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A nonprofit that works in a remote region of the country or the worldmust find a way to tell its story to people who have never been to that region and have never seen what the organization is doing there. Similarly, a nonprofit whose mission focuses on showcasing the talents of local artists, or on making neighborhoods safer for children and the elderly, must also find a way to tell its story to people who can benefit from its work. Our job at World Wildlife Fund (WWF), for example, is to save the earth's endangered places and the wild species that inhabit them. Why are they threatened? What are we doing to protect them? Are we making a difference? We could tell our story in a magazine, as many nonprofits do. We could tell our story on our Web site, and we do. But sometimes the story needs to be told as a coherent whole, not parceled out in monthly or bimonthly doses or presented as a series of menu options on a Web page. We have found that the annual report makes an ideal vehicle for conveying information about our struggles and successes, in a form that will allow our story to be kept and even shared with others.
When Caroline Taylor first came to work as publications director for WWF, in 1993, we had been publishing an annual report for nearly thirty years. Over that period, our organization had grown considerably in size and complexity. Not surprisingly, the scope and size of our annual report had also increased: what had once been twenty-four pages long was now more than three times that size. Our deadline, however, had not changed. Caroline, using many of the approaches described in this book, kept our annual report on track. Her knowledge of how annual reports are produced, together with her ability to speak the language of designers and printers, made the process function more smoothly. Her background in design and editing helped our report tell a more compelling story through integrated text and visuals. For seven years, our annual reports were of sufficiently high quality to win numerous awards for communications excellence.
Just as WWF benefited from Caroline's knowledge and experience, so will the readers of this book. CEOs of newly established nonprofits, as well as nonprofits that have not previously published an annual report, will find tips for planning the report, setting the direction, writing the president's letter, and measuring the report's effectiveness. Staff of nonprofits that already put out annual reports will find helpful hints on choosing a theme; budgeting for writing, design, and printing; sticking to a schedule; managing reviews; finding photographs; and working with designers and printers.
In short, there is an abundance of information in this book for any nonprofit organization that is contemplating its first annual report--or its best one ever. There is help for those suffering from migraine-strength headaches caused by the inability to secure copy reviews in a timely manner. There is advice for those who want to make a document written by committee read as if it had been written by one person. Readers will see how the annual report fits into an organization's overall communications strategy, learn what an annual report is not, and benefit from a look into the crystal ball to see if, in the not too distant future, online annual reports will eventually become the norm rather than the exception. In this respect, the book draws from survey data of Fortune 500 companies and other businesses that publish annual reports, to validate one of my own personal beliefs: there will always be a need for a printed annual report.
Indeed, the many similarities between nonprofit annual reports and corporate annual reports constitute a common thread that runs through the book. Both types of report are used as image pieces, both are used to sell the organization or company and its "products," and both are used to inform investors or donors about how their money has been used. There are several books available to help investors read financial statements in corporate annual reports, and it is clear that corporate annual reports offer much to be emulated. Until now, however, there has not been a book devoted exclusively to the nonprofit annual report.
For all nonprofit organizations with an important and urgent story to tell--a story that becomes more complex but no less urgent with every passing year--this book provides the blueprint for making that story as compelling and rich as it must be to capture supporters' sympathies.
Kathryn S. Fuller
President, World Wildlife Fund
