June 2015

A while back, the Salvation Army discovered that about half of the 28,800 printed annual reports it sent to its field offices each year were going unopened. And although the Salvation Army has since made changes and introduced an interactive digital report, it raises the question: how many other organisations’ annual reports are also going unnoticed? Perhaps part of the problem is that putting together an annual report can often be a challenge for community-focused organisations, which are already incredibly busy delivering their core services and managing a stretched budget. As a result, there’s little consideration put into planning and producing an effective annual report. However, an annual report can be beautiful, inspiring and energising – and have long-lasting value and uses well beyond annual-report season. Here, we share some of our top tips for getting more out of your annual report.