Nonprofit organizations do more than just help and support a certain cause; they also need to prepare reports to show transparency of their operations. One of the important reports they need to create is an annual report that must be prepared and presented after a year ends. It shows how much the organization has progressed since the previous year and how they were able to achieve their goals last year. Another important purpose why nonprofit organizations prepare an annual report is to show their supporters what was mentioned above as a sign of being honest to convince these supporters to stay on supporting the organization and hopefully attract new supporters. This article will show how to prepare a nonprofit annual report.

Nonprofit organizations do more than just help and support a certain cause; they also need to prepare reports to show transparency of their operations. One of the important reports they need to create is an annual report that must be prepared and presented after a year ends. It shows how much the organization has progressed since the previous year and how they were able to achieve their goals last year. Another important purpose why nonprofit organizations prepare an annual report is to show their supporters what was mentioned above as a sign of being honest to convince these supporters to stay on supporting the organization and hopefully attract new supporters. This article will show how to prepare a nonprofit annual report.

10+ Nonprofit Annual Report Samples

1. Nonprofit Annual Report

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Size: 118 KB

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2. Nonprofit Corporation Annual Report

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  • PDF

Size: 212 KB

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3. Sample Nonprofit Annual Report

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Size: 41 KB

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4. Annual Report for Nonprofit Corporation

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Size: 222 KB

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5. Stakeholder Nonprofit Annual Report

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Size: 2 MB

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6. Nonprofit Organization Annual Report

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  • PDF

Size: 997 KB

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7. Nonprofit Annual Report Form

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Size: 110 KB

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8. Nonprofit Annual Corporation Report

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  • PDF

Size: 9 KB

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9. Domestic Nonprofit Corporation Annual Report

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  • PDF

Size: 82 KB

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10. Nonprofit Corporation Committee Annual Report

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  • PDF

Size: 9 KB

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11. Nonprofit Research Annual Report

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  • DOC

Size: 506 KB

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What is a Nonprofit Annual Report?

An annual report is a document that nonprofits compile and release every year. Its contents focus on the organization’s major accomplishments that reflect their mission, give a transparent financial report of the year’s finance flow, and give thanks and show appreciation to their donors for their support.

How to Create a Nonprofit Annual Report

1. Include Your Goals and Mission

The first thing to write down is your nonprofit’s mission. Your mission statement encompasses your organization’s values, purpose, and goals that you want to make. The mission statement reflects the achievements that you made during the past year which will be then highlighted in the next section.

2. State Your Past Achievements

The next section is where you narrate all the achievements you’ve received in the past year. Whether if they are successful fundraising events or community programs, make sure to highlight those as your progress of achieving your goal or your mission.

3. State Also Your Challenges

Of course, it’s not always the highs you’ve experienced in the past year. It’s expected you’ve experienced the lows too and it will make your annual report seem more transparent and genuine if you also list down the challenges you’ve encountered in the past year. Mention some of the mistakes or the situations that tested your organization, the causes of these setbacks, and your plans to correct these issues in the future.

4. Create a Financial Statement

A financial statement should always be included in the annual report; it is how your supporters, sponsors, and donors will know how their money is being used by your organization. State all your expenses, the amount of these expenses, and show how those expenses can help grow your organization to achieve your goals and mission.

5. Mention Your Contributors

This section must focus on giving a detailed account of showing your appreciation and thankfulness to your donors, sponsors, organization staff, and the board members who helped achieve your goals.  To thank your donors in a special way, instead of only listing down the names and the project that the donors contributed to, you can go the extra mile and include their stories of motivation and inspiration on why they made the contributions.

 FAQs

How long should a nonprofit annual report be?

While lengthy annual reports were once the standard, nonprofits have been increasingly opting for shorter annual reports that range from two to four pages.

Who writes annual reports?

Companies and organizations usually have their personnel to write the annual reports but some hire accounting firms and professional writers to prepare the report.

Conclude your annual report to motivate your supporters to take action to further support your cause. You can ask them to donate or volunteer or participate in future fundraising events by attaching forms where they can fill out to donate or volunteer or join your events. If you present more opportunities for them to participate to support your organization, the more they will be enticed to join your cause.  To help you get started making an annual report for your organization, download our free sample templates above to use as your guide!

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