Annual Reports – Tell Us How You Want It!
posted on: Friday, February 05, 2010
By Yna C. Moore
Once upon a time, putting together annual reports was pretty straightforward: write about accomplishments and major developments from the past year, print and send them out to a mailing list and hope they get read.
But with the proliferation of new digital media and the rising cost of producing and mailing hard copies, the process isn’t quite as ”simple” anymore. Now, it also involves wrestling with the question: What format should we use?
For most organizations, annual reports serve multiple purposes and have helped with transparency in the charitable sector. But like any other “product,” they’re only as good as their reach and consumption by their intended audiences.
For nonprofits, institutional grantmakers are among the primary target audiences of annual reports, which take considerable time and resources to produce. So the question is – Which format would most likely get read or viewed by foundation staff?
I posed this very question in comments on the Communications Network blog. Blog moderator and head of the network Bruce Trachtenberg’s answer was, we don’t know.
So here’s my (unscientific) attempt at finding out. Why? Many nonprofits are run by overworked staffers wearing multiple hats trying to get as much done with as little budget as possible. Giving these groups a better sense of trends and preferences will help them decide on the most efficient, effective and cost-conscious way to communicate with one of their most important audiences – their funding partners in the civic sector.
I hope that someone or some organization will take on a larger, more “scientific” attempt at gathering, analyzing and sharing the data. It could spell the difference between an annual report that is read or tossed to the bin and never seen.
For now, I invite foundation staffers who read this post to take the poll, or share your thoughts in comments. Thank you!
Yna C. Moore is communications director of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP).
Labels: annual report, nonprofit, Poll
By Yna C. Moore
Once upon a time, putting together annual reports was pretty straightforward: write about accomplishments and major developments from the past year, print and send them out to a mailing list and hope they get read.
But with the proliferation of new digital media and the rising cost of producing and mailing hard copies, the process isn’t quite as ”simple” anymore. Now, it also involves wrestling with the question: What format should we use?
For most organizations, annual reports serve multiple purposes and have helped with transparency in the charitable sector. But like any other “product,” they’re only as good as their reach and consumption by their intended audiences.
For nonprofits, institutional grantmakers are among the primary target audiences of annual reports, which take considerable time and resources to produce. So the question is – Which format would most likely get read or viewed by foundation staff?
I posed this very question in comments on the Communications Network blog. Blog moderator and head of the network Bruce Trachtenberg’s answer was, we don’t know.
So here’s my (unscientific) attempt at finding out. Why? Many nonprofits are run by overworked staffers wearing multiple hats trying to get as much done with as little budget as possible. Giving these groups a better sense of trends and preferences will help them decide on the most efficient, effective and cost-conscious way to communicate with one of their most important audiences – their funding partners in the civic sector.
I hope that someone or some organization will take on a larger, more “scientific” attempt at gathering, analyzing and sharing the data. It could spell the difference between an annual report that is read or tossed to the bin and never seen.
For now, I invite foundation staffers who read this post to take the poll, or share your thoughts in comments. Thank you!
Yna C. Moore is communications director of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP).
Labels: annual report, nonprofit, Poll
posted by NCRP at
1:31 PM
4 Comments:
I think it's helpful when all the information is available online in an accessible format, whether it's PDF or something else. I think foundations should publish annual reports as well online!
By
Elizabeth, at 2:06 PM
Thanks for the comments, Elizabeth!
By
Yna C. More, at 2:47 PM
A PDF available on the organization's web site is easily accesible and can easily be printed out if hard copy is wanted. Multimedia takes too much time -- I have a stack of DVDs from grantees and would-be grantees waiting to be viewed -- most never will be.
By
Benjamin, at 4:28 PM
Thanks for the food for thought, Benjamin! I assume you took the poll, too. (I hope so! If not, please do.)
Your last comment is exactly why I'm interested in finding out what works for most and what doesn't. If it's not viewed or read, no matter how snazzy and fancy the presentation, then it's resources and efforts wasted.
Yna
By
Yna C. Moore, at 4:57 PM
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