Auctria Annual Report Webinar

But what if, instead, your Annual Report could be a celebration of the good work your supporters’ gifts had made possible?

Why are nonprofit Annual Reports so bad?

What if, instead, your organization's Annual Report could be a celebration of the good work your supporters’ gifts had made possible?

What if your Annual Report became a document that your donors loved to receive and read?

And what if your nonprofit Annual Report Actually Raised Money?

Pamela Grow will put a whole new spin on annual reports in Creating Your Revenue Generating Nonprofit Annual Report. Join this fun session to discover how your organization’s annual report can be one of your most valuable communications tools. You emerge from this webinar with clarity about your annual report, examples, and a checklist to manage your next report.

Transcript

1. Creating Your Nonprofit’s Revenue Generating Annual Report
3. Founder of Basics & More Fundraising Training and Co- Founder of Veritus Group Academy Host of MotivateMonday Weekly Micro-Lesson Webinars Consultant & Copywriter Author of Simple Development Systems: Successful Fundraising for the One-Person Shop
4. Fundraising Training that works for your busy schedule
5. thefundraisingcalendar.com
6. Snapshots Of Me…
7. Why Are So Many Annual Reports So Bad?
9. What If, Instead, Your Annual Report Could Be A Celebration Of The Good Work Your Supporters’ Gifts Made Possible?
10. What If Your Annual Report Became A Document That Your Donors Loved To Receive And Read?
11. What If Your Nonprofit Annual Report Actually Raised Money?
13. In Today’s Webinar, You’ll Discover: The strategic role of your Annual Report Who to include in the planning process: deciding on your project team Developing your best theme Stories vs statistics Interviewing for your Annual Report Graphics and the design process Print or online, which is better? Resources
14. And How To Use Your Annual Report To Generate Revenue
15. EXAMPLES You’ll Also Get Plenty Of
16. The Strategic Role of Your Annual Report 01
17. Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash
19. Who wants to read a 990? YOUR PHOTO HERE 530px x 750px
20. Systems 4 Report 3 Thank 1 Story 2 Ask Source: Simple Development Systems Donor Feedback & Engagement
22. “The annual report is always the most important stand-alone communications vehicle of the year. It is our signature piece… Our take home message is basically the same: Conservation is an urgent cause. The challenges are enormous, yet WWF is making significant headway with the help of its supporters.” KATHRYN FULLER, PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF WORLD WILDLIFE FUND Publishing the Nonprofit Annual Report: Tips, Traps, and Tricks of the Trade. Caroline Taylor. Wiley Publishing.
23. REMEMBER: That is what your supporters need to hear from you… That you could not do this work without their support.
25. My story
26. The Challenges: A change in systems resulted in very few reliable reporting outcomes The organization had undergone a name change and rebranding in the preceding year I had two weeks to write — and design — the report
27. The Result: Put the focus on our supporters. Our theme: “The Difference is You." Featured direct quotes from individual, foundation funders, and government agencies Positive feedback from funders and donors Raised money (without an ask)
28. Start by Putting Together Your Team… The Creator/Writer (Project Lead) Your CEO/ED/Board President Content Experts Your Designer
29. Steer Clear Of The Traditional Snore- Inducing “Letter From The Executive Director”
30. Silent Springs Institute 2022 Impact Report. Copywriter Julie & Brett Cooper
31. Let’s Move on to Writing our Report: The first and most difficult thing you have to do when you start to develop content for your annual report is to discard the notion that the annual report is about us, the nonprofit. The annual report is about YOU, the donor.
32. Here’s What a Nonprofit Annual Report Is NOT About: Our mission, vision, and goals Our history Our staff and board Our administration and infrastructure Our programs
33. Here’s What a Nonprofit Annual Report IS About: Our supporters What we accomplished with our supporters’ money IMPACT
34. It doesn’t matter what you think you need to say about how awesome your organization is or how many programs you ran last year. In fact, the annual report is not about what you need to say at all. Your Annual Report Is About What the Donor Needs To Hear.
