5 Digital Annual Reports We Love
These creative examples can serve as inspiration — and instruction — for your organization.
By Katie Bridges
Every year, organizations everywhere endeavor to create an innovative approach to a time-honored tradition — their annual report. These reports are essential, as they communicate the year’s successes, explain to donors how their gifts are being used and, most importantly, inspire future giving.
But good annual reports go beyond that, and really good ones engage the reader through compelling stories, captivating design and forward-thinking interactivity, all while showcasing the organization’s culture and embodying its vision.
Looking for some ideas you can use for your next report? Here are five of the best digital examples and what you can learn from them.
The Report: Abramson Cancer Center
In honor of its 50th anniversary, Abramson Cancer Center, a global leader in cancer care, research and education, decided to go digital for the first time with its 2022 annual report, Creativity, Collaboration & Community. The organization wanted a platform where it could share some of its storied history, along with its half-a-century of progress and prospects for the future, so C/A helped its team create a multifaceted, digital “magazine” through which it could tell comprehensive stories on topics such as “Cancer & Covid-19,” “Immunotherapy: The Future of Medicine” and “Philanthropy: Energizing Our Mission.” With striking design, embedded video and myriad content types, including Q&As, personal profiles and an interactive map featuring all of the Center’s locations, the result is an evergreen portrayal that will serve the organization for years to come.
The Report: Basser Center for BRCA
Annual reports for medical organizations can be tricky because the audience includes both scientists and laymen, so your subject matter shouldn’t be patronizingly informal or overly academic. The Basser Center for BRCA has been consistently accelerating innovations in hereditary cancers — and in its annual reports. For Basser’s 2022 edition, C/A created a digital experience that does double duty as an annual report and a celebration of the organization’s 10th anniversary. The report employs interactive elements to illuminate key data and marries it with news, personal stories, videos and profiles of scientists, patients, advocates and donors. The result is visually engaging and easy to navigate so readers can appreciate the research without getting lost.
The Report: Boston University
After COVID-19 hit, Boston University had a $243 million revenue shortfall. But the organization recovered, growing its endowment to $3.4 billion and achieving a $143 million surplus in 2022 while renewing its focus on areas it championed, such as diversity, equity and inclusion. Its 2023 report, titled Climbing Where?, served as a commemoration of the university’s unique role in the community. It shares financial information, of course, but also rich content complemented by a singular design motif that carries through the report. With absorbing section titles like “Brain on Brain,” “Art Takes on Hate,” “Student Disruptors” and others, Climbing Where? is a fresh and lively read for anyone interested in higher education.
The Report: Girls Who Code
As an organization created to close the gender gap and attract young women to the field of tech, it’s essential to have a well-designed and contemporary website, and an extremely of-the-moment brand — it’s also vital that both attributes are reflected in the organization’s annual report. We appreciate how Girls Who Code’s 2022 digital annual report serves as an effective extension of the brand: It’s cool, colorful and uber-appealing to a young audience, and it offers a smooth user experience. Design elements from the primary website find their way into the report’s design, keeping things consistent, clear, meaningful and thoroughly engaging.
The Report: Silicon Valley Community Foundation
As the Silicon Valley Community Foundation emerged from the pandemic, the nonprofit organization wanted to share how it responded to COVID-19 with community action. So when it came time to create its 2022 annual report, the team knew it wanted to feature personal stories about community members, donors and partners, along with the work the organization has been doing to drive it closer to its vision of an equitable, economically secure future for all Silicon Valley residents. Mixing infographics and slideshows with short- and long-form content, the report showcases the impact the foundation makes on the region. Bright, branded colors catch the eye as users scroll, and a separate By The Numbers page gives the data its own chance to shine.
Rethink Your Annual Report
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Katie has almost a decade of editorial experience, spending most of those years as an editor at regional magazines. A Georgetown University grad, she helps guide digital and print content programs from concept to completion for C/A clients such as Vanderbilt Health, Niagara Falls USA and Phoenix Children’s Hospital Foundation. She has written for Garden & Gun, Washingtonian and Arkansas Life, among others.
The mother of two young girls, Katie can most often be found on a hiking trail with her family (Sedona’s a favorite). She’s a Southerner through and through, and the only member of the C/A team who uses the word “y’all” with abandon.