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401k Summary Annual Report: Explanations, Requirements & Example

You’ve got questions about the 401k Summary Annual Report (SAR) . We’ve got answers.

Better yet, we know how annoying it is to skip from article to article trying to find what you need - so we put it all here .

In this short article, you’ve got everything you need to know about your 401k Summary Annual Report. That includes:

• A Quick Definition
• Why the SAR Matters
• Deadlines and Requirements
• What’s Included in the SAR
• An Easy-To-Read Sample SAR

Let’s get started with what exactly and SAR is.

What Is the 401k Summary Annual Report?

Quick definition: the Summary Annual Report (SAR) is a one-page summary of Form 5500 and the plan’s finances that gets distributed to a plan’s participants.

The SAR gets its name from the Form 5500, often called the Annual Report. Almost all of the information in your SAR will come from this notorious plan document .

Like the Form 5500, the SAR and it’s prompt distribution are mandated by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and failure to comply has consequences. Consequences which we’ll get into directly below.

Why Getting the SAR Right is So Important

A couple of reasons.

First off, the SAR, like Form 5500, is required by ERISA. Under this act, plan participants must be kept informed of important plan details - exactly the point of the SAR. The Department of Labor (DoL) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) take exception to missing SARs. Failing to distribute the SAR (when you know you must), is punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 for individuals, $100,000 for companies, or imprisonment for up to a year.

On top of that, you have to furnish a copy of the SAR upon an employee’s request. If a plan participant doesn’t get the requested SAR within 30 days, they’re entitled to up to $110/day (until they get the SAR) .

Also not great. So pay it goes with saying that SAR distribution is an important part or 401(k) administration . Which we’ll go over right now:

Summary Annual Report Distribution Requirements

The 401k Summary Annual Report isn’t actually all that complicated, but getting distribution right is probably one of the most important things about the SAR. With that in mind, here are distribution due dates, responsibilities, and methods:

SAR Due Dates:

The SAR must be distributed to plan participants no later than 9 months after the end of the plan year. That’s two months after Form 5500 is due. If you’re on a calendar plan year, that’s September 30th.

Filed a 5500 extension? Good news! You’ve got two months after that date to distribute the SAR.

Who is responsible for sending this?

The plan administrator is responsible for distributing the SAR to plan participants. It’s also the plan admin’s job to furnish requested SARs (remember the potential fees if it goes undistributed after a request).

Possible SAR Distribution Methods:

You have a variety of options for distributing the SAR: ● Handing the SAR out on-site. ● Including the SAR in the employee’s annual statement. ● Including the SAR in a company-wide publication or newsletter. ● Mailing the SAR to employee’s residences. ● Emailing or otherwise sending electronically. ○ Caveat: participants have to have opted-in to electronic distribution, and they still have the right to request a paper copy at any time. Remember the fine if one is not furnished after 30 days. Now that we’ve got distribution down, here’s what actually has to be in the SAR:

What's Included in the 401k Summary Annual Report?

Fortunately, when it comes down to it, the SAR is a relatively simple document, and simply quickly summarizes the important information from your Form 5500, and reminds participants of their rights.

Here are the basic summary annual report requirements for disclosure:

• Basic plan financial information
• Plan expenses (including administrative)
• Value of plan assets
• Employer and employee contribution amounts
• Participant’s rights to information
• Funding standards and compliance
• Right to receive a copy of Form 5500 or the SAR

That’s it! Just a few sections on one, relatively simple document. That’s the point of the SAR after all, to get the important benefit or pension plan information to participants without drowning them in papers.

Retirement Plan Summary Annual Report Example

As nice as bullet points are, sometimes an example is the most helpful thing. Here’s a sample of a typical 401k Summary Annual Report for a retirement plan. Use this to check your own SAR for mistakes or omissions, or just as a basic template:

Not all 401k Summary Annual Reports will look like this. Depending on the type of benefit or pension plan offered, the SAR will contain different information. Check to make sure that all benefits offered are represented when this is distributed to plan participants.

Luckily for anyone who has had to deal with Form 5500, the summarized version of it is significantly less to deal with. In fact, in this short post, we’ve given you everything you need to know to tackle this document, get it in on time, and avoid costly fees or penalties.

Plus, there’s always the template if you need a quick and accurate reference document.

If the 401k Summary Annual Report just isn’t something you want to deal with, we totally get it. You have a lot on your plate, and you shouldn’t have spend tons of time or risk big penalties in day-to-day 401k Administration.

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Summary Annual Report for the Duke Faculty and Staff Retirement Plan

In compliance with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), Duke is providing all plan participants and beneficiaries with a Summary Annual Report for the Duke University Faculty and Staff Retirement Plan.

You are receiving this notice because you had an account balance in the Duke University Faculty and Staff Retirement Plan or you were eligible to participate in this plan as of December 31, 2022.

This notice contains important information about the plan and your rights under ERISA, which should be read and retained for future reference. Duke reserves the right at any time to change, amend or terminate any benefit plan or program, or the eligibility under the plan.

This is a summary of the annual report for Duke University Faculty and Staff Retirement Plan (Employer Identification Number 56-0532129, Plan Number 001) for the plan year January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2022 . The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

Basic Financial Statement

Benefits under the plan are provided by insurance contracts and a trust fund. Plan expenses were $423,362,885. These expenses included $3,100,569 in administrative expenses and $420,132,978 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries, and $129,338 in certain deemed and/or corrective distributions. A total of 65,673 persons were participants in or beneficiaries of the plan at the end of the plan year, although not all of these persons had yet earned the right to receive benefits.

The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was $7,562,740,816 as of the end of the plan year, compared to $8,911,678,710 as of the beginning of the plan year. During the plan year the plan experienced a change in its net assets of -$1,348,937,894. This change includes unrealized appreciation or depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the difference between the value of the plan's assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year or the cost of assets acquired during the year. The plan had total income of -$925,575,009, including employer contributions of $208,239,190, employee contributions of $203,899,651, rollover contributions of $33,133,754, and earnings from investments of -$1,370,847,604.

Your Rights to Additional Information

You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report:

• An accountant's report;
• Financial information and information on payments to service providers;
• Assets held for investment;
• Insurance information, including sales commissions paid by insurance carriers;
• Information regarding any common or collective trusts, pooled separate accounts, master trusts or 103-12 investment entities in which the plan participates;

To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the plan administrator at 705 Broad Street, Box 90502, Durham, NC 27708, or by telephone at (919) 684-5600. The charge to cover copying costs will be $0.25 per page.

You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs given above does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge.

You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the plan (Duke University, 705 Broad Street, Box 90502, Durham, NC 27708) and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to: Public Disclosure Room, Room N-1513, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210.

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) (PRA), no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The Department notes that a Federal agency cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it is approved by OMB under the PRA, and displays a currently valid OMB control number, and the public is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. See 44 U.S.C. 3507. Also, notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no person shall be subject to penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if the collection of information does not display a currently valid OMB control number. See 44 U.S.C. 3512.

The public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average less than one minute per notice (approximately 3 hours and 11 minutes per plan). Interested parties are encouraged to send comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Attention: Departmental Clearance Officer, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Room N-1301, Washington, DC 20210 or email [email protected] and reference the OMB Control Number 1210-0040.

OMB Control Number 1210-0040 (expires 03/31/2026)

6 Ways to Motivate Readers'>Your Annual Report’s Opening Message: 6 Ways to Motivate Readers

I harbor no ill will toward opening messages. In fact, I believe they can be an important component of a nonprofit’s annual report. When done well–well being the operative word–they provide context for the rest of the publication. They personalize it and make it more immediate, and they help point readers to key information and calls to action.

That said, most opening messages, those “letters from the executive director,” make me want to get out my figurative red pen and edit away (at best) or, at worst, put the publication down or close my browser window. Of course you want your annual report’s welcome to excite readers and motivate them to read from cover to cover. Here’s how:

1. Keep your opening message short

I can’t emphasize this enough. Short is a few succinct paragraphs, a half page, 200-300 words. Short is not asking your graphic designer to “make it fit,” leaving audiences to squint at six-point font. Assume your reader is scanning. Make it easy to read. Use subheadings and bullet points. Hit the high points and move on.

If this sounds impossible–if you feel like it’s your one chance to say everything to everyone–then it might be a good time to revisit your communications plan. That feeling, and the resulting letter that goes on forever, could be a clue that you’re not regularly and consistently talking with all your constituents the rest of the year.

2. Open your annual report with a simple salutation

“Dear Friends”–or something similar–is great. You don’t need to spell out each audience, unless you want to waste several lines of valuable real estate (your letter is brief, remember?).

3. Keep the tone conversational

Keep it professional and formal, yes, but not stilted or distant. Somewhere between, “Hey, what’s up?” and “Dear Sir or Madam.”

Don’t be afraid to let some personality shine through either. Conveying the director’s sincere excitement about a particular accomplishment, his or her sense of humor, or a personal note or observation–these all make your opening message and, as a result, the whole report more engaging.

4. Show awareness of the year’s challenges

I once edited a “letter from the director” for a client who had a fantastic year. Unfortunately, though, colleagues at similar organizations did not fare so well. Talking about all the great things that happened without acknowledging others’ challenges during the long, hard recession felt wrong. It was nearly a missed opportunity to show camaraderie and gratitude. Phrases such as “In spite of difficult economic times, we were fortunate to … ” can go a long way.

5. Report candidly and transparently

Not a good idea to say how great the year was if it wasn’t. You can highlight the good while still being honest about areas you know need addressing. Your donors and other supporters want to know that you’re working to improve and that their time and/or money isn’t being wasted.

6. End with a positive note and call to action

Hint at a few things you’re excited about for the coming year, keep your ending hopeful but not artificial, and invite readers to do something–join you on social media sites, sign up for your newsletter, make a donation before the year ends, volunteer at an event, respond to a survey. Instead of making them drowsy, get them engaged–not only in reading your annual report but supporting your cause.

What techniques do you use to engage readers with your annual report’s opening letter?

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How to Prepare an Annual Report

• 16 Dec 2021

Investors must carefully analyze the financial health and performance of any business they consider funding. To do this, they turn to several financial statements that offer glimpses into the organization's inner workings.

Few financial statements are more highly anticipated each year than a company’s annual report, which not only summarizes its performance for the preceding year but charts a course for the one ahead.

With this in mind, knowing how to prepare an annual report is essential for anyone interested in a leadership position. Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, functional lead, or member of your organization’s C-suite, learning how to prepare an annual report can help advance your career.

Here’s a look at what an annual report is, its key components, and steps you should follow to create one.

Access your free e-book today.

What Is An Annual Report?

An annual report is a document that describes a company’s financial condition and business operations for the previous year.

Any publicly traded business is required by law to prepare and publish an annual report, which helps current and potential investors decide whether to provide funding.

Businesses not publicly traded can still prepare an annual report if they have private investors who must be apprised of their performance or are in the process of securing private funding.

Components of an Annual Report

An annual report typically consists of the following documents or sections:

• Letters to shareholders
• Management’s discussion and analysis (MD&A)
• General corporate information or business profile
• Operating and financing highlights
• Financial statements

Usually, an annual report is split into two halves. The first half contains the company’s narrative in the form of the letters to shareholders, management’s discussion and analysis, general corporate information, and operating highlights—all of which tell a story about how the company performed and worked toward its goals. The second half of the report strips out narrative components and presents data, which investors are encouraged to analyze to draw conclusions about the company.

1. Compile the Business Profile

The business profile is the section of the annual report where you summarize key information about your business. It typically includes information about:

• Your company’s key products or services
• Your company’s mission and vision
• The board of directors and other business officers
• Your investor profile
• Your competition
• Opportunities and risks

This section is also sometimes referred to as the general business information section of the annual report.

When writing this section, remember your goals: to quickly provide new, current, or potential investors the information needed to understand your business and industry.

2. Generate Key Financial Statements

The purpose of the annual report is to provide data and analysis regarding your company’s operations and financial performance. As such, the financial statements it contains are essential.