35. It’s about what the donor needs to hear— specifically, what she needs in order to: a. Remember your message b. Act on your message by donating again c. Repeat your message to others It’s about what the donor need to hear. How much you say is irrelevant. What matters is how much gets through —and sticks. It’s about what the donor needs to hear—not what you need to say.
36. Highlight Outcomes Not Activities
37. Instead of… What we did Our programs Who did the work How we decided to get into this work Our partner or supporting organizations What happened
38. Focus on… What happened because of what we did Client (patron, recipient) outcomes Who was affected How we know this work made a difference What our partners and supporters have accomplished through this work Why it matters
39. WARNING: That’s why your annual report must be short. Four pages or two minutes is as much space and time as you get to engage the donor. Consider your own behavior: Will you read a 20- page book or watch a 15-minute video? Probably not.
40. Save This Formula… Because we did [activity or program], [Ultimate Beneficiaries] were able to [outcome].
41. Pick A Compelling Theme
42. Involve Your Designer in Your Annual Report From the Beginning, While You’re in the Planning Stage. A designer can visualize what a theme will look like in ways you can't. Bring in someone with graphic training and experience as early as possible in your planning process.
43. Photo by Héctor J. Rivas on Unsplash We wear a lot of hats in the nonprofit sector. You’re the Grant- writer/Database Administrator/Individual Giving Manager/ Stewardship Associate/Event Planner/Social Media Manager/ Major Gift Officer. And more. Do you REALLY want to add the title of graphic designer to the mix?
44. Gratitude should be the central theme of every annual report. It’s not enough to say that you’re making a difference. You also want to acknowledge that your supporters made that impact possible. Gratitude may be the sole theme of your annual report: maybe “Thanks to you!” or “Look what you did!”
45. Tell Stories
46. “Stories make the world go ‘round. People are hard-wired for stories. We respond to stories in a visceral way—and a visceral (“gut”) response is exactly what you want in order to help donors remember, act on, and repeat your message.” YOUR NONPROFIT ANNUAL REPORT | BASICS & MORE
47. We showed villagers in Burkina Faso how to build and maintain wells. Instead of…
48. Madina and her eldest daughter used to walk four miles to the nearest water source. Now Madina can spend more time at her loom, the daughter can stay in school, and the children are all healthier. [Photo: Madina at her loom while the children huddle over a chalkboard.] Tell this story…
49. We rescued pets from abusive humans and deplorable conditions. Instead of…
50. Buster was emaciated, mangy, and afraid of people. Now he’s healthy and happy, learning to trust again in his new forever home. [Photo: Sleek Buster “smiling” at the camera.] Tell this story…
51. Our exhibits gave children hands-on science instruction they can’t get at school. Instead of…
52. Antonio was “charged” to learn about electricity. [Photo: Child with hand on a van de Graaff generator (that silver- ball thing) has a look of wonder on his face as his hair stands on end.] Tell this story…
53. Stories Vs. Statistics
54. Next to the story about Madina and her family: “You donated XX wells that supply clean water to XXXX villagers in Western Africa.”
55. After the story about Buster: “Thanks to you, 122 other dogs and cats like Buster have a chance at a happy and healthy life.”
56. For Powerful Stories: Whenever possible, tell real stories of the people who have actually been helped by your work, accompanied by photos of those people. A quotation from a grateful recipient goes a long way toward showing donors what you’ve accomplished with their money.
57. Key Interview Questions: When did you start coming to XYZ? or How did you learn about XYZ? or When did XYZ start working with you [your neighborhood, your school, or whatever]? Then what happened? (Whenever UB runs out of steam, repeat some version of the last thing he said, and then ask this question.) How did this affect you? When you say that [effect UB has named], how would an outsider have been able to see that was happening? Tell me a story about [the effect]. How have things changed in your life [your children’s lives, your neighborhood, etc.] because of [specific XYZ activity UB has named]? Would you recommend XYZ to a friend? What would you tell that friend to encourage them to use XYZ services?
