A well-written board report can help your nonprofit make smarter decisions. It also ensures that your board members remain engaged and invested in the organization, and can help ensure their support for upcoming projects and financial requirements.
To write an effective visit board report, it’s important to know the expectations and knowledge level of your audience. This will ensure that you aren’t explaining things they already know or putting it over their heads. It will also provide you with an idea of which areas of your report may raise questions. Using this knowledge it will help you anticipate the kind of information and analysis your board members would like to examine in your report.
Make use of visuals to highlight important data points that might otherwise be difficult to comprehend. This will allow your board to quickly and effortlessly discover insights from your report without having to read many pages of text. In addition to visuals, you can use bullet points or numbered lists to break up longer text sections.
In addition to highlighting your achievements, use your report to highlight areas that require further attention or need the board’s support. By addressing these areas, your board can feel confident that their time is well spent and that the business is heading in the right direction.
It’s also recommended to include a section in your annual report that acknowledges board members and staff who have performed beyond expectations. This will inspire your team and show gratitude for their efforts. Finally, always make sure to proofread your report for errors before showing it to the board. It doesn’t matter if you have someone else read through it or running it through a grammar software like Grammarly, catch any mistakes prior to presenting them to your board.