Important financial statements include your company’s:

• Income statement
• Cash flow statement
• Balance sheet
• Statement to shareholders

While you can compile the report’s other sections before generating financial statements, it’s best to avoid doing so because your letters to shareholders, management’s discussion and analysis, and other narrative elements should be backed by financial data. Not creating financial statements first makes it possible to tell an inaccurate or incomplete story you’ll later need to correct.

3. Select Operational and Financial Highlights

After generating financial statements, select highlights for your report’s narrative elements. Incorporate a mix of operational and financial highlights. Some examples include:

• The launch of new products or services
• The opening of new facilities
• Major contracts or partnerships
• News about mergers and acquisitions
• Rate of revenue growth
• Whether the company turned a profit or loss for the year

4. Write the Management Discussion and Analysis

While the financial statements included in the annual report allow investors and analysts to analyze your business, the management discussion and analysis section offers you and your team the opportunity to present an internal analysis of financial performance and statements.

The MD&A section also typically contains information regarding key issues your company faces, such as compliance with laws or regulations, systems and controls recently put in place, and new or emerging risks.

While the MD&A section is more subjective than financial statements, it must meet the standards set by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). This includes ensuring the MD&A is balanced, based on fact, and has both positive and negative information.

5. Write the Letter to Shareholders

The final step is to write the letter to shareholders. This letter is drafted by the CEO, chairperson, or company owner and offers a high-level overview of the business’s operating activities and finances for the previous year.

The letter to shareholders ultimately acts as the introduction to the entire annual report and is the first piece of information investors review. While each component of the annual report is essential, the letter to shareholders is one of the most important to get right.

One of the Most Important Financial Documents

The annual report is one of the most crucial financial documents your company produces.

While doing so is typically a team effort spanning multiple departments, knowing what goes into preparing one is a vital skill for aspiring business leaders and entrepreneurs.

Do you want to take your career to the next level? Consider enrolling in Financial Accounting —one of three courses that comprise our Credential of Readiness (CORe) program —and discover how you can learn key financial topics that enable you to understand business performance and potential.

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Top 10 Annual Report Summary Templates with Samples and Examples

Sapna Singh

“We read hundreds and hundreds of annual reports every year,” this answer from Warren Buffet, (CEO, Berkshire Hathaway), when asked about the secrets of his investment success, speaks volumes about the importance of an annual report in the ‘life’ of a company. If the world’s most successful investor, Buffet, reads it, then it has to be important.

In fact, Buffet has also spoken at length on why your annual report is an important piece of content. It is a thorough report outlining your company's operations for the previous year. It provides users, such as shareholders or potential investors, with information about the company’s operations and financial performance.

When you create a compelling annual report, you’re showing the stakeholders  that their investment is worthwhile. It garners the goodwill of shareholders, and reminds your team of the importance of what it does.

Annual Reports can be lengthy documents. For example, Bank of America published a 214-page annual report in 2017. It included 180-odd pages of financial discussion and statistical tables. Unsurprisingly, many shareholders and even investors aren’t sure what parts of an annual report are the most important and why. Analyzing an entire annual report can take an entire day.

Don’t spend too much time on numbers and charts in annual reports. It is a good idea to read about the company’s financial results in its earnings report, but this is, generally, a relatively short document. This blog helps you focus your energy and effort as SlideTeam has complied an extensive guide on Annual Report Summary Templates to cover all operations and financial scenarios in an organization. These PPT Presentations and One-Pager Documents help present the most credible source of information for your business, the Annual Report, in a version that suits investors. They may choose which area of your business they would want to study in detail.

The summary highlights key points so that the reader doesn’t need to read the entire report. It’s rare, even for experienced stakeholders or investors, to read an entire 200-plus page annual report cover-to-cover. Check out this set of templates to get the opportunity for outreach and investment promotion .

Discover the essential financial summaries you need to comprehend the performance and potential of your business.

Template 1: Sales and Marketing Summary Annual Report

A sales and marketing report gives you a thorough overview of your business’s sales activity. Use this PPT Sample to deliver a stunning presentation for an annual report. This comprehensive deck contains all the information you'll need to use in your report and emphasize the company's financial position, income statement, goals, and plans. The core of a sales and marketing activity is presented in this presentation template, which is more than just a dry document full of statistics and justifications. Use sales report template to gain impactful, insights about your company. Get it now!

Download now!

TEMPLATE 2: Long- and Short-Term Target Annual Report Summary

Present your annual report on the operational and financial performance of the company for the previous year using this PPT Template. Use this template to demonstrate its business successes to stakeholders over the course of a lengthy or brief process. All summaries are included in this deck, including long-term goals and objectives, global business opportunity and keys to business growth, overall business financial highlights and future insights etc. The most advantageous operational model is also hinted at in this useful presentation template tool. Download it now!

TEMPLATE 3: Annual Report Executive Summary Template

Your executive summary should give an overview the annual report. It takes time and multiple drafts to extract useful, relevant information. You can confidently summarize financial information for your company’s shareholders, clients, and other investors with this template. This template focuses on annual turnover, key clients, the number of offices and employees, business operations mapping, the organization's mission, vision, and values, the volume of the company’s activity. Create a fantastic summary of the business's accomplishments, including metrics used in sales, marketing, operations, etc. Download this complete deck to streamline your company's operations.

TEMPLATE 4: Marketing Summary Annual Report

Use this PPT template to discuss marketing tactics and channels your company has used to increase sales and produce revenue from a variety of products and channels. This report concentrates on proper KPIs to increase revenue and track advancement. With a comparison of marketing and operational costs, thorough income statements, and marketing strategies like niche marketing and event sponsorship for advertising, you can highlight the revenue generation in your business. To get a bird’s eye view of your company, download this presentation template.

TEMPLATE 5: One-Page Department Annual Report Summary

Sharing specific updates on the activities of departments with staff members, trustees, and other stakeholders can be incredibly difficult. To address them all at once, use our carefully-curated One-Pager Document. This template is the best possible tool to include details of departments in a comprehensive annual assessment report. This one-pager includes an annual summary for the HR, IT, finance, sales, and marketing departments. Use this aesthetically pleasing and simple-to-read document to summarize the annual activities of your companies. Grab this flexible design and check departmental performance.

TEMPLATE 6: One-Pager Annual Report Executive Summary

This one-page PowerPoint Template executive summary allows you to present company information in a concise, understandable manner. It gives you room to outline the main achievements of the business as well as its present situation. Use it to attract quality funding based on the company’s current financial standing. Get it now!

TEMPLATE 7: Summary Page of Annual Report Analysis

Use this one-page PowerPoint slide to summarize the company’s financial activities over previous years. Deploy this PowerPoint Template for a company overview to communicate the business’s operations, finances, and management’s viewpoint. With metrics to assess EBITDA, earning per share (EPS), efficiency ratio, and other financial performance indicators, this template sheds light on your organization's financial performance over the previous 10 fiscal years. This year-end financial template includes pie charts, bar graphs, and line graphs that can be altered to meet the organization's unique needs.

TEMPLATE 8: Summary Page of Annual Report Structure

The annual report is one of the most crucial financial documents your company produces. Use this one-page infographic to share pertinent details with all prospective investors or shareholders. This annual report structure PPT template can help you communicate management principles to your audience. The company’s overview, management message, income statement, balance sheet, annual reports financials, etc. are all included in this pre-made graphic. Use this template to provide information about your company on a single page. Get it now!

TEMPLATE 9: Summary Page Of Agency Recruitment Annual Report

Use our one-pager PowerPoint Template to give an in-depth rundown of your agency’s hiring procedure. This PPT infographic summarizes statistics relating to hiring effectiveness and business overview over the fiscal review. Private employment agencies can use this pre-designed template to make a compelling sales case to hiring managers and job seekers. Sections like ‘Business overview ‘Latest trends in the recruitment market’; ‘Staff sourcing information,’ and others. This PPT Slide is practical and prepared for use with appropriate adjustments. Grab this template to connect with recruiters and job seekers.

TEMPLATE 10: One-Pager Retail Company Annual Report Summary

Retail businesses can use this One-Pager PPT Template as a helpful tool to reflect on their annual business progress. Include this slide to present company summary, M&A synergy information, significant business highlights, risk and mitigation strategies, etc. You may even key-in your own details. Download now and take a step forward toward achieving your business goal.

Upgrade your report game

Most annual reports are not even opened, let alone read. Providing a summary report gives all key points relevant for stakeholders. For this, you must comprehend the data to capture it accurately when writing the report’s summary. Explore the 10 Annual report summary templates.

PS: Check out our guide  to use the ready-to-use annual report PowerPoint Template to create a visually engaging report to shareholders and make the most of your annual report presentation.

FAQs ON ANNUAL REPORT SUMMARY

What is the purpose of an annual report.

An annual report is compiled to let stakeholders and potential investors get an insight into a business. It is the most thorough way for a company to communicate with its stakeholders. This report is the best tool to find out everything you need to know about a company, including its past, present, and future prospects as well as its financial performance in detail as shown in financial statements, corporate governance, and CSR initiatives . It helps in reviewing the year's operations and present the company's outlook and prospects for the ensuing year. A company is required to deliver this report every year to all shareholders.

What are the four components of an annual report?

An annual report  is a detailed, all-inclusive summary of a company’s accomplishments and financial results from the previous year. Following are the primary components of an annual report:

A) Financial Statements :

It is an essential part of an annual report and provides a thorough breakdown of the gains or losses over a fiscal year. The difference between total revenue and cost of goods sold, or gross profit or loss, is displayed in the first subsection of the income statement.

B) Management overview :

The introduction section contains the chairman’s statement and the director’s report. It also includes a summary of the financial situation’s results and composition of the Board Of Directors (BOD).

C) Corporate financial data :

It displays an organization's financial stability. External stakeholders use it to evaluate the overall state of an organization as well as its financial performance and market value.

D) Notes to financial statements :

To make financial statements more understandable, notes to the these provide additional details. Accounting practices and uncertainties that might obscure a company’s assets and liabilities are also explained in this section.

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How to write an annual report: 4 tips for getting started.

Connecting with shareholders, investors , and the public is key to growing your small business. Your annual report communicates the strength of your business, so your current shareholders can feel confident knowing how your business operates. It’s also a chance to build new relationships with investors and clients by showcasing your management, financial performance, company mission, and goals. 

Learning to write strong annual reports is important for delivering required year-end documents, but it can also help you forge personal connections. Explore the essential components of the annual report, as well as strategies for adding a creative touch that sets your business apart.

Key Takeaways

• An annual report communicates your business affairs to stakeholders and the public
• It typically includes mission goals, financial position, structure, and strategies
• Depending on the size of your business, you may be legally required to provide an annual report
• A good annual report can also be used as a marketing tool
• Aim to create an annual report that’s clear, honest, and engaging

What this article covers:

What Is an Annual Report?

What to include in an annual report, how do you write a good annual report, why is an annual report important.

• Frequently Asked Questions

To write an annual report, the business operations and the financial position are listed, summarized, and recorded. The annual report is a financial document businesses provide to shareholders, potential investors, and analysts. It is the best source of information about the business performance and financial well-being of a business.

Publicly traded companies are required to file annual reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission. However, small businesses and non-profit organizations also prepare yearly reports to connect with customers and provide information about yearly operations, past performance, and future goals.

The annual report is an integral part of corporate reporting. Since the annual reports are based on specific legal requirements , the items included in the report vary.

Most annual reports provide a fundamental overview of the business over the past year. The sections typically included in an annual report are an opening letter from the chairman, a business profile, an analysis by management, and financial data.

Chairman’s Letter

Annual reports usually start with an introduction and a letter from the company’s chairman, primary owner, or CEO to the shareholders providing a snapshot of the significant developments in the past financial year, company initiatives, and a brief summary of the financials. Key elements included in this section are the challenges that the business faced, its successes, and insight into the growth of the company.

A table of contents follows the section.

