More than Financials, Funders, and Facts: Make your messaging motivating!

Right now, many nonprofits are drafting 2019 summary reports for institutional and major donors. This is the year to make your annual report more inspiring and engaging. Bring your supporters on a visit, introduce them to clients and staff, and share what their investment made possible.

Follow these five tips to make an impression:

• Mission Forward – Share your mission statement, vision, program achievements, community challenges, strategic goals, and key growth initiatives. Your readers should become knowledgeable about your work and your donors should become proud advocates.
• Be Bold – Invest in photography, design, and printing! Maintain your brand look and personality throughout. Add infographics, maps, and stats. Your professionalism and graphic polish demonstrate that everything is done with great pride and attention to quality.

• Speak Up – Give your people voice, tell their story, share your outcomes, show your reach, and use testimonials. Share the story of a super volunteer, a generous in-kind donor, or a longtime staff member.
• Be Thankful – Show your love and appreciation by going beyond the lists of government, institutional, corporate, planned giving, and major donors. Acknowledge stakeholders like your board (including those that completed their service), young professionals, campaign chairs, event honorees, committee members, advisory council, elected officials, local advocates, media partners, and/or leadership staff.

Build a Following – Provide ways to engage such as links to your videos, blog, e-news, and social media platforms to convert viewers to followers. These can be live links in your online and digital versions. Put your report on your website home page for all to see. Even add a link to your digital annual report in your e-signatures!

Create communications that have content and images that can be reused throughout the year and across your social media. This will help people recognize you and will continue to make an ingrained impression. We hope this advice helps you develop messages that motivate donors and build community for your nonprofit.

Wishing you great success in 2020!

Click here to see samples of Growth for Good’s client projects: https://www.growthforgood.com/projects/.

“Growth for Good led Queens Defenders through a comprehensive rebrand, including a new name and logo, mission statement, website, services brochures, letterhead, business cards, email signatures – you name it, they took care of it. Throughout, they guided our team, listened to and implemented our feedback, and delivered a product our organization can be proud of. We’re so grateful to the Growth for Good team for the skill and creativity they exhibited and for ensuring our dynamic new brand reflects our mission and values.”– Brian Schatz, Queens Defenders, Director of Development