Ever wondered what the Charity Commission requires your charity to say in your annual report?
Well, the information is there – but we reckon the Commission could do with a little help from us because the material on their site about reporting is far from accessible. We’re pleased to provide our own top tips for charity annual reports, cribbed from the Commission guidance.
If nothing else, we hope it encourages you to think more about reporting impact and change in your next annual report.
Top tips
(1) All charities (with an income over £10,000) must publish “a Trustees’ Annual Report, a set of accounts and an Annual Return” – these can, of course be all the same document. But they needn’t be a dry document, full of figures. With some great images, case studies and good story telling, your annual report can double up as a showcase and marketing tool for your charity and your services. Since you need to do it anyway, you should consider making your annual report the cornerstone of your organisation’s marketing.
(2) Your Annual Report needs to state what the “objects” of the charity are, and what activities the charity has done in the last year to further those objects. Or to put it another way, what does your charity do and why? And what have you done this year to make that happen? You can use figures, statistics, case studies, quotes and lists to illustrate the work you’ve done.
(3) Your Annual Report should also show what achievements you have enjoyed this year, against your objects. This is your opportunity to really shine.
Achievements don’t just mean awards won. Anything that furthers the objects of your charity is an achievement. How many press releases have been sent out, and how did they convert into coverage? How many new members have you recruited, and how much are they worth? What events have your run or reports have you published? Have you written to MPs, met with members of the Cabinet? Have you won local authority contracts, increased your staff base or reached new audiences?
(4) The important thing to remember is IMPACT. What information and evidence can you present which shows the difference your organisation is making, and how does that relate to the objects of the charity?
(5) Where you can, you should explain how the charity’s activities this year fit into the longer-term strategies of your organisation.
Your Annual Report should show your organisation is working towards longer overall goals, not just short-term quick fixes. If you have a strategy to reach 1,000 young people over the next three years, then you should demonstrate how you have worked this year to engage a third of them. And whether you achieved it.
(6) You are required to show how you use volunteers to raise funds and achieve your organisation’s objectives: “it is important that readers of the report are able to understand the role and contribution of volunteers,” the guidance says.
This is an opportunity for you, not a burden. Real people are what turns boring reports full of facts and statistics, into compelling, exciting and engaging marketing material. We all know how vital volunteers are to getting our organisations’ work done. This is your opportunity to tell their story: why do they do it, what do they get out of it and what contribution are they making to your organisation?
(7) Finally, you need to think ahead. It’s great to have ambition, and SORP requires charities to think about how future objectives will be achieved. If you’ve done so much this year, what are you planning to do next year to improve upon that? What challenges do you foresee and how will you tackle them?