Business Profile

This section includes the vision and mission statement of the company, details of directors, officers, and registered and corporate office, investor profile, the products or services that are the main source of revenue for the business, competitor profile, and risk factors of the business.

Management Discussion and Analysis

The section provides an overview of the business performance over the past three years and discusses profit margins, sales, and income

If the business has launched a new product or service or there are drastic shifts in sales and marketing efforts, this section should include them. The other topics of discussion include new hires, business acquisitions, and other information that the management thinks would benefit the stakeholders.

Financial Statements

The financial statements are the most important part of the annual report that allows current and future investors, shareholders, employees, and other business stakeholders to determine how well the company has performed in the past, its ability to pay off its debts , its cash flow, and its plans for growth. The statements that are included are:

• Balance sheet
• Cash flow statement
• Income statement
• Statement to shareholders

These statements show whether the company has made a profit or loss in the past year, how much earnings it has retained, and the proportion of revenues to operational expenses the previous year. Apart from the financial statements, information about the market price of shares of the company and the dividends paid have to be provided.

Looking for an easier way to organize your accounts? FreshBooks’ bookkeeping software lets you manage your own bookkeeping with easy filing methods and specialist support. Click here to get started.

Other elements included in the year-end report are:

• Notes to accounts with details about the accounting policies
• Comments by auditors on the financials of the company.
• Disclaimers about forecasted income and expenses
• Stories, infographics, and photographs

Annual reports are important elements of a brand’s transparency and accountability. However, rather than writing a ponderous document that only a few can understand, businesses are creating annual reports that speak to a broad group of people.

These reports communicate the values and goals of the company’s mission and brand. Producing a highly visual and narrative-driven interactive annual report can help businesses connect with shareholders, investors, and customers. Aim to include visual elements throughout the entire report to keep the document engaging.

Determine the Key Message

Annual reports are a perfect opportunity to highlight your accomplishments and the impact of these accomplishments. The investors and employees want to know what you did and why you did it. By connecting your business activities and your accomplishments to the final goals and mission statement, businesses can build trust and foster long-lasting connections.

Finalize Structure and Content

One of the most difficult parts of writing an annual report is deciding what to include and leave out. It’s important to map out the report’s content and structure.

Apart from the basic elements such as the introduction, chairman’s letter, business profile, and financial statement, the annual report should have a storyline that defines the report’s overall structure and shapes the content around a narrative thread. This makes identifying and cutting out information that does not actively move the story forward easier.

Use clear, precise, and unambiguous writing. Maintain a professional and unbiased position throughout the document. The content of the annual report should be transparent and honest. Don’t inflate accomplishments or disguise the losses that you faced.

Make writing your annual report easier by keeping clear and detailed records as you go. FreshBooks’ accounting templates help you organize your expenses, income, and receipts so you’ve got everything ready for the end of the year. Click here to start your free trial and learn how FreshBooks can help make accounting easy.

Use Compelling Design

A well-designed, engaging, professional report can be used as a marketing tool by a business. Ideally, readers should be able to scan through the document and get the relevant information they need. Here are some pointers for a good annual report design:

• Use headings and subheadings
• Devote space to photographs, infographics, and other compelling visual elements
• Keep the text short and simple
• Use a bold and complimentary color scheme and layout techniques that are in sync with your brand
• Emphasize key areas with colored text boxes, quotes, and captions

Plan in Advance

Creating an annual report is a long-term process that requires an organized system for recording and tracking data, media clipping, photographs, and a list of business achievements. While a number of companies create the annual reports in-house, others may hire a design firm to compile, proofread and finalize the document.

Ready to create a clear and compelling digital annual report? FreshBooks’ reports feature lets you explore report templates, performance tools, and accounting details so you can write your reports in-house. Try it free to begin your annual report today.

Both public and private companies use annual reports to provide important business and financial information to customers, investors, employees, and the media. Here are some reasons why writing annual reports is necessary for businesses:

• Provides an opportunity to highlight a company’s key achievements, expectations for the coming year, and overall goals and objectives
• Gives information on the company’s financial position
• Introduce you’re the key members of the business to stakeholders and the general public
• Tells shareholders and employees the company’s strategy for growth in the coming year
• Useful as a decision-making tool for managers

The annual reports keep your critical business information up to date. A failure by public companies to update the investors and the state might result in late fees or even the dissolution of your company.

Writing an annual report is essential for communicating your business position to shareholders, investors, and the public. Depending on the size of your company, you may also be legally required to produce annual reports for the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

Your annual report should include four main components: the chairman’s letter, a profile of your business, an analysis of your management strategies, and your financial statements. Adding creative elements like graphic design and a narrative can also help your annual report double as a marketing tool. Learning to create a strong annual report is essential for guiding management decisions in your company and connecting to those who support and grow your business.

FAQs on How to Write an Annual Report

How do you write an annual report for a small business.

Writing the annual report for a small business follows a similar process as writing for a large company – you should include a chairman’s letter, business profile, management analysis, and financial statements. However, since you’re writing for a smaller business, you also have more flexibility to be creative. You can tailor your report to shareholders or make it a public-oriented document that you can use to market your small business.

Who Prepares the Annual Report?

Companies may have their own in-house writing and design team, or they may choose to hire an outside firm to prepare their report. Teams usually include accounting, writing, and graphic design professionals. 

Which Things Should be Avoided while Writing a Report?

Avoid leaving your annual report to the last minute, trying to mask challenges your business has faced, or overloading the report with details and jargon. The aim is to be clear in your communication – be upfront about both your successes and losses, and write with accessible language that’s understandable to all your readers.

What are the 5 Basic Structures of a Report?

A good report can be structured in a simple 5-part setup to showcase your company’s performance. These sections are:

1. Introduction

3. Comments and disclaimers

4. Conclusion

5. References 

You’ll start with a brief overview, then provide the body of information. Comments and disclaimers should explain any claims or facts, then summarize your information in the conclusion and cite any external references.

What are the 4 components of an annual report?

There are 4 key components to include when writing an annual report:

    1. Chairman’s letter

    2. Business profile

    3. Management analysis

    4. Financial statements

You can also include creative elements like stories, infographics, and photographs to make your report more visually engaging to your target audience.

Kristen Slavin, CPA

About the author

1000 more rows at the bottom Kristen Slavin is a CPA with 16 years of experience, specializing in accounting, bookkeeping, and tax services for small businesses. A member of the CPA Association of BC, she also holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Simon Fraser University. In her spare time, Kristen enjoys camping, hiking, and road tripping with her husband and two children. In 2022 Kristen founded K10 Accounting. The firm offers bookkeeping and accounting services for business and personal needs, as well as ERP consulting and audit assistance.

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Writing a Cover Letter for a Report

Table of Contents

Are you looking to write a cover letter for formal report ? You’re in luck — this article explores the detail.

What is a Report Cover Letter?

The cover letter provides a brief overview for those preparing independent reports.

Cover letters summarize the details of the report and explain why it was requested and what its contents were intended to accomplish.

We are required to include a cover letter with a larger report that might be sent by mail, special delivery, or email. You should write cover letters specifically so that it explains their contents, reaffirms their salient theme, and suggests future steps.

Report cover letters in business serve a similar purpose: They provide a snapshot and the details which follow. While similar to an executive summary, they aren’t the same. You may find an executive summary at the start of the paper, which outlines key findings and recommendations.

You see, the cover letter tells you what the report contains, while the executive summary tells us why this information is important.

How to Write a Cover Letter for Formal Report?

It is helpful to employ company letterhead stationery to compose a cover letter in recognition of the importance of the document it accompanies. If using email stationery, treat it as a paper cover letter by including an image of the company logo on the email page.

Include the day’s date and address information, including first and last names, title, business name, street address, and zip code. You can begin with the salutation “Dear,” “Mr,” or “Mrs.”

Declare the letter’s purpose without using ambiguous or obscure language. Consider briefly capturing the essence of the report. Summarize the purpose of the report in one or two sentences.

Note the conclusion of the report in this part, but don’t give away the underlying findings. You want the reader to read the entire report, not just the cover letter. Keep in mind that you are writing a cover letter, not an executive summary. Stating all the important findings is appropriate in an executive summary but not in a cover letter.

In a formal conclusion or next step section, indicate what actions you want from the recipient. Is it necessary for them to pass the document on? If so, make sure you state with a clear call to action. Or are you coordinating a larger meeting to present the findings? Be specific about the next steps as well as the day and date if necessary.

Why Write a Cover Letter for Formal Report?

Project reports have all the content necessary. However, cover letters can be useful when they include details such as the description of the goal and next steps.

We hope this article was helpful in showing you the main guidelines for writing cover letters for your business reports. In many aspects, writing cover letters for reports are similar to the cover letters for job applications. Instead of briefly explaining your skills and qualifications, you would be describing the essence of a business report.

Pam is an expert grammarian with years of experience teaching English, writing and ESL Grammar courses at the university level. She is enamored with all things language and fascinated with how we use words to shape our world.

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Whether you're an independent contractor providing a report as part of an assigned project or a company employee drafting an internal report for staff review, an attached cover letter will serve as a brief overview of the report's contents, and can help provide clarity about the report. Report cover letters summarize the details in the report, and provide an overview of why the report was requested, and what its contents are intended to do.

Business Cover Letter Contents

Much like a cover letter you would draft to accompany a resume when applying for a job, a report cover letter in business serves a similar purpose: It provides a snapshot and states that details will follow. It should not be confused with an executive summary, which is the narrative usually found at the beginning of a report, which indicates key findings and recommendations. In other words, the cover letter tells you what's in the report, and the executive summary at the beginning of the report tells you why the information is important.

Introduction -- who the report is aimed toward, and the purpose it serves. Example:

To the Board of Directors:

Attached please find the 2018 Annual Report that the board requested at the start of the new fiscal year.

Brief summary of rationale -- why the report was requested. Example:

As requested, the report provides an in-depth overview of corporate profits broken down into six-month increments. It also provides a market summary which details cost projections and anticipated revenues moving forward, in 12-month increments.

Bullet-point overview -- a detailed list of other elements included: Example:

Additional report contents include the following:

• Breakdown of costs, revenue and earning projections per department
• Market share analysis
• New product performance metrics

Performance Report Contents

When drafting something such as performance reports that will be delivered to human resources or to a department director, the cover letter can be brief and to-the-point. Example:

Attached please find six performance evaluations of marketing department staff members. The evaluations were conduced the week of January 5, 2018. Each has been reviewed and signed by the individual employee and also by that employee's immediate supervisor. As you will read, the majority of the reports are quite positive, and several exceed expectations. Please let me know if you require additional information or documentation.

Project Report Contents

Well-written project reports are usually all-inclusive, but a cover letter to accompany the report can be helpful, when it includes details, such as a summary of purpose and next steps. Example:

Attached please find an update on the re-branding campaign project the graphic arts department is conducting. Once approved by the marketing committee, the project can move into phase two, in which we will have a focus group that will help assess overall perception and name recognition.

Take care to proof read your report cover letter carefully before attaching. The letter serves as a first impression for the report's contents, and as such, should be professional and free of errors.

• State of Michigan: Report Cover Letter
• University of Wisconsin-Madison: Writing Cover Letters

Lisa McQuerrey has been an award-winning writer and author for more than 25 years. She specializes in business, finance, workplace/career and education. Publications she’s written for include Southwest Exchange and InBusiness Las Vegas.

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Blog Business

90+ Annual Report Design Templates, Inspirational Examples & Design Tips [2024]

By Sara McGuire , Jan 15, 2024

Annual reports may sound boring, but they don’t have to be. With an appealing design, annual reports can be a powerful promotional tool by drumming up enthusiasm for your company or organization./

You don’t need to be a graphic designer to create a compelling annual report design that will impress your stakeholders. All it takes is the right report maker tools — and the right annual report design templates.

Keep reading for our 55+ top annual report templates and examples (free and paid included), plus some design secrets you can apply right away.

Click to jump ahead:

Company annual report example [with templates], corporate annual report design templates, small business annual report design templates, nonprofit annual report design templates.

