Nonprofit Spark – A knockout nonprofit annual report: storytelling at its best – 10/01/12

Summary: This week's show is a "show and tell" show so my guests will talk about their annual report and we'll view it online at the same time. Nonprofit annual reports have been receiving a lot of attention lately in the nonprofit sector. With the increasing conversation about community engagement, instigated in part by the advent of social media, more non-profits are asking themselves, "Has it been wise to eliminate our annual report or merely post a pdf version of it on our website? Is it realistic to expect people to jump online to find out how we're doing? And finally, how can we be more a more transparent and engaging nonprofit?" Many of us are figuring out that there still is a place for printed and mailed annual reports and newsletters. E-newsletters are for quick, timely content. Web pages are for brief, useful content. And print newsletters and annual reports are for longer story telling and providing context about organizations. Altogether, online and print content reinforce your organization's brand and unique place in your community. So what if you chose to spend more money on your annual report and created something so enticing, interesting, and celebratory that your donors, volunteers, and stakeholders can't resist reading it when it arrives in their mailboxes? My guests on this week's show have created an annual report just like that. View their annual report (http://www.openarmsmn.org/aboutus/publications/scoopannualreport/) as we talk about it. Susan Pagani is the communications director and Kelly McManus is the creative director of the Open Arms of Minnesota, (http://www.openarmsmn.org/aboutus/publications/scoopannualreport/) a nonprofit that delivers meals to the chronically ill. You may recall that I interviewed their associate director, Jennifer Van Wyk of Open Arms of Minnesota back in March of 2012 about how the organization was dealing with the theft of thousands of dollars by a trusted employee. It's an extraordinary interview about crisis communications. This time, Susan and Kelly describe their annual report goals and theme, how they go about pulling together text and infographics, what their donors say about the report, and how the report supports the brand of Open Arms of Minnesota. I hope these women inspire you as much as they do me. interview about crisis communications http://webtalkradio.net/2012/03/19/nonprofit-spark-–-nonprofit-crisis-management-best-practices-dealing-with-fraud-031912 (http://webtalkradio.net/2012/03/19/nonprofit-spark-–-nonprofit-crisis-management-best-practices-dealing-with-fraud-031912)