Annual reports are necessary evils.

Yes, of course, your charity must publish its financials but it’s not mandatory that the format be dry and uninviting! We need to change our view of the annual report: it can be another vehicle to help you tell your story.

Annual reports are a goldmine for information about who you are, what you do, how successful you were, and how much more you are hoping to achieve. This is why it makes me terribly sad when I don’t see the same amount of effort put into an online annual report as a newsletter or homepage.

Everyone wants to be told a story, right? Numbers can be a great storytelling mechanic of past impact and future outlook. They help tell the story of a risk that paid-off; an investment that helped saved lives; a new approach to service delivery made possible by a supportive Board.

Numbers don’t come with a happy ending by default but it’s important to remember that each annual report you release is simply one chapter of a longer story you’re telling your supporters.

Make it interactive

The concept of the interactive annual report has taken form in the last couple of years with Canadian charities paying more attention to their websites, how supporters are interacting online, and how critical information is communicated.

Like with anything online, there is a spectrum of possibilities. I’ve collected a few examples below that showcase the opportunity to take a set of numbers - in their simplest, most mundane form - and transform them into a story about your organization. (Disclosure: I did not work on any of these projects. Objectivity assured!)

WWF Canada
Pros: Beautiful, immersive, and informative. Plus interactive with video, animation and downloads. 
Cons: Not mobile responsive; reversed out type can be difficult to read.
Considerations for Next Time: Keep doing more of the same; integrate mobile.

David Suzuki Foundation
Pros: Small amounts of content on different topics; mobile responsive. 
Cons: Navigation is cumbersome.
Considerations for Next Time: Use graphics to represent numbers.

The Jane Goodall Institute 
Pros: Good use of print version for online. Wonderful visuals.
Cons: Not focused on the user’s experience; not very SEO-friendly.
Considerations for Next Time: Try a landing page with snippets from the best stories that then link to a downloadable PDF.

Movember Canada

Pros: Highly brand and mission focused. Tells a story.
Cons: Font difficult to read.
Considerations for Next Time: This format might work better flipbook style. Optimize font and spacing for online viewing.

How to start

All of the above were probably based off of (if not complete copies of) a print version of the report. Often that’s an easy place to start because it’s something your team or agency is used to producing, however, it’s also easy to be pigeonholed by the print version and how it looks, feel and operates.

Why not try your hand at an interactive annual report? To get started, ask yourself these 5 questions:

1. Outside of reporting your financial information, what are the top 3 objectives of your annual report?
2. In the past, how have you published your annual report online? Any performance metrics available?
3. Does all the information from your print version need to be available online?
4. Would you be able to build an interactive annual report within your current website? Is your website responsive?
5. Who do you need to meet with to start talking about building your interactive annual report?

You might not be able to answer all of these questions on your own. Or even in that order! But these will definitely get you off on the right foot, so that true digital integration stops becoming a part of your future and starts becoming part of your present.

Happy Reporting,

Simren