• Marketing annual report design templates
• HR annual report design templates

Government annual report design templates

• Actual annual report design examples
• Annual report design takeaways

FAQs about annual report design

Short on time? Here’s our video cheat sheet on how to create an annual report:

Annual reports serve as comprehensive snapshots of a company’s performance, highlighting its achievements, challenges, and future prospects.

Crafting a compelling annual report goes beyond mere financial statements; it is an opportunity to narrate the company’s journey and present a transparent view of its operations to stakeholders.

When creating your company annual report, utilize visually appealing graphs, charts and infographics to present complex financial data in a digestible format. By combining data-driven visuals with concise explanations, you can effectively communicate the company’s financial performance and growth trends.

Consider including testimonials from satisfied customers, partners and employees to provide a human touch to the annual report. Sharing real-life experiences and success stories can reinforce the company’s credibility and showcase its positive impact on various stakeholders.

Don’t forget to articulate the company’s future vision and growth strategies, outlining the roadmap for continued success and expansion. Emphasize the company’s goals, targets and innovative approaches that will drive future growth.

Corporate annual report cover design

What overarching theme would you use to describe the past year?

When creating an annual report cover page, ensure that it reflects the theme. Right off the bat, readers will get a sense of the story you’re about to tell.

The cover page design will prime them for the rest of the information to come.

You should also make sure your annual report cover page reflects your business brand. For example, this free annual report template uses different icons of people and pets as it’s for an animal rescue organization:

Pro-Tip:   Venngage’s Brand Kit feature makes it easy to import your logo, brand colors, and fonts with a single click! Upgrade to Business to test it out.

Geometric annual finance report design

You don’t need to exclusively rely on images to set a visual tone, however. You can also use color!

In the free annual report example below, a vibrant color scheme is introduced on the cover page. Each of the following pages then features a single color from the original palette, maintaining a cohesive look unexpectedly.

Here’s another good example of a creative annual report template:

Fresh and creative annual report design templates stand out from traditional alternatives.

Modern financial report design

The budget season can be a confusing time for businesses. How much has been spent in the past year? How much should one predict for the upcoming year?

A modern annual report, like this example, simplifies the process for the finance department. By using pie charts  and  bar charts , the report shares a wealth of information at a glance.

For financial projections for the following year, you can use this free annual report template:

Your annual financial reports don’t have to be one pagers like the report infographics above. They can stretch into two or more pages like this financial statement analysis template — with the first page being the cover page, perfect if you want to export and use it in a presentation:

Notice we said you could use this in a presentation? With a Venngage Business plan, you can download your annual reports in PPTX format — and use them with your desired presentation platforms like PowerPoint or Google Slides.

Pro tip:  Use the real-time collaboration  feature to make your annual report with teammates. Get instant feedback and share comments in real time. Learn more about how to use the feature here.

Bright corporate annual report design

You don’t have to use neutral colors or corporate blue just because everyone else is. Show how unique your business is by using a bright, bold color scheme in your annual report.

Annual report design templates, like this example, make no apologies for their bright colors.

A financial report, like this template, would be a great fit for a bright report design. Though packed with numbers, the clean layout makes it easy to read and understand.

Detailed highlights annual report design

You may have sections that include a lot of text or a lot of data visualizations . That’s okay as long you organize it well.

This detailed highlights annual report example uses a portrait layout and dynamic text formats for all the content.

The sections in these  annual report templates  consist of multiple data points but remain easy to read.

Colorful year-in-review report design

Many companies hold a year-end meeting to go over key metrics, achievements, and goals. Create a slick  presentation  of an annual report infographic that will hold your team’s attention.

Bright colors, gradients, bold  fonts ,  charts , and  images  are all elements of a successful  presentation design  or data infographic :

Simple year in review annual report design

Icons  are the perfect way to visualize ideas and highlight points. You can use icons to emphasize specific points on a chart or to draw attention to important text.

Take a look at how icons are used in creative annual report design templates, like this example:

Annual shareholder business report design

This simple annual report design uses simple icons to differentiate between different types of shareholder returns:

Related :  50+ Business Report Templates Every Business Needs

Financial budgeting annual report infographic design

Flow charts are perfect for visualizing processes, timelines , and connections between information. Simple flow charts can be used in a presentation slide, while more complex ones can take up one (or even several!) pages.

Our flowchart maker can help get you started with creating handy flowcharts. 

Take this report template that uses icons to make the points in the flow chart more memorable:

Corporate company report infographic design

If your charts require some added context, be sure to include a brief description.

For example, take this report presentation slide that uses a description box with the same blue as the bars on the chart to indicate that the audience should read the paragraph to fully understand the chart:

Marketing analysis and business strategy report template

Pair dark colors with bright colors for a bold design. Not only do contrasting colors look good, but they can also help you highlight important information.

For example, showing an important statistic in a bolder font than the other text on the page will help it to immediately jump out at readers.

Take a look at how contrasting dark shades and light shades are used in this free annual report template:

Basic company growth infographic report design

Part of creating an effective slide for your simple  annual report presentation is finding the right balance between text and imagery.

Drawing an invisible “line” down the middle of your slide is an easy way to guide your design.

Put your chart or photo on one side of the slide and text on the other, and voila:

Quirky illustrated annual report design

Images and icons are perfect for helping to tell the story of your business’ past year. You can use icons to create a quirky graphic illustration!

For example, this report design template uses icons to create a little city scene in the page header:

Infographics are great for turning data into engaging visuals that anyone can understand. Plus, there are a ton of ways that you can integrate them into your reports, especially if you mix them with well-designed icons.

Check out our  beginner’s guide to creating infographics  for more tips.

Bold annual report charts design

Grab readers’ attention with a big, bold header  font . While you will probably want to keep the rest of the text in your report relatively simple, your headers are places where you can get more creative.

Take this simple annual report template that uses a slightly funkier font in its title:

Corporate performance annual report design

Often enough, what an annual report design is missing most is some color.

Pick a bright color. It could be your brand colors  or a color that reflects the theme or “mood” of your annual report. And use that as the page background.

This green annual report template with a green background similarly uses white boxes to help the text stand out from the background:

Pro-Tip:  Use the Venngage chart maker  to create comprehensive charts for your annual report. Import data from an XLSX or CSV file and start editing your chart.

Customer service annual report design

Annual reports have a bunch of different topics to cover. A small thing that you can do to help the reader navigate through the labyrinth of info is to use an intro page or section.

A bit of context will give readers a clearer understanding of what the section covers. It could be as simple as a single sentence, or a short paragraph.

Creative annual report templates, like this example, give you plenty of wiggle room:

Corporate customer activity report design

If you want to separate your page into sections, using colored headers is an easy way to do this. Just draw a block line across the page to help your header pop. You could even color-code your headers to make a simple annual report page more readable.

This report design template uses a simple white background with bold blue headers:

Bold one-pager industry report design

While your full annual report may be pages and pages long, a one-pager that summarizes key information is a great accompaniment to create. Pull the most important or noteworthy information and make that the focus of your one-pager.

You could, for example, choose to hone in on our key metric and visualize it in a chart, like in this free annual report design template:

Retail year-end annual report design

In each section of your annual report, you’re introducing a new topic. To help introduce the new section, use a decorative section header that illustrates the topic of the section.

For example, this free annual report template for a retail business uses images in the headers that reflect key pieces of information from each given section:

Branded year-end annual report design

Since your annual report tells the story of your company, make sure that the design reflects your brand’s personality . That can mean more than just incorporating your brand colors. Use font styles and images that reflect your brand’s personality.

For example, this annual report design has a light and playful look. The style is appropriate for a family-friendly burger joint, with rounded fonts and plenty of icons:

Bring color back into your annual report

In case you hadn’t noticed the recent graphic design trends , but bold colors are making a comeback. This isn’t something only hipsters are using. Massive companies like Salesforce and Zendesk are embracing the trend too.

This annual report design uniquely embraces colors through the use of images and icons. The three main colors (blue, yellow, hot pink) repeat throughout the report design, making it pop:

Vibrant engineering report design

Ditch the dull office color grays for an engineering report that’s bright and attractive. Vibrant colors draw much more attention than something that looks formal and plain.

The key to using vibrant colors is to leverage contrast to make your text pop. You don’t want to lose your content in the bright colors of the background. This vibrant engineering report template uses grey and black backgrounds wherever there is text, to offset the bright teal throughout the design. However, for charts and other data, the vibrant color works just fine.

Business executive report design

When it comes to design, repetitiveness and consistency are two different things.

When your report design is repetitive it means each page or slide looks like the one before. That’s boring . 

When there is design consistency, it means certain design elements appear throughout your report. It provides a sense of order as the content continues to change. That’s fun . 

Take a look at the executive annual report template, for example. Every page looks different and shares distinct information. However, the icon tile pattern appears throughout. It’s a neat design touch that’s engaging and looks professional, without getting boring.

Modern annual report overview infographic design

It can be hard to keep readers engaged in a long, multi-page document like an annual report. But you don’t have to keep it that long — your report can be a one-page infographic too. Just like this template:

Visual infographic annual report design

Use icons and illustrations to draw the readers’ eyes to certain parts of the page. That could mean including an icon in the page header, using a row of icons to divide off a section of the page, or using illustrations to make concepts easier to understand.

This report template incorporates the peach theme into both the visuals and color scheme:

Small business budget report design

If one of the pillars of your business is creativity, reflect that in your annual report design. Play around with unusual page layouts and surprising design elements. Our post on presentation layout ideas should help spark your creativity.

Take this annual report template that follows a zig-zag path and uses circles to present data in a quirky way.

Yearly company performance report design

For a more minimalist annual report design, use a neutral background and use bright accent colors to highlight important information. For example, you could use color to highlight keywords, key data points, and header text.

Take a look at how different shades of red and orange are used in this free year-end report template:

This template also uses colors to create a harmonious design — the colors used in the table coordinate with the ones used in the top photo:

Here we’re going to show you loads of examples for nonprofit annual reports , church annual reports, nonprofit annual report infographics, nonprofit treasurer reports, and more. Let’s dive right in!

Colorful gradient nonprofit annual report design

Your  nonprofit has a compelling story to tell , but overloading your annual report with images can cause it to get lost in the shuffle.

Instead, consider adopting a more minimalistic design approach and letting your text shine.

This nonprofit annual report template below puts the text front and center with bold, modern typography.

A vibrant gradient overlay prevents the design from looking stale, especially when paired with images. The overall effect is fresh and modern.

Illustrative nonprofit annual report design

When designing a nonprofit annual report, be sure to put what matters to your brand front and center.

This example dedicates a whole page to the people it has helped, and how. Plus it makes use of charts to highlight its financial success.

Simple nonprofit annual report design

One of the most essential inclusions in your nonprofit annual report is the impact of your work. Whether your organization is dedicated to helping people, animals, or the environment, look for opportunities to showcase the difference you’ve made over the past year.

You can always use charts and infographics for data visualization , but your annual report will have a bigger emotional impact by featuring the real people or communities behind the statistics.

The nonprofit annual report template below puts a face to the organization by featuring one of the individuals they’ve supported right on the cover page.

Illustrative church annual report design

When you create your church’s annual report design, ditch the business-y look for something fun and playful.

Aim to reflect your community and space. You can do that with the diverse set of icons from our icon library. Illustrated icons of people and buildings add a playful touch to your design. You can also use icons as labels or headings for different sections.

Don’t forget to add charts and graphs where you need them to visualize your data.

Vibrant church annual report design

You can also take a modern design approach with your church’s annual report. Bold color overlays paired with stock photos are a current trend. That simple touch elevates your report design to that of a professional designer.

This church annual report template stands out through the use of color, stock photos throughout, and icons. The use of purple for overlay, headings, and icon colors helps to tie everything into a cohesive design.

Church engagement annual report design

Infographic reports are a great way to summarize your church’s annual report. These types of infographics highlight the most important takeaways about your church’s performance over the year. An infographic report can be sent out to your email list, included in presentations, or even printed out and shared in meetings.

