. That’s okay. You can still leverage the main elements of a great report in a one-pager with key stats and a story, a quarterly impact brief, or a donor-focused email series. There are many ways to remind people why your work matters without waiting for perfect conditions.

Design matters—but it’s not just about a clean layout or strong photography. Research shows that nonprofits that invest in clear, compelling annual reports see stronger donor retention and engagement. Still, a beautiful report without strategy is just decoration. What makes a report truly work is how clearly it reflects the heart of your mission. And that takes more than design. It takes people who understand the weight of what you do, who know how to write for funders, translate policy into plain language, and tell complex stories without flattening them. That’s where strategy meets storytelling. And that’s where we can help! 

We know it’s a lot. But you don’t have to do it alone. Let’s turn your annual report into a tool that inspires support.