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Guide · with real examples
Nonprofit annual report: what to include, with real examples
Updated October 2026
What would your year look like on four pages? Here's what to include, how long to make it, an outline you can fill in, and eight real reports from nonprofits like yours.
A nonprofit annual report is a short look back at your year: what you did, who it helped, where the money came from and where it went. No law requires one, and it isn't your Form 990. One to four pages is plenty for a first report, and the eight real reports below show how other teams did it.
Why do you need an annual report?
You don't have to make one. It's still worth it, because a few pages keep working for you all year.
- People see what they made happenVolunteers, donors and partners gave you their time and money. Showing them what it did is the best thank-you you can send.
- Funders get the answer earlyGrant forms ask what you did last year. Hand them the report.
- New people find youA future volunteer or board member can see what you do in five minutes.
- Your team sees the good it didIt's easy to miss in the rush of a year. Looking back together shows what worked and what to change.
What a nonprofit annual report is (and isn't)
It's the story of your year, told to the people who made it happen: volunteers, partners, funders, your board, and your neighbors. Share it once a year, after the books for your fiscal year are closed.
It isn't your Form 990. The 990 is the tax return most nonprofits file with the IRS, and you have to show your last three years of it to anyone who asks (IRS). The annual report is yours to shape. You choose what goes in, how long it runs and how it looks.
It also isn't the "annual report" many states ask for. That one is a short filing that keeps your corporation in good standing, with a fee and a deadline. Your compliance calendar should hold that date, because it's easy to mix the two up.
What to include
Every report below has most of these. Yours doesn't need all of them, especially the first time.
What to include in your annual report
- A short letter. A few warm paragraphs from your director or board chair about what the year felt like.
- Your mission in a sentence or two. New readers need to know what you do before the numbers mean anything.
- The year in a few numbers. Three to six that matter most, each beside last year's when you have it.
- A story per program. One person, pet, place or moment, shared with permission.
- The money. Where it came from and where it went, as a simple chart. If you count donated goods or volunteer time, say what rate you used.
- Thank-yous. Volunteers, partners and funders. You can thank people warmly without listing what anyone gave.
- Your board and staff. Names and roles, so readers see the people behind the work.
- What's next and how to help. One or two plans for the coming year, and a way to volunteer or give.
How long should it be?
No rule sets a length. The reports below run from a blog post to 15 pages, and every one of them works. For a first report, aim for one to four pages. A short report you finish beats a long one still sitting in drafts in June.
Web page
A page on your site or a blog post. The quickest to make, and easy to share with a link. A good first report.
Short PDF
Two to four pages to email or print. The outline below fits right here.
Full report
Twelve pages or more, with a page per program, stories and the full money picture. Worth it once you've done a short one.
A simple outline
Here's a four-page version you can fill in this month. Literacy Together's report uses a similar order.
- 1. Cover and letterYour name, the year, one photo, and a letter of three short paragraphs.
- 2. The year in numbersYour mission, then three to six numbers with last year beside them.
- 3. Programs and storiesA paragraph and one story for each program.
- 4. Money and thanksIncome and expenses as two simple charts, your board and staff, and how to help.
Need just one page? Keep the letter to two sentences, pick your three best numbers, use one story, and put the money in a single chart.
Fill in the template
The same four pages, with a prompt for every part and blanks to fill in.
Real annual reports worth borrowing from
Eight reports from small and mid-size nonprofits, each linked on the organization's own website. We read every one in full on 5 October 2026. Pick a format or a kind of work to narrow them down.
By format
By kind of work
Web page · 2024 · Greater Washington, D.C.
Arts for the Aging
Arts workshops for older adults in community and care settings.
What it does well
It's a web page with links that jump to each section, so nobody scrolls past what they came for. It reports what people felt, not just how many came: 92% of participants experienced joy and 87% connected socially. And when earned income dipped, it says why, in one plain sentence (one-time federal relief funding had ended).
Borrow this: Explain the number that went down. One honest sentence does more than a perfect chart.
Blog post · 2024 · North Liberty, Iowa
North Liberty Community Pantry
A community food pantry with grocery delivery and clothing.
What it does well
It didn't wait for the full report. A short "2024 Data Review" post shared the year's numbers in February, with an audio version you can play. It leads with the milestone: 1,082 families, the first time the pantry passed 1,000 in its 40 years, and shows how several numbers grew from past years.
Borrow this: Your first annual report can be a blog post. Share the numbers now and make the booklet later.
4-page PDF · 2023 to 2024 · Asheville, North Carolina
Literacy Together
Free tutoring for adults and kids, English classes, and a book-a-month program for young children.