Here’s an easy-to-edit church infographic annual report, pairing icons with financials to make data jump off the page. One quick scan and your readers have a good idea of how productive the past year was.

Modern nonprofit infographic report design

A nonprofit infographic report helps you summarize your nonprofit annual report. You end up with a neat, captivating visual that can be shared with board members, donors, and your social media followers.

To reflect the nonprofit’s entire impact that year, this nonprofit infographic report crunches the numbers and visualizes them.

A great stock photo, high-contrast colors, and a few choice icons help the data jump off the page. Even with a quick scan, readers of the nonprofit infographic report can tell that the past year was a winner.

Nonprofit annual report infographic design

At the heart of every business and organization are the people who built it. Help tell the story of these people by using emotionally evocative photos.

This nonprofit infographic annual report combines the image of a woman holding a child with actual statistics behind their work. A white semi-transparent overlay ensures that both the image and text are visible, while the icons provide visual interest.

Equality nonprofit treasurer report design

Your nonprofit treasurer report design should be anything but boring. You’re sharing important financial information, and want to make sure the information is clear and easy to understand. That’s why the design quality of your treasurer report matters.

A high-quality stock photo makes for a great report cover when it’s the right one. Consider your nonprofit’s mission, and try to tap into the human element, when choosing your cover photo.

This nonprofit treasurer report template uses a photo that shows a sense of togetherness and unity. If your report’s cover photo is generic and unrelated to your organization, it’ll be less likely to engage your audience.

Purple nonprofit treasurer report design

You can think outside of the box, even with your nonprofit treasurer report design. You can use stock photos and color to create something eye-catching and interesting.

This nonprofit treasurer report template uses stock photos throughout the design and applies a purple overlay on each page to pull the design together. This way, while the content, layout, and visuals change, a single color helps unify the design.

Simple nonprofit treasurer report design

If toying around with bold and creative designs is outside of your comfort zone (for now), you have nothing to worry about. You can still come up with impressive designs for your reports.

This simple treasurer report template just uses bold colors for each page and flat icons. It’s straightforward, but still eye-catching. The conservative use of text on each page, along with the large fonts and negative space make the report easy to read.

Simple nonprofit budget report design

Your organization’s operating budget is crucial information. It impacts the entire planning of all your activities for the coming year. So it has to be very clear, simple to understand and accessible to your staff.

You could just share a boring spreadsheet, but that won’t impress anyone. This nonprofit budget report template has an official, on-brand design. It incorporates the organization’s logo, flat colors, and bold fonts for a document that’s super clear. It also highlights important values to make them easier to distinguish from other figures that are listed.

Purple nonprofit annual report design

You don’t have to use super complex data visualizations to make the information engaging. If you’re not a data visualization expert, you run the risk of confusing your readers.

But a simple data visualization can be engaging, and helpful in communicating more clearly , like how this nonprofit template uses half pie charts to show its funding sources and expenses:

Nonprofit impact report design

Make use of contrasting colors and bold text to highlight the impact of your nonprofit organization:

Marketing annual report design templates

Year-end marketing report design.

This annual review design template uses different style charts. Because the colors are repeated, however, the charts look consistent and professional.

For a more in-depth guide to picking the best charts for your data, click here.

Corporate advertising annual report design

If you want to emphasize certain pieces of information or break up an expanse of text on your page, color blocks are an easy fix. Pick a neutral color that will allow text to stand out, like grey or a light shade.

This annual report template uses red and grey color blocks to create various page layouts:

Fun corporate marketing report design

Have fun with your marketing report design.

You can draw creative inspiration from your brand. Consider your brand’s voice or your brand’s visual collateral.

Does your brand use professional stock photos, sophisticated icon art, or playful, illustrated icons? Are the colors in your branded content vibrant, subdued or neutral?

These are all factors that should influence your marketing report design. This corporate marketing report template presents highly relevant information in a way that is aligned with the brand.

Real estate market report design

When you create a detailed, in-depth marketing report , organizing information simply is a challenge. You want to avoid creating a report that is dense and difficult to scan.

This real estate marketing report template is a great example of balancing a lot of content through design. It uses a layout that alternates between text-heavy sections, and sections reserved for data. This helps you create a report that is predictable and manageable for your readers.

Social media marketing report design

In the Venngage editor, you can access massive high-quality stock photo libraries from Pixabay and Unsplash. Whatever you’re looking for, expect to find the perfect stock photo for your design.

Just check out this marketing report template below. This social media marketing report template looks sharp and professional because of the color palette consistency throughout the design – both in the content and the stock photos.

It makes for a very cohesive, finished look that appears less DIY, and more, “professional designer”. Don’t take my word for it, either. Try it out yourself and ask your team what they think of the final product.

Trendy social media campaign report design

This modern annual report template is another great example of choosing a color palette based on your stock photos. The hues of brown and teal tie into the stock photography used in the design.

Plus, since it’s a coffee brand, the warm brown tones make for a very fitting color palette choice.

Dark social media trends report design

Here’s one last, great example of how to use stock photography to inform your design.

This dark social media report template uses a crisp, high-quality photo of a smartphone screen. The title slide doesn’t even use an overlay to subdue existing colors.

The rest of the slide design incorporates black, and other bold colors throughout. This makes for a very commanding, attention-grabbing look. Plus, it’s easier to decide on a color palette once you’ve got the perfect stock photo lined up.

Social media marketing report design

Was your team’s main goal this year to reach for the stars? Did you turn your small team into a village? You can use images in your design to symbolically reflect those themes.

For example, this annual report template uses an engaging cloud background:

To learn more about marketing strategies for nonprofits and setting goals, check out our Complete Nonprofit Marketing Guide .

Digital marketing report design

Typically, you’re trying to pack a lot of information into your annual report. The readability of your annual report will have a lot to do with the design.

Color coding your information is a simple way to offer visual cues for readers to follow. Pick colors that have a logical association with the information.

For example, this annual report template uses colors to represent each social media channel. The colors reflect the brand colors of each social media channel, making the meaning easily recognizable for readers:

SAAS email marketing report design

Even with the right use of colors and icons , your page may feel a little blank. It may seem like it’s missing something because there’s so much space.

In those instances, incorporate a border design to create a sense of movement, dynamism, and texture. You can apply a border through the use of the icon library, or you can choose abstract stock photos to create background borders. That’s exactly what this SAAS email marketing report template does.

HR annual report design templates

Employee progress annual report design.

Bright and vibrant colors add a lot of energy and pizzaz to designs, but on a white background don’t stand out well. Rather than switch your color palette of choice, try a light background color. Not only is it a nice change from traditional black and white reports, your colors easily pop from the page.

This annual review template a variety of colors to distinguish multiple categories for employee evaluation . It also uses handy  pie charts  to visualize key performance metrics.

Year-end human resources report design

Check out this year-end HR report template. The playful icons and tiles are a sharp contrast to the background and grab your attention. The bright accent colors throughout the report design allow individual sections to stand out.

Bright employee annual performance review design

For your employee reviews to be consistent and fair across the board, you need to follow a structure. That’s why it’s a good idea to use an employee review template (check out our blog post with 12 performance review examples for ideas).

A simple table layout works well for this. This annual performance review template below, for example, has a clean and clutter-free design, with clearly labeled spaces to provide feedback to employees.

You can even color-code the sections to make them easier to read and understand. For example, look at this simple employee review template:

Modern national agency annual report design

Consistent branding across all of your government communications is important.

One way that you can ensure this is by using not only your company colors but also colors that communicate the “feel” of your company or organization.

This annual report template divides the sections in half and uses the brand color to highlight key information.

Year in review infographic annual report design

Sure, this year may have been a lot of work, but there was some fun to be had too, right? An annual report is the perfect place to highlight how your business has grown, financially and culturally.

This simple one-page annual report template highlights both work and the “fun stuff”:

14 tips on how to design an annual report + more templates

Want to see how visualized reports fare in real life? Here are the top examples of visually appealing and engaging annual reports you can draw inspiration from.

OzHarvest is a nonprofit that redistributes food to charities from restaurants and the like. They wanted to make sure their shareholders saw key numbers like how many meals were saved, their core message, and their mission.

By using big fonts and creative visuals like word clouds and charts, they can bring that key information forward. This is a good lesson in not being afraid to take up lots of space on a page.

In another example, a handful of families supported by the St. Louis Children’s Hospital were featured in their annual report. This helps put faces to the names and show that their donors and stakeholders are helping real people with real struggles.

This annual report example from Maine Tourism uses a ton of colors you would see in nature. If you haven’t been to Maine, the outdoors is a pretty big part of their identity.

All over this annual report, you can see natural colors in the greens and browns, but also the orange in lifejackets and fires, or the blues in lakes and the Maine sky.

Also, please note: there is no rule out there that says you have to use lots of colors. As we can see in this annual report example for a real estate company.

The designers used a bold red to bring attention to important charts or trends:

Click here for 35+ simple background images to add impact to your report.

If you want to create a memorable annual report you may need to change the way people look at things. Or in this case, they did it by physically changing the way the annual report was laid out.

As you can see in the example from Environment Waikato, they start this by creating a landscape-oriented report. Then, they take it to the next level by switching the way the text is printed on multiple pages. This causes the reader to change their perspective on the content.

Some annual reports take one of their most important values or mission statement and hide it at the bottom of the page. That means most people will skip over it without even noticing!

That isn’t the case with this annual report example from  PEN Canada . They make sure you can’t miss what they stand for.

Each of these pages celebrates a different part of their vision. By using a large bold font they can illustrate that they aren’t messing around at all. The  contrasting colors  make it jump off the page as well.

You can also add an interactive or tactile component to your annual report design to make it stand out.

In this annual report example from Craft Victoria, they use their cover to add an extra little surprise for the readers. The cover can be transformed into a tactile experience with small triangular tabs.

The triangle motif also carries throughout the rest of their report, making for a cohesive design.

Now, onto some concrete annual report design tips:

Infuse your company or organization’s culture into your annual report design

Everyone probably knows what U-Haul is (if you don’t, they’re a moving company). The designer incorporated their business’ service into this creative annual report design.

First, it’s delivered like a package to the reader and it looks exactly like a moving box you would find at one of their stores. Plus, there’s bubble wrap! Then the table of contents is modeled after a packing sheet, using the same icons and visuals throughout.

Each page uses images and visuals that remind people that at the heart of everything, they are a moving company.

Create custom illustrations using icons

When you’re working within a tight budget, commissioning custom illustrations can be pricey. But you can use icons to create custom illustrations.

Pick icons to make up the pieces of your illustration, then arrange them into a little scene. You can use this same tactic when it comes to creating an effective annual report template.  Keolis  has done this in their annual report design to illustrate statistics.

Our post on icon stories will show you exactly when and how to create them.

Make each page stand on its own with unique designs

I know I just said that you should pick a singular theme and stick to it like a few points ago. But for every rule, there are a few exceptions.

In this annual report example from the STW Group, the theme changed from one page to the next.

This can work in an annual report because you’re covering multiple different topics in one document. That being said, you should still maintain some consistency throughout your annual report design, like the same color scheme or basic page layouts.

Organize your information into sections using borders

If you have multiple topics or components that you want to fit together on one page, using borders or block backgrounds in your annual report templates can help keep your design organized.

For example, take a look at how  RLI Corp  uses blocks of bold colors to help each section stand out on the page. This makes it easier for readers to scan the page for different topics.

Pick a design motif and use it throughout your entire annual report

This annual report example from Brunel shows how much impact a confident design motif can have on your design. In this case, they used big, red fonts for all of the headers, with the header text overlapping onto the body text.

It’s an unconventional design choice but it works because it’s consistent. If you’re going to use an unusual design motif, commit to it and use it throughout your entire report.

Another creative annual report example is this one from Grupo Bimbo. They use think lines to direct your eye. These direct readers from point to point on the page, which is another way to tell stories visually.

