Annual Report
User Guide

1. About This Tool

Most nonprofits do annual reports badly or skip them. Studies consistently show that organizations that publish a real annual report retain donors at noticeably higher rates than those that don't. The friction is rarely about the content, it's about pulling together twelve disparate sections into one polished document. That's the friction this tool removes.

You enter your inputs once, in a structured editor. The Build & Export page produces a print-ready HTML preview and a downloadable Word document with your data inserted into a clean layout. You can publish as-is, or polish in Word before sending.

2. Why Annual Reports Matter

• Retention. Donors who receive an annual report are 50%+ more likely to give again than donors who don't.
• Grant credibility. Foundations and major donors expect to see a public annual report before writing a $25K+ check.
• Board alignment. Producing the report forces the board and Executive Director to align on what mattered this year.
• Press & recruitment. Volunteer applicants, journalists, and potential board members will Google you and find this document.

3. Getting Started

Demo credentials: demo@example.org / demo: fully populated with a sample 2025 report.

For a click-by-click walkthrough of your very first report, see 4. Your First Session below. Budget about 6 to 10 hours of focused work the first time. Subsequent years are 2 to 4 hours because you reuse last year's report as a starting point.

4. Your First Session

This walkthrough takes you from a blank screen to a finished, exported report using the app's real buttons and fields. Everything you type saves automatically, so you can stop and pick up later at any point.

Step 1: Sign in and open the app

Step 2: Start a report

Step 3: Use the Report Wizard step bar

Step 4: Fill the Cover & Identity step (worked example)

Step 5: Draft one more section, then export

5. The 12 Wizard Steps

The report is built as a 13-step wizard: the 12 content sections below, plus a final Build & Export step. Reach any of them from the step bar at the top of the wizard, or from Report Wizard in the sidebar.

5. CSV Imports

For tabular sections, you can paste CSV data directly:

Donor list

Name,Amount,Tier
Sandra Hartley,25000,Visionary
Maria Lopez,300,Supporter
Anonymous,10000,Leadership Circle

Tier is optional, if blank, it'll be calculated from amount using standard giving tiers.

Board roster

Name,Role,Bio
Pat Garcia,Board Chair,Retired nonprofit CFO with 20+ years in social services.
Devon Reyes,Treasurer,CPA specializing in small business.

Both lists export back out, too: the Donor Recognition and Board of Directors pages each have an Export CSV button next to Import CSV, so you can download what you have entered (Name, Amount, Tier for donors; Name, Role, Bio for the board) as a spreadsheet to reuse or back up.

6. Financial Highlights

Two tables: Revenue (broken down by source) and Expenses (broken down by function), plus a narrative summary.

Click path

Open the Financials chip in the Report Wizard (or click Report Wizard in the sidebar and jump to it). Add each revenue line, then each expense line, then write the narrative, then click Save & Continue →.

Worked example

For a $620,000-revenue organization you might enter revenue lines such as Individual donations, 310000; Foundation grants, 180000; Corporate sponsorships, 70000; Earned program revenue, 60000. Then expense lines such as Programs, 440000; Administration, 90000; Fundraising, 70000. The exported report totals each table automatically and uses your accent color for the headers.

Standard revenue categories

• Individual donations
• Foundation grants
• Corporate sponsorships
• Government grants (if applicable)
• Earned program revenue
• Special events (net)
• Other

Standard expense categories

• Programs (typically 70%+ of total)
• Administration / general & admin
• Fundraising

7. Donor Recognition

Click path

Open the Donors chip in the Report Wizard. Either paste a CSV list (see 5. CSV Imports) or add donors one at a time, set each donor's name and amount (and tier, if you want to override the automatic one), then click Save & Continue →. A donor named Anonymous stays anonymous in the published report.

Donors are automatically grouped by giving tier in the published report. The tool uses the standard 8-tier structure:

8. Build & Export

Click path

Click the Export chip at the end of the wizard step bar, or Build & Export in the sidebar. The buttons on this page are:

• Word (.docx): downloads an editable Word document with all sections in the correct order. Refine in Word, add photos, then export to PDF from Word.
• Print / PDF: opens a styled preview in a new tab; use your browser's Print → Save as PDF to make a print-ready PDF.
• Copy: copies the report text to your clipboard.
• HTML: downloads a standalone HTML file of the report.
• Text: downloads a plain-text version.

The HTML preview and PDF use your accent color throughout. The DOCX is plain-styled and intended for further refinement. Work through the Pre-publish checklist shown on this page (signed letter, financials matching your 990, donor consent confirmed, current board roster) before you share the report.