58. Download Lisa Sargent’s Interview Tip Sheet… http://www.lisasargent.com/images/PDF/TipSheet-AdvancedInterviewing.pdf
59. Always Get Permission
60. Use Photos and Graphics Words and pictures need to work together seamlessly. A key strategy is to wed each picture with text. The words on a page that are most likely to be read are the captions. 㱺 Make sure every photo has a caption.
61. Make It Personal If you remember nothing else from today’s webinar, remember this: 㱺 “You” is the most important word in your annual report. Say “you” often. Any time you start a sentence with “We,” go back and see how to reframe it as something “you,” the donor, did.
62. A Word About Donor Lists You’ve used a lot of space to make each donor’s heart feel a little better for a tiny second. It would be much better to use the entire annual report to show donors that they are making a difference by donating to your work. Find better ways to thank donors individually by name. So much can go wrong with a donor list: spelling names wrong, leaving off titles, listing only one member of a couple, and many more.
63. More Goodwill Is Lost With One Mistake Than Is Generated By Spelling A Hundred Names Correctly.
64. Program Descriptions Your programs are important to you. They are not important to donors. Donors care about your accomplishments. You’ll be surprised at how little you have to say about your programs to describe how they made a difference in people’s lives. Focus on the experience of your client rather than on the people who made that experience possible. Focus on outcomes rather than on how it happened.
65. Jargon and Abbreviations Jargon and abbreviations are the bane of the nonprofit world. We use specialized language and abbreviate names and concepts all the time in our work. For those “in the know,” jargon and abbreviations save a lot of time and space. For outsiders—such as the donors you are trying to engage in your annual report— jargon and abbreviations are an utter waste of time and space. They simply do not communicate.
66. A Word About Financials…
67. Make Your Financials Tell a Story Too Throughout your annual report, you’re demonstrating your accountability. You’re showing donors and funders that you’ve accomplished great things with the money they gave you. The financial section is a continuation of that project. You may not be able to make it quite as engaging as photos of smiling families or healthy animals, but you can use your financial pages to tell a story that your supporter can understand, act on, and repeat.
68. Print Or Digital?
72. For Example:
73. Annual Report Content Checklist
74. Are You Ready For Examples?
75. A Great Theme
76. A Story
77. “You are part of this story. You are part of the story of Colina and David. And you are part of the story of so many families here in Nova Scotia. Thank you for your kind and caring support of the Alzheimer Society.” THE ALZHEIMER SOCIETY OF NOVA SCOTIA
78. Simple Financials Health Wagon 2021 Annual Report. Copywriter Aimee Vance.
79. Silent Springs Institute 2022 Impact Report. Copywriter Julie & Brett Cooper
80. Presenting Statistics
81. Your Call To Action
82. And, Always, Gratitude
83. “Your Annual Report can be a celebration of the good work your supporters’ gifts made possible. Your Annual Report can be a communication piece that your donors love to receive and read. Your Annual Report can be a love letter. ”
84. Simplify your mission for your supporters.
85. Simplify your mission for your supporters. John Lepp Agents of Good Unpublished
86. John Lepp Agents of Good Unpublished
87. Hemingway app
88. Intervale Center Impact Report
90. For More Examples: PamelaGrow.com and type “Gratitude Report” in the search line…
91. Download Today To stay on target and guide you through your nonprofit’s Annual Report. Your Annual Report Checklist brought to you by Auctria and Basics & More Fundraising.
93. www.upwork.com
94. Mary Cahalane mcahalane.com Julie Cooper fundraisingwriting.com Pamela Grow pamelagrow.com Aimee Vance frontline-fundraising.com John Lepp agentsofgood.org Copywriting Pros
95. Your Nonprofit Annual Report basicsandmorefundraising.com/classes/your-nonprofit-annual-gratitude-report-on-demand $30 Off Use Coupon Code Auctria30
97. Use Your Nonprofit’s Voice To…
98. “Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.” MAYA ANGELOU
100. Email: pamela@pamelagrow.com Classes: basicsandmorefundraising.com/ classes/ Twitter: https:/ /twitter.com/ PamelaGrow LinkedIn: https:/ /www.linkedin.com/ in/pamelagrow/ Reach Out!