Visual cues like lines and arrows can improve the flow of your page design immensely. They’re useful for any design project you are working on. Whether it be an  infographic  or an annual report template, these subtle lines are a must-have.

Give your annual report template a thematic motif

Was the year marked by a lot of progress? Did you overcome some major obstacles? Design an annual report that reflects the year’s overarching theme.

If you’re struggling to create your own nonprofit annual report template, try looking at some of the themes that run throughout your company’s mission, product and culture.

The designers at the Hall Family Foundation used their volunteers as inspiration. Most of these people are the lifeblood of any non-profit so it made a lot of sense to start there!

They focused on a handful of action words that helped describe what these volunteers do. As you can see, a visual theme was created from those words that are featured on nearly every page.

Additionally, the annual report has these words printed on the cover, so the reader notices the theme from the beginning. This is a great way to introduce readers to your company or organization’s values.

Label your graphs, charts, and other data visualizations

Forgetting to label your charts is a common mistake that many writers make. But forgetting to label your charts can  make your information confusing or misleading .

The designers at Capaccio Paestum avoided this trap by labeling all of their bubble charts and bar graphs. Additionally, when you use labels as they did, it helps even the newest stakeholder understand them in seconds.

Or take this annual report from Orgalime, which uses very straightforward but beautiful pie charts and bar graphs. Each example tells you what you need to know and makes it easy to compare between data sets. Simple but effective!

Include full-page data visualizations

Using the same annual report example from the  Croatian Post , you can see how big data visualizations can make your annual report just that much more engaging.

If you have a particularly important set of data, like your company’s financial growth over the past year, you can feature that in a creative data visualization. This is an opportunity to incorporate engaging design elements like icons, pictograms, image frames, and bold color schemes.

Mix up your font sizes and weights

Consistency is a basic tenet of good design. But you can find ways to add variety to your designs while still maintaining consistency.

The people at  Austria Solar  mix up their font sizes and weights in this annual report example. But they still maintain consistency by using the same color scheme throughout the report.

Check this guide out if you want to  learn more about selecting and using fonts .

Optimize your annual report for digital viewing

While tangible reports are nice, more and more people are opting to publish them and read them online.

The people over at  Mailchimp  have been doing this for a few years. Seeing as they’re a SaaS company, it fits their brand well and allows their report to reach a wider audience.

Plus, when creating an annual report virtually, you can include things like  GIFs, videos, and other moving parts !

Take a look too at what The Warehouse did on a few pages of their annual report. They use an introductory page to lead readers into each new section.

Like the designer behind this real annual report for the fake company, Ace Airlines did on multiple pages.

Seamlessly incorporate photos into your design by making them grayscale

While photos certainly add to your annual report’s story, they can also distract from the text on the page. But if you use grayscale images or images with a color overlay, they can integrate much more seamlessly into the design of the page.

Take a look at how the Associated British Foods’ annual report integrates images into their pages.

Set a visual tone from cover to cover

In this annual report from Target, they set the tone the first time you look at it. On the cover page, they show exactly what the report is going to be all about: freshness.

The designers use pictures of fresh fruit and veggies throughout the report to give it a feeling of abundance. This puts the reader in that frame of mind from the beginning, showing them what to expect from the business.

Here’s another example. The designers from BHA took some of their important stats and combined them with icons. Combined with the primary color backgrounds, the design looks modern and in line with current design trends.

Additionally, because of the icons they selected, they can prep the reader for what the info is going to be about. For example, using the microphone icon to show that there were 2.7 million voices behind this annual report.

Let your company’s history influence your design

Everything about this annual report from Kennedy Space Center looks like it would be at home in the 1970s.

The annual report was published in 2010, but the design calls back to the center’s history, from the color scheme to the retro photos.

It all comes together to create a fantastic annual report example that NASA enthusiasts will love.

Go big or go home with your annual report

This year is all about taking big risks with your design projects. But I wasn’t thinking that would lead to something like Ablynx created for their annual report!

They decided to go big with their data visualizations, literally. Instead of designing them in a design tool like Venngage, they created them in the real world.

Using sticks, yarn, and earth they build the graphs and charts that will adorn their annual report. This is one of those things that their readers won’t forget anytime soon.

Another creative way to organize your annual report is to differentiate the sections by using different-sized paper. In this annual report example from GIA, they do just that.

When a reader moves from one section to the next they physically have to change the size of paper they are reading. It’s an unexpected and engaging way to frame your different sections.

Annual report design takeaways

Annual report design isn’t going anywhere. Even if you don’t have any design experience, you can create an appealing annual report by starting with an  annual report template  and applying some of the following design elements:

• Cover images that tell your company’s story
• Eye-catching background color to make annual report templates pop
• Decorative section headers
• Color blocks
• Color-coded data
• Different style charts
• Interesting page layouts
• Full-page data visualizations

How do you create an annual report?

The best way to get started is to use an annual report template . This will serve as a handy framework and drastically reduce the amount of time spent creating your report.

If you’re concerned that a template won’t make your annual report design look unique, don’t be! Once you incorporate your information, visuals, color schemes, and fonts, your annual report will look like a custom design.

All of these elements can be customized in the one-page annual report templates above. Plus it’s easy to change the charts and graphs to reflect your data

Read on for annual report design tips and 55+ templates. Click any of our templates to enter our online report maker tool to customize it. No design know-how is required.

What is included in an annual report?

Annual reports typically contain information like:

• A company or organization’s mission statement
• A company or organization’s growth (financially, product-wise, culture-wise)
• Various business segments
• Information about the company or organization’s directors and executive officers
• A company or organization’s impact on specific communities
• Milestones and success stories

The below annual report includes a summary of success stories from the chief, impact on specific communities, and a look to the future:

A lot of that may sound like dry information…but it doesn’t have to be.

If your annual report is visually engaging, it will grab the attention of your readers. You can visualize data, incorporate your branding principles , and express your team’s personality throughout the design.

For a more detailed look at what to include in an annual report, check out our  annual report guide.

What is an annual report?

An  annual report  is an in-depth, comprehensive report that provides an overview of a business’s achievements and key metrics from the preceding year.

Think of it this way: an annual report is a perfect opportunity to tell your business’s story. Your annual report design can help you tell that story.

In some cases annual reports are mandatory, in other instances, they are marketing tools used to generate interest in your brand. Not only are they meant to generate interest among shareholders or investors, but they also present an attractive brand to employees, clients, and broader audiences. Your business is on a journey, and your annual report design helps you tell that story effectively. 

For an in-depth guide on what an annual report is, and all the different types, check out our explainer post: What is an Annual Report? .

Ready to get started?

Other business template resources:

• 15+ Project Plan Templates to Visualize Your Strategy, Goals, and Progress
• How to Create a Business Plan to Inspire Confidence in Investors (+ Business Plan Templates)

Nonprofit Annual Report: Creating Your Best One Yet! (+ 15 Examples!)

Imagine: it’s the end of the year and you’re celebrating all you’ve accomplished with your team. You sit down at your desk, do a couple of good chair stretches, get ready to write up your nonprofit annual report and… you blank.

So much has happened this past year, so where do you even start? What should you include? What should you leave out? How should you structure the document? 

Making a nonprofit annual report can feel like a big undertaking! After all, it highlights all of your organization’s success, celebrates donation impact and lays out all the numbers to promote transparency. Plus, the story an impact report tells is key to promoting donor stewardship.

But don’t panic—we’ve got the answers and the tools to make it simple! 

Here’s everything you need to know about writing an annual impact report, complete with a nonprofit annual report template.

What is a Nonprofit Annual Report and What’s its Purpose?

A nonprofit annual report is an end-of-year document that highlights your organization’s achievements from the past year. From celebrating campaign success to sharing benefactor stories to producing financial transparency, your annual report is a snapshot of how you’ve supported your mission.

This document also serves as a great big thank you for donors and volunteers! After all, your successes would not have been possible without them. Highlighting what you’ve achieved together is key to fostering donor stewardship.

A nonprofit annual report is similar to an impact report or donor report, but there are a few key differences:

• Annual reports lay out your accomplishments from the past year. They’re sent a couple of months after the financial year ends and provide a full overview of how you met your goals.
• Impact reports are typically sent out quarterly and are somewhat less common of a practice than annual reports. An impact report example could be highlighting the success of each quarterly campaign, which motivates your donors to support the next one.
• Donor reports are shorter, more frequent and very personalized. A donor impact report highlights—you guessed it!—donation impact and keeps your donors in the loop about what their support is helping you achieve.

Nonprofit annual reports aren’t technically required—an Annual Filing or filling out Form 990 are the only end-of-year documents you need to produce. However, that doesn’t mean annual reports aren’t important!

We won’t deny that making your annual report is a time commitment, which can feel difficult to spare during the rush of the end of year giving season. But with the way these reports build trust, donor stewardship and excitement for the year to come, you’ll feel the impact in both your wallet and your community.

10 Key Elements to Include in Your Nonprofit Annual Report

A year is long, and no doubt you’ve achieved all sorts of wonderful things! Here are some tips on distilling that information into what’s most useful for an annual impact report.

On a broad level, consider:

• Tone. Nonprofits typically benefit from being warm and personable—but they also need an element of authority! Your audience should trust that you know what you’re doing.
• Audience. Consider who you’re talking to. For example, if your demographic of donors are typically younger, they might prefer something more informal.
• Branding. Lay out your report in your organization’s branded fonts and colors. The document is celebrating your nonprofit, so it should wear your nonprofit’s clothes!

Now, the details! Here are 10 key elements to include in your nonprofit annual report:

1. Start with a table of contents

If this list includes 10 elements, you can probably imagine that there’s quite a bit of information your annual donor impact report will include! Make the reading experience smooth by including a table of contents.

Some of your dedicated supporters will want to read through the report front to back. Others might have specific areas of interest. For example, if one reader donated a huge sum to a specific campaign, they might just want to see how it played out.

A table of contents lets your readers know how to find the information that’s most interesting to them personally!

2. Add a letter from the President or Board Chair

Letters or messages from the Executive Director and Chair of the Board are standard fare in an annual report! After all, it’s super important for those leading the organization to sign off on the state of affairs and share their own pride in your accomplishments.

The opening letter can introduce the theme, summarize the content and give a personal touch to the report.

Your introduction should be:

• Short. A few succinct paragraphs will do the job. You don’t have to fill a page.
• Conversational. Don’t be afraid to let some personality shine through! Aim for a professional, but warm and friendly tone.
• Self-aware. If significant events are impacting your audience, organization or cause, briefly acknowledge that they’re there. Even a short nod to difficult circumstances, like, “Losing our building to a fire was incredibly challenging, but we’re still fighting the good fight,” can assure your audience that you’re in touch. 
• Candid. It’s okay to acknowledge setbacks and challenges. In fact, it’s not a good idea to say how great the year was if it wasn’t! Your donors and supporters don’t expect perfection, but they do expect transparency.
• Positive. Be honest, but project a hopeful, positive attitude. Hint at a few things you’re excited about for the coming year. Stay upbeat!

Short and sweet gets the job done in this executive message from Sarnia-Lambton Rebound .

3. Put the mission front and center

Your annual report is, above all, an opportunity to showcase your mission. 

It might feel redundant to emphasize your mission to people who’ve already supported it, but your supporters spend much less time thinking about the details of your mission than you do! They joined your organization for a reason—remind them what it is.

Include your mission statement in the report so the contents can directly show how your work is actively pursuing it.

The Voluntary Sector Reporting Awards (VSRAs) established Best Practices in Charity Annual Reporting . They recommend:

• Clearly stating the organization’s mission and tying it back to your activities throughout the report.
• Linking performance objectives and targets back to the mission.
• Disclosing your organization’s risks, issues and challenges in the context of the mission.
• Telling the reader how your organization governs itself and how that governance structure reflects your mission.
• Skipping out on individual committee reports in favor of a broad-based report that tells the organization’s story as a whole! The committee reports can be posted to the website if they are considered important disclosures.

Sarnia-Lambton Rebound reminds their supporters of their mission right from the beginning.

