Week 1 – May 2nd, 2023 Theme: Nonprofit Annual Reports
As we look beyond the Annual Progress Reports we must write for our projects, one question that might come to mind is how to make that information useful for your local audience and donors. Our grant reporting gives us a good start to synthesizing our data in a way that is meaningful to the communities we serve. Here is a resource detailing imperative questions and lists of templates to consider in writing a Nonprofit Annual Report for your center: https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/running-nonprofit/fundraising-and-resource-development/nonprofit-annual-reports
Week 2 – May 9th, 2023 Theme: Tableau Foundation Living Annual Report
These days, many nonprofits are leaning toward Living Annual Reports, also known as Data Dashboards, to share their impact with the communities they serve. This resource offers some examples of how a Living Annual Report might look and how often to update one: https://www.tableau.com/data-insights/dashboard-showcase/tableau-foundation-annual-report
Week 3 – May 16th, 2023 Theme: Your Nonprofit Annual Report: 10 Things to Include This Year
Whether a Living Annual Report is on your website or not, some aspects of a traditional annual report that do not fit in a dashboard still need to be communicated on a regular basis. Here is a list of 10 things to include in your annual reporting regardless of the format you use to share it out: https://www.classy.org/blog/nonprofit-annual-report-worksheet/
Week 4 – May 23rd, 2023 Theme: Understanding the 4 Essential Nonprofit Financial Statements
Did you know that regularly publicizing your Financial Statements is one of the first, best steps to cultivating corporate donors? This resource clearly explains the four essential reports to place in the financial section of your annual report: https://www.springly.org/en-us/blog/essential-nonprofit-financial-statements/
Week 5 – May 30th, 2023 Theme: What Warren Buffet Can Teach Us About Annual Reports
Creating your annual report is Step 1. Circulating it through all of your usual marketing and outreach channels is Step 2. There is an extremely important Step 3. Do you know what it is? This short blog about the impact of organizational leaders using a personal reach-out to create buy-in is a must read: https://bloomerang.co/blog/what-warren-buffet-can-teach-us-about-annual-reports/