9. Writing Tips

The Executive Director letter

• Open with one specific accomplishment from this year.
• Tell one short story, one program participant or moment.
• Acknowledge what was hard. Donors trust honesty more than corporate-speak.
• End with an invitation.
• Keep under 500 words. Long letters don't get read.

Program impact

• Lead with a specific number. ("In 2025 we served 480 nonprofits" beats "We served many nonprofits.")
• Include a direct quote whenever possible.
• Be honest about scope. "Pilot year" or "year 1" framing is honest and appealing.

Visual design

• One hero photo on the cover. Choose one that captures a feeling, not your logo.
• Pick an accent color that contrasts with navy (the tool's default). Avoid muddy or neon colors.
• Use real photos of real people (with permission) over stock photos.

10. Cross-App Integration

Other All In One Nonprofit tools you can pull data from:

🎨 Document Branding

Brand the documents this tool generates. In Settings → Document branding (shared by your whole team):

• Letterhead: upload your organization's letterhead image; it appears at the top of every Word/PDF document.
• Footer: address, phone, email, website, and EIN, plus optional page numbers, print at the bottom of every page.

Set it up once and it's applied automatically to your exports.

Signature details. Beyond the signature image, you can also save a default closing (for example, "Sincerely,"), your name, and your title. These are added with your signature when you export a document, so letters sign off correctly without retyping them each time.

Snippets and stats. Your settings also include a Stats & Snippets panel. Save reusable blocks of text you use often (your mission statement, standard boilerplate, a recurring call to action) and copy any of them into a document you are drafting, so you never rewrite the same wording twice.

Administrator Access

The sign-in screen has an Administrator Access link below the Sign In button. Use it to sign in as Administrator with just a password, no email needed. This is a per-browser admin role; the password is stored only on the current computer.

• First time: Click Administrator Access. You'll see a "First-time setup" prompt with two password fields, enter a password (6+ characters) and confirm it. Click Create Admin Password.
• Subsequent times: Click Administrator Access, enter that same password, and click Enter Admin Panel.
• Once signed in as Administrator, you'll land on the dashboard with full admin privileges, including the Admin page in the sidebar (visibility into all teams, users, and activity stored in this browser).
• Click  Back to regular sign-in at the bottom of the admin panel to return to the normal sign-in screen.

Note: the admin password is unique to each browser. If you set it up at home and then visit the app on a work computer, you'll see the first-time-setup prompt again. To grant admin access on a new machine, register a regular user account or set up a fresh admin password there.

Automations

The 12 report sections are now steps in one guided Report Wizard: a clickable step bar shows where you are, what is complete, and Save & Continue moves you forward. Open it from Report Wizard in the sidebar; it resumes at your first incomplete section.

Inside the wizard, the writing-heavy steps include AI drafting: the Executive Director letter, program narratives, Year at a Glance highlights, mission polish, and the back cover call to action each have a Draft with AI button that writes from the facts you entered. The Full Report Compiler on the Build & Export step drafts every narrative section in one pass, and you apply the pieces you like. Every draft is editable before it touches your report, and every output offers Copy, Text, Print, Word, and Email.

See the AI Automations Guide for how each automation works. These features are free , then will be part of a paid plan.

Contact & Support

This Annual Report app is part of All In One Nonprofit, a growing library of self-service tools for small nonprofit organizations.

The Fundraising & Development Suite

This app is included with the Fundraising & Development Suite and is also available as part of an All-Access Subscription. See pricing →. The apps in the suite:

• Fundraising & Development, a full fundraising-strategy course
• Donor Management, donor and gift tracking and stewardship
• Marketing, campaign calendars and messaging templates
• Grant Management, a grant pipeline, proposals, and reporting

Related All In One Nonprofit tools

• Impact & Outcomes, outcome metrics feed program impact sections of the annual report
• Nonprofit Annual Return (IRS Form 990), financial data appearing in the annual report should reconcile to the 990
• Board Handbook Builder, board roster appearing in the annual report references the structure documented in the handbook
• See all suites & pricing

Questions, suggestions, bug reports

Reach us through the contact form on buildyourclub.com.

A note on legal advice

All In One Nonprofit provides plain-language educational tools and document drafts, not legal advice. For decisions with legal consequences, consult a qualified attorney who works with nonprofits.

Important disclaimers

This tool produces drafts based on widely-accepted annual report practice. Financial data in your annual report should reconcile to your audited or reviewed financials and your filed Form 990. Inconsistencies between the annual report and the 990 invite questions from donors, funders, and the IRS. Have your finance committee or auditor review financial sections before publication.