4. Highlight your major achievements

Don’t overwhelm your readers with every single detail—instead, choose your absolute highlights to celebrate in your annual impact report!

Gather a committee (or work with your board of directors!) and ask yourselves:

• If we could only tell donors about one thing we accomplished this year, what would it be? Don’t worry, you’ll be able to tell them about more than one! But see where the consensus is about your greatest successes.
• What are our key messages? The accomplishments you choose tell a story. What is it? 
• Is there a theme that might be fitting? How do your key messages relate to each other? Is there a theme, like growth, perseverance, hope or family?
• How do these accomplishments relate to our mission? Spell it out, even if it feels very obvious! Again, clarity is key so that your supporters know exactly how you’ve helped support your constituents.

Navos shares their year’s accomplishments with quick facts and engaging graphics.

5. Drive more impact with storytelling

The best way to showcase your accomplishments is through storytelling . A long list of achievements or collection of facts might be exciting to you, but it won’t necessarily capture your donors’ hearts.

Telling a story helps associate emotions to events . Choose which stories best highlight your accomplishments and your overall mission.

A good nonprofit annual donor impact report story:

• Tells the truth. You can simplify a story and change details to protect privacy. However, the bones of the story should be true. After all, you’re using it as proof that you deserve support!
• Focuses on a central character. As I mentioned before, it’s easier to connect with the story of one person than a group. Use one named person as the subject of your story.
• Uses the person’s own words as much as possible to tell the story. Quotes and first-person narratives are most compelling.
• Shows a change as a result of the nonprofit’s action and the donors’ gifts. Use a storytelling structure with a beginning, middle and end to show what changed.

If you created a new program, introduce readers to the problem it solved via one person’s story. A great example is this one from Nuru-International , which focuses on the story of Josphat, a single farmer. 

6. Present data in a visually appealing way

Nothing makes peoples’ eyes glaze over like a long block of text! If you want to engage your readers, it’s essential to present your data in a way that’s visually appealing.

Your nonprofit annual report could include:

• Attractive infographics. This will help your readers take in data at a glance! For example, breaking where your fundraising money went into a pie chart lets your readers see their donation impact without needing to dig.
• Compelling photographs. A picture’s worth a thousand words, right? With the right photo, all you need is a simple caption to get your point across.
• Consistent fonts. Don’t make your readers dizzy with a bunch of cluttered fonts! Stick to your branding all the way through to guide their eyes.
• Headings and subheadings. These features keep your impact report accessible and easy to scan. Make it easy for your readers to find what they’re looking for.

While the data itself is super important, how it’s laid out has an equal impact! If you know all the data but aren’t sure how to make it pretty, consult with your marketing or design experts.

7. Be transparent with a financial statement

It’s important to share your financial information in a way that makes sense to your audience. Give them an overview of where the revenue comes from and how it is spent.

You could do this with traditional financial statements, visual charts and graphs or infographics. By using plain English and clear visuals, your readers should understand the meaning behind the numbers in your annual impact report. Most importantly, they should always connect back to your mission, vision and values!

Aurora Cultural Centre promotes accountability, but doesn’t overwhelm their audience with their financial statement.

They also demonstrate what your numbers mean with visual organizers like charts and graphs.

8. Celebrate your donors

Many organizations decide to print the names of the year’s donors and the levels of their gifts in their annual report. This is a way to say thank you and show donors that they’re part of a large community of supporters!

Still—it’s a list of names, which means it’s likely to be skimmed. People look for their own names, but rarely read the entire list. Consider interspersing quotes and photos to get more value out of the pages.

And of course, make sure all spelling, titles and giving levels are correct. Double and triple check!

9. Recap events and milestones

Think of your nonprofit annual report as a celebration of your year’s greatest hits. What were the events you’re still talking about? What campaign moments had your whole team cheering?

Your members, donors and supporters have not had the same inside look into the organization as you. No matter how much they care about your mission, it’s very likely that they missed something during the year!

Brag away, and really lean into the impact these milestones had for your community. If these milestones link back to fundraising, lean into talking about donation impact.

10. Call to action: Keep the party going!

The work doesn’t stop with the annual report—in fact, it’s just beginning! The best impact report should inspire your donors to keep getting involved with your nonprofit.

Give them a next step with a strong call to action, reiterated throughout your report. 

For most organizations, this will be an ask for donations, but don’t limit yourself! Inviting people to volunteer, follow your social media or advocate for your cause is just as good of a way to help your organization grow.

SC Thrive closes their report with more ways to get involved.

A Sample Annual Report Table of Contents  

Setting up a table of contents is a great way to lay out expectations for readers—and to give you some structure starting out!

Annual reports are structured differently depending on the format and your organization’s goals. A traditional, printed report typically looks something like this:

• Welcome Letter/Introduction
• Summary of Highlights
• Financial Information
• Multiple Stories of Accomplishment

When it comes to your table of contents, you can either keep things simple and straightforward or get creative. Check out this annual impact report example from Feeding America .

This beautifully branded table of contents is attractive while also being super informative! You can easily see how long each section is at a glance.

How To Choose an Annual Report Format

With all of the room here for creativity, you might be wondering how to begin structuring your annual donor impact report.

Should it be printed and mailed? What images should you include? Is it really necessary to have every donor’s name listed? 

While the answer to a lot of these questions will depend heavily on your organization, here are a few things to consider throughout the process. 

Online Vs. Printed?

Before the age of the internet, annual reports were documents to be printed and mailed.These days, simply going digital is becoming more popular.

This is because posting your annual report online:

• Is more environmentally-friendly
• Saves you admin time
• Makes them easier for prospective members to read

If you have a group of donors who expect to receive a printed piece, feel free to make that option available upon request. It might also help you to conduct an online survey to get an idea of what your audience is looking for. After all, these reports are meant to connect you with your supporters!

What About Visuals?

As we mentioned earlier (and demonstrated in the Feeding America example!), visuals can be incredibly beneficial to your annual report. They keep the report dynamic, accessible and skimmable. Plus, who doesn’t love a good branding opportunity?

Note that digital annual reports also make it possible to use as many full-color images as you like! Another benefit to taking the online route.

15 Nonprofit Annual Report Examples to Get You Started

Want a little inspiration? Here you’ll find examples from charities, membership organizations and chambers of commerce. We’ve included organizations big and small, so there’s something for everyone! These are 15 of our favorite annual impact report examples:

1. Feeding America

What we like (again!):

• This annual impact report example is beautifully designed with a cohesive and engaging motif throughout. Text and easy-to-read visuals alternate.
• Real photos accompany the stories of people who benefit from the organization’s work, with a “special thanks” section which acknowledges the people who made it possible.
• Financials are creatively done with stacked plates.
• Lots of space is used to display the logos of corporate partners—they’re not squeezed onto one page, but spread over 23 pages.

2. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

What we like:

• This annual impact report example has viewing options for either a pdf or interactive report hosted on issuu.com.
• Striking visuals of scientific accomplishments, complete with comprehensive explanations for supporters who might be less familiar with scientific terminology.
• The financial section is done with engaging, branded visuals and graphs.
• The impact is broken down by the scientific field it is relevant to.

3. Buffalo Niagara Partnership

• This annual report is a slideshow embedded on the organization’s website.
• Sponsors and partners are given priority by placing their gratitude content on the third page of the report. There is also recognition space in the last few pages.
• Lots of photos with brief but descriptive captions, avoiding lengthy blocks of text.
• The webpage where the annual report slideshow is embedded also houses a summary video and yet another list of key sponsors.

4.  BC Cancer Foundation

• Instead of making a webpage, The BC Cancer Foundation has created an entirely separate website just for the annual report. Different sections of the report are accessible through links in the header, which stays in place as site visitors scroll through.
• The website is full of moving photos and animations, creating an engaging experience for the visitors. 
• A large “Donate” button is always present in the top right corner, inviting people to donate as they read the inspiring stories within the report. 
• Each section is collapsed to save scrolling space, but visitors can expand content if they’re interested in reading it in full. 

5.  Save the Children

• This annual impact report example is done as an interactive online slideshow. Viewers can not only click through slides, but also click to read captions, play video and audio content or click through mini galleries of photos. 
• The report is full of moving stories and powerful photos. Because this is a report from 2020, the lead page shows a child with a mask, marking the way COVID shaped the year for the mission.
• Statistics are displayed over photos rather than just as graphics. 
• Messages from the organization’s advocates are recorded as audio and can be played by clicking on their photos.

6. Florida Farm Bureau Federation

• This annual report is hosted on issuu.com.
• The annual report is framed with the theme “Rooted in Resilience,” with each section broken down into what that means. For example, being rooted in policy, community, membership, leadership, etc.
• There is a consistent plant-based theme and branding strategy.
• The report ends with photos of people working in grassroots initiatives.

7. American Dance Festival

• This annual report is hosted on issuu.com, with the option to download the slides. The link can be easily accessed from their About page on the main website.
• The numbers and stats are broken down in an attractive and readable graphic.
• Stunning images of the dancers in action are highlighted throughout the report.
• ADF Fund contributors are listed at the end, broken down by their level of giving.

8. It Gets Better Project

• The It Gets Better Project has an attractive branded annual report with optimistic messaging that reflects the organization’s mission, vision and values.
• A media representation timeline shows the full year’s reach and impact in an easy-to-understand visual.
• The financials are broken down into straightforward numbers in a colorful chart, and include a pie chart to further represent what it looks like.
• The report ends with a Year Ahead section which expresses hopes and plans for the future of the organization.

9.  Salt Lake Chamber

What we like:  

• This annual impact report example is housed on a dedicated page on the organization’s website.
• It starts with a video message from leadership.
• The “Highlights” section contains brief paragraphs, with links to read more. 
• The report contains lots of embedded videos from events and award presentations. 
• Public policy and membership statistics are clearly represented with engaging graphics. 

10.  Raising Readers in Story County

• This annual report has a unique infographic format. It’s very concise—only three pages!—but still showcases just as much impact as more lengthy reports. 
• It includes achievements from the past year, program highlights, impressive statistics, quotes from parents and list of supporters. 
• The design of the report is visually appealing and is representative of the community this organization serves: young children and their parents. 

11.  Greater Chicago Food Depository

• This annual impact report example is housed on its own website, with a bar on the right hand side to show visitors’ progress through the homepage. Plus, the homepage ends with a call to get involved. 
• Many video elements: a welcome video from leadership, a video background on the homepage and video snippets to accompany impactful stats.
• Stories are presented as headlines and brief descriptions, with links to read them in full on other pages of the website. 
• Sections like “About Us”, donor lists and financials can be found on other pages of the website through links in the header.

12.  The Humane Society

• This annual report includes lots of large, impactful photos.
• Because this report is from 2020, it highlights the impact of the initial COVID-19 outbreak on the mission.
• It contains a spread summarizing the organization’s top achievements from the past year.
• Every story reminds us of both the short- and long-term visions that the story supports. 
• There are lots of interesting facts and statistics throughout the report.
• The last page of the report is a brief summary of financials (a more detailed version can be downloaded from the organization’s website). 

13.  ChildFund

• This annual report is full of impactful stories about donors and people who have benefited from the support. 
• It has lots of powerful photos and mini stories in their captions.
• Engaging graphics showcase statistics and impact.
• Colorful fonts reflect the fact that the beneficiaries are children.

14. Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce

• This nonprofit annual report contains a page with a summary of key objectives and achievements from the past year, as well as how they align with the organization’s mission. 
• There are lots of statistics and photos to accompany them.
• The report provides statistics about important areas of the organization such as membership, events, communications, resources, advocacy and partnerships.

• The report starts with the organization’s reach and scale, their mission and values and their code of conduct and policies. 
• Each impact story is accompanied by a few key statistics and a quote from someone who’s seen the organization’s impact first-hand. 
• Worldwide impact is shown by visually connecting each country’s story to where it is on the world map. 
• Full spread photos divide the report into sections. 

Your Annual Report Checklist

Before you get started on your annual report, it can be majorly helpful to create a checklist of everything you need to know to make it happen.

