Purpose Of An Annual Report

Index

Annual Report

Word From The Chairman

Annual Report As Marketing Tool

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Annual Report

The first purpose of an Annual Report is to inform supporters about the past year. This includes figures, the activities that have been undertaken and what the NGO wants to do in the coming year. The fixed elements in an Annual Report are:

Word of the chairman
Board report
Activities of last year
Activities of next year
Organization
Financial Statements
Budget

Word From The Chairman

This is comparable to a foreword and reflects the board's view on the activities of the past year and the policy. Under what circumstances were these activities carried out, were there any particularities and was the budget sufficient.

Report Of The Board

This piece takes a look back at the past year. Were the goals achieved and expectations met? Which parts have been implemented and which have not and why?

Activities Last Year

For each activity or goal, it is shown here how they have been carried out and whether the intended goal and target group have been achieved. Which activities were not satisfactory and what could be improved in the future when carrying out these activities. Do not forget to mention the subsidies for activities that have received a specific subsidy.

Activities Next Year

Here expectations are expressed for the coming year. Keep it limited to the coming year because the policy plan contains the long-term objectives/vision. Be concrete and realistic, but not as extensive as in an Annual Plan or Project Plan. Here I speak of activity or objective (doel), depending on whether the objective consists of one or more activities. Describing activities is easier to understand for supporters than describing the objectives. Do not forget to mention the subsidies that finance the activities if this is the case.

Organization

With organization I put down the data of the organization, such as:

Chamber of Commerce number
Fiscal Code
ANBI status
Approvals
Memberships
E-mail
Mailing address (postadres)
Visiting address (possibly)
Board members with their tasks and the division of work among themselves
Board change
Remuneration of board members
Employees when employed
Volunteers if the organization makes use of them
Hiring if the organization has hired external parties for a particular activity

Do not forget to state both the FTE and the compensation for employees, volunteers and external hires.

Financial Statements

This is drawn up by the Treasurer and approved by an accountant. These may be included briefly if the Annual Accounts is published separately. These financial figures are especially important for donors, investors, and the tax authorities.

Budget

In the budget I indicate what I expect in terms of income in the coming year and what the money will be spent on.

Annual Report As Marketing Tool

An Annual Report is a bit of work and can even be considered boring by the organization. Nevertheless, the Annual Report is increasingly becoming the marketing tool for an organisation. In the Annual Report, donors, fans, and others can see what the organization does and how the money is spent. This may just convince them to do business with the organization. In recent years, the design and form in which the Annual Report is presented has also changed, it used to be a boring black and white document. Nowadays it is provided with photos, videos, interviews, tables, graphs, quotes, etc. Make use of this because this document has to be produced anyway. So why not kill two birds with one stone by turning it into a marketing tool as well.