Do you believe that the sole purpose of your annual reports is just to comply with regulatory requirements? If you do, it may be time to update your stance!

In addition to giving others a clear view of your NFP’s financial results, your annual report should also be used to inform others about your mission, and the difference that you are making in your community. This will help you to strengthen your brand image and increase the overall support for your cause!

Take the following steps to create reports that clarify the impact made by your organisation!

Determine who is interested in your NFP outcomes

It’s not just the ACNC that’s interested in your finances, activities and governance! It’s very likely that all your NFP’s stakeholders are interested in your mission, as well as your performance! When deciding on what to include in your report, think about what types of information your donors want to know about you. Look at your annual report as a vehicle to strengthen your brand image and drive engagement with all your supporters!

What is the main idea that you want to get across in your reporting? Make sure that you use words in your title, headings and organisation of your report to help you convey your central theme or message that you wish to get across. This will enable you to create a more interesting report that appeals to a broader audience.

The Best Reports Include these 7 Elements

While some nonprofits still limit the content of their annual reporting to simple documents that illustrate their accounts, the most successful NFPs understand that they need to demonstrate the value of their organisation in their community. To best reveal the impact of your nonprofit, include the following sections in your report to emphasise your impact:

• an introduction
• an executive summary
• a list of your awards or other achievements
• your core mission
• your future objectives
• any facts, statistics or other relevant information

When discussing the impact of your NFP, don’t limit yourself to infographics, charts and other numerical data. Use case studies to show your supporters the value that you bring to real people in your community. Include photos as they bring to life your stories. In addition to your service beneficiaries, let the voices of your volunteers be heard by using images to highlight their activities and share their personal accounts of their work with you in their own words.

Once you’ve discussed the difference that your NFP is making, follow up by explaining your long-term goals to build on your current progress. Include your actual statutory documents at the end of your report. Include ratios and visual aids to make this information easier to understand.

Publish Your Reports in a Variety of Formats

Release your annual report on your website to make it easier for anyone interested in your nonprofit to learn more about your organisation. Not only will this help you connect with supporters more easily, but it also increases transparency for your NFP’s board as well as their policies, procedures and decision-making processes. Make sure that hard copies of your annual report are available to anyone who requests them. Use industry best practices when it comes to selecting typefaces, fonts and formats. Enlist the services of a professional printer so that the images, documents and text of your physical reports make a good impression.

Consider hosting either an in-person or online launch party to announce the release of your annual report. This will draw attention to your NFP and allow you to highlight specific areas of exemplary performance. This technique is especially useful when your nonprofit has received an award or other recognition for the work that it is doing, or if you would like to announce an ambitious plan for future growth that’s a significant departure from the services you have offered in the past.