What it does well
Four pages: a cover, the programs, the money, the team. The program page fits all four programs and their numbers on one page, like 228 volunteer tutors giving 24,423 hours. The money page shows revenue ($692,497) and expenses ($582,830) as two bar charts, and puts the value of volunteer time ($967,425) right beside them.
Borrow this: If you only have time for four pages, use this order.
12-page PDF · 2024 · Dulles, Virginia
Dulles South Food Pantry
A multi-faith food pantry with weekend food bags for students and help finding other services.
What it does well
A "2024 at a glance" page gives the year in five numbers before any story starts. Then it shows its math: the financial pages say what each pound of donated food was valued at ($1.93, then $1.97 from August) and what rate it used for a volunteer hour ($32.59, from Independent Sector). It also says an outside CPA reviewed the books and how to ask for that report.
Borrow this: Whenever you put a dollar value on food or time, name the rate and where it came from.
12-page PDF · 2024 · Scottsdale, Arizona
Foothills Animal Rescue
Rescue, care and adoption for homeless cats and dogs.
What it does well
The CEO's letter gives the headline (adoptions up 31%, nearly 800 animals cared for), and then the report spends two pages on the pets who needed the most patience. Sadie and her eight puppies needed three months of treatment, and she went home after 200 days. Each story names the days in care, so you feel the patience behind the total.
Borrow this: Tell the hardest cases, not just the easy ones.
14-page PDF · 2024 · Forsyth County, North Carolina
Love Literacy
Volunteer tutors for young readers, training for teachers and families, and a countywide reading campaign.
What it does well
One page says the goal and the plan in three plain words: tutoring, training, advocacy. A volunteer tutor describes one student's year, in the tutor's own words. The impact page keeps it short: 70 tutors trained, 130 students served, 3,395 volunteer hours recorded.
Borrow this: Let a volunteer tell the story. They were in the room when it happened.
14-page PDF · 2024 · Norwalk, Connecticut
Filling in the Blanks
Weekend meal bags for kids who rely on school meals, and a mobile pantry with fresh food.
What it does well
Two pages list every school, camp and partner it served, town by town, so a reader can find their own neighborhood. And it asked the people it serves: 81% of families said the weekend meal bag lowers stress at home, and 52% of teachers saw fewer signs of hunger in their students.
Borrow this: A short survey of families or teachers gives you numbers a head count never will.
15-page PDF · 2024 · Chicago, Illinois
Care for Friends
Hot meals, a food pantry, youth grocery delivery, case management and health clinics.
What it does well
The money comes right after the letter, on page 3, and donated goods get their own slice (32.7% of revenue), so readers see everything that kept the doors open. Then each service gets its own page and its own numbers. On the health page: 162 guests signed up for or renewed Medicaid.
Borrow this: Give each program its own page, so every reader can find the one they care about.
Swipe sideways for more reports.
How to put one together from work you already track
Most of the report already exists. It's sitting in your sign-in sheets, volunteer logs and books. Here's how to gather it without losing a week.
- Pull the year's numbers first. People served, visits, hours, pounds, books, whatever each program counts. Use the same dates as your fiscal year.
- Get the money from your books. Total income by source and total expenses by type. Use the same year-end figures your treasurer shared with the board, so nothing disagrees.
- Put a value on volunteer time, if you want to. Independent Sector puts the national value of a volunteer hour at $36.14 for 2025 (Independent Sector). Our volunteer hour calculator does the math for you.
- Choose your stories. Look back through the year's wins and pick one per program. Ask permission before you name anyone or use a photo.
- Write it, then lay it out. Draft the words in a doc first. Then drop them into a simple template, or publish it as a web page or a blog post.
- Share it where your people are. Email it, post it on your site, print a few for your next event, and hand it to your board.
Next year gets easier if you log the work as you go and save each story while it's fresh, so you're not digging for it in March.
Fill in the template
The same four pages, with a prompt for every part and blanks to fill in.
Ember Impact Reports
Pick last fiscal year and who it's for. Your reach and goals come in from Programs, your volunteer hours from Volunteers, and the wins your team logged sit beside each program's numbers. Stories cleared for the public show up as quotes you could use. Save it as a PDF, or download the numbers as a spreadsheet. Free if your budget is under $50K a year.
Sources: Each organization's own report, read in full on 5 October 2026: Arts for the Aging, 2024; North Liberty Community Pantry, 2024; Literacy Together, 2023 to 2024; Dulles South Food Pantry, 2024; Foothills Animal Rescue, 2024; Love Literacy, 2024; Filling in the Blanks, 2024; Care for Friends, 2024. Public inspection of Form 990: IRS. Value of volunteer time: Independent Sector, 2025 figure. Figures on each card are the organization's own. Reports move when a new year's goes up; check the org's site for the latest.