Your checklist should help you determine your:

• Team members: Is there a project leader, committee or board support?
• Objective: Who’s your key audience, and what action do you want your report to inspire them to take?
• Format: Digital, print, video? A bit of everything?
• Outline: What do you want to include, and what will your Table of Contents end up looking like?
• Key messages and themes: Which accomplishments do you want to highlight? What is the story that this report tells?
• Budget: How much do you want to put into expenses like content development, graphic design and distribution?
• Production schedule: What’s your target release date, and what workback schedule do you need to hit it?

For more detail on what you might need, we’ve made an easy-to-follow annual report checklist to take away the guesswork!

Nonprofit Annual Report Template to Get You Started!

Don’t fear your annual report.

Creating an annual report can feel like a big task, but remember that all the information you need is already available! You already know how to tell a good story, communicate impact and show gratitude to donors. All that’s left is to follow a structure and get creative.

(And download our annual report checklist if you want a little extra help!)

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What Is a SAR, and When Must It Be Provided?

EBIA   

August 3, 2017 · 5 minute read

QUESTION:  Could you explain the SAR requirement, including when it must be provided? Our company maintains a 401(k) plan, a self-insured health plan, and a cafeteria plan under which employees contribute pre-tax dollars to pay their share of premiums for the self-insured health plan and a health FSA. We treat the self-insured health plan and the health FSA as separate plans for filing Form 5500. All of our plans cover more than 100 employees.

ANSWER:  A SAR is a summary annual report, and its purpose is to summarize for employees the information that appears in an ERISA plan’s Form 5500. (The Form 5500 is known as the “annual report,” which explains the name “summary annual report.”) SARs are required each year for pension plans, including 401(k) plans, and for welfare plans unless an exemption applies. The plan administrator generally must furnish SARs within nine months after the end of the plan year (which is two months after the normal due date for Form 5500s). This means that for a calendar-year plan, the SAR must be provided by September 30. If the employer has an extension for filing the Form 5500, the SAR deadline is two months after the extended Form 5500 deadline. For calendar-year plans, the extended Form 5500 deadline is normally October 15, so the extended SAR deadline would be December 15.

The required content for SARs is set out in DOL regulations (see our Checkpoint Questions of the Week on SAR content for  401(k) plans  and for  welfare plans ). For small ERISA pension plans (including 401(k) plans) that are taking advantage of the audit waiver provisions, DOL regulations provide model audit waiver language for the SAR (see our Checkpoint  Question of the Week ).

The following SAR requirements apply to the plans you describe:

• 401(k) Plan.  Your 401(k) plan’s SAR must be provided to each participant covered by the plan and each beneficiary receiving benefits under the plan—these are the same individuals who must receive an automatic summary plan description (SPD) (see our Checkpoint  Question of the Week ). Employees who become participants covered under the plan are entitled to receive a SAR after they have satisfied the plan’s eligibility requirements, regardless of whether they elect to make deferrals, and former employees remain participants in the plan (and thus are entitled to receive an SAR) until they no longer have an account balance under the plan. An alternate payee receiving payments from the plan under a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) is a beneficiary for this purpose.
• Self-Insured Health Plan With Pre-Tax Premium Payment.  A totally unfunded welfare plan (i.e., a plan that pays benefits solely from employer general assets and not through insurance, a trust, or other separate account) is not required to furnish SARs, regardless of its size. If, however, your self-insured plan is funded (even partially), then SARs must be provided to the same participants who must receive automatic SPDs—generally only participants covered under the plan, including individuals who have elected COBRA continuation coverage and those covered under a qualified medical child support order (QMCSO), but not beneficiaries such as spouses or children covered through an active employee (see our Checkpoint  Question of the Week ).
• Cafeteria Plan.  Your cafeteria plan is not an ERISA plan, so it is not subject to the SAR requirement, but SARs may be required for the component benefits offered under your cafeteria plan (i.e., your self-insured health plan and health flexible spending arrangement (health FSA)), unless an exemption applies.
• Health FSA.  Your health FSA is an ERISA plan, but it probably qualifies for the SAR exemption for totally unfunded welfare plans (described above). Generally, employee contributions made by salary reduction to a health FSA are treated as benefits paid solely from employer general assets (assuming that there is no other reason to treat the health FSA as funded).

For more information, see EBIA’s  401(k) Plans  manual at Section XXXI.L (“Summary Annual Reports (SARs)”); EBIA’s  ERISA Compliance  manual at Sections XXIII.A (“What Is a SAR?”) and XXIII.C (“Who Must Be Furnished With SARs and When?”); EBIA’s  Self-Insured Health Plans  manual at Section XXVIII.D (“Summary Annual Report (SAR)”); and EBIA’s  Cafeteria Plans  manual at Sections XXXV.B (“Cafeteria Plans and Participant Disclosures”) and XXXV.C (“Health FSA Disclosure Requirements”).

Contributing Editors: EBIA Staff.

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Summary Annual Report

The Summary Annual Report (SAR) provides a narrative summary of the financial information contained on the Form 5500 and a statement of the right to receive an annual report.

If a plan is not required to file a Form 5500 then it is also exempt from the SAR requirement.

In addition, an unfunded welfare plan need not provide SARs. (An unfunded plan is one in which plan benefits are paid as needed directly and exclusively from the general assets of the employer.) Even though large unfunded plans (those with 100 or more covered employee participants) have to file a Form 5500, they are exempt from providing a SAR.

Please note that large insured plans (which also must file a Form 5500), are subject to the SAR requirement.

Information provided in the SAR should be based upon information contained in the most recent filing of the Form 5500.  If a plan is not required to include information on its Form 5500, it does not need to include the information on the SAR.

The categories of information to be included on a SAR are as follows:

Funding and Insurance Information

• If any claims are paid by an insurer, the SAR should state the name of each insurer and the total premiums paid for the year.
• If any claims are self-insured, the SAR should state the type of claims that the plan sponsor will pay.

Basic Financial Information If any of the plan funds are held in trust or in a separately maintained fund, the SAR should report:

• Value of plan assets at beginning and year-end
• Increase/decrease in plan assets over the year
• Total income, including employer and employee contributions, realized gains/losses, and earning from investments
• Total expenses including benefits paid, administrative expenses and other expenses

Rights to Additional Information The SAR must contain statements that the individual receiving the SAR has the right to:

• Request a copy of the full annual report (Form 5500) and any items attached to the Form 5500, such as schedules (see “Schedules” in Geek Out! Form 5500 ).  The SAR must list those attached items
• Request a statement of plan assets and liabilities
• Request a statement of plan income and expenses
• Examine the annual report at, among other places, the main office of the plan

The SAR must also provide information about how to obtain a copy of the SAR form the Department of Labor.

Offer Assistance in a Non-English Language

• This requirement follows that for SPDs (See “Non-English Language” in the SPD Education Presentation)
• The offer must describe the procedure for obtaining assistance and be written in the non-English language
• The offer should be included with the English SAR

Template SAR

A sample SAR is included in the DOL Regulations .

The DOL also provides a SAR Template .

Distribution

A copy of the SAR should be provided to all participants and beneficiaries receiving benefits, who participated in the plan during the plan year.

• Surviving spouses or other beneficiaries of deceased participants receiving benefits from the plan;
• Alternate recipient receiving distributions under a QMCSO ; and
• Representatives or guardians of incapacitated individuals in any of the above categories.

The SAR must be furnished within nine months of the close of the plan year (or the fiscal year for a trust if it files the Form 5500).

If the plan administrator obtains an extension of time to file the Form 5500 , the SAR must be furnished within two months after the end of the extension period.

Noncompliance

There are no specific penalties for not automatically providing a SAR, beyond the actions that can be taken for violating an ERISA provision.

• Participants and beneficiaries may bring suit to enforce any provision of ERISA, including the distribution of SARs.
• This penalty can be up to $100,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 10 years.
• The penalty can be increased up to $500,000 if assessed against a company.
• The Plan Administrator may be liable for a $110 per day, per occurrence penalty if it does not provide a response to a participant or beneficiary who requests a copy of the SAR.

Material contained in ComplianceDashboard is a compilation of generally published information by the Department of Labor and other public agencies regulating employee benefit plans and employee benefit issues. It is not legal advice, and should not be construed as legal advice. If legal advice or other professional assistance is or may be required with regard to any issues referenced in this website, the services of a competent legal or tax professional should be immediately sought. The inclusion of links within the ComplianceDashboard website is for informational purposes only. ComplianceDashboard does not warrant the accuracy of information outside this website that is found as a result of following links contained herein, nor does the inclusion of those links herein constitute endorsement of the content of any other website. If you have questions regarding this disclaimer, please contact us at 877-328-7880.

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Model Summary Annual Report Notices Now Available on DOL Website 

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User-friendly Word versions of model summary annual report (SAR) notices for ERISA-covered employee benefit plans are now available on the Department of Labor’s Employment Benefit and Security Administration (EBSA) website. The model notices, posted to the agency’s Retirement Plans and Health Plans webpages, are nearly identical to versions in DOL regulations .

Pension plans. Defined contribution plans and defined benefit (DB) plans not covered by the PBGC’s termination insurance program must provide the SAR to participants and beneficiaries. (PBGC-covered DB plans must provide their participants with an annual funding notice instead.) Small retirement plans that choose not to file an independent qualified public accountant audit report with the Form 5500 must add waiver language to the SAR. EBSA has also provided a Word version of its model audit-waiver document .

Welfare plans. Health and welfare plans must send the SAR to participants, but not beneficiaries. The SAR isn’t required for plans exempt from Form 5500 filing and noninsured, unfunded welfare plans.

Related Resources

• Retirement Plans Webpage (EBSA)
• Form For Summary Annual Report Relating to Pension Plans (EBSA, June 5, 2019)
• Model Summary Annual Report Notice — IQPA Audit Waiver (EBSA, June 5, 2019)
• Health Plans Webpage (EBSA)
• Form For Summary Annual Report Relating to Welfare Plans (EBSA, June 5, 2019)

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Report Analyst Cover Letter Sample (Full Text Version)

Daniela Lain

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing this cover letter to apply for the Report Analyst job within RFT Group, Inc. which has been posted and advertised on LinkedIn.com. With more than 3 years of extensive industry experience paired with a great field expertise, I believe that I am a perfect fit for the role. What is more, I am confident that I would be a valuable addition to your team.

To shortly introduce myself, I am a Certified Analytics Professional offering a strong attention to detail and accuracy and the important ability to operate both independently and in fast-paced team environments. At Aveshka, Inc., I was given the responsibility for collecting and analyzing company data, reviewing financial statements and accounting reports, and working on the constant improvement of customer satisfaction and experience. In addition, I developed and implemented new data analysis processes and procedures, produced graphs, charts, and presentations, and maintained and organized large databases and records. For achieving extraordinary results and exceeding all assigned goals, I have been awarded the Employee of the Month twice.

On top of my experience, I am the New York University graduate with a bachelor's degree in Statistics and Data Science. At the university, I was not only among the top 2% of students with the best academic results but I also served as a Class Representative for 2 years. This tremendous experience has taught me how to manage time efficiently and allowed me to acquire excellent communication and problem-solving skills. Last but not least, I am adept at using all software programs necessary for the role, including Zoho Analytics, Yellowfin, and GoodData. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions on my qualifications. I can be reached at 555-555-5555 or via email at [email protected].

Thank you for your time and consideration and I look forward to hearing back from you in the near future.

Kind regards,

Milan Šaržík, CPRW

Milan’s work-life has been centered around job search for the past three years. He is a Certified Professional Résumé Writer (CPRW™) as well as an active member of the Professional Association of Résumé Writers & Careers Coaches (PARWCC™). Milan holds a record for creating the most career document samples for our help center – until today, he has written more than 500 resumes and cover letters for positions across various industries. On top of that, Milan has completed studies at multiple well-known institutions, including Harvard University, University of Glasgow, and Frankfurt School of Finance and Management.

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