8 Nonprofit Annual Report Examples (and What to Borrow)

The best way to plan your own annual report is to study a few good ones. Here are eight current nonprofit annual reports, some built as web pages and some as PDFs, and what each does well that you can borrow, whatever your budget. For the full process, see the guide to creating a nonprofit annual report.

Most of these come from large organizations. You don't need their budgets. Every lesson below works in a four-page printed report or a single web page.

1. Habitat for Humanity: put a family at the center of every section

Habitat's fiscal year 2025 annual report is one long scrolling web page with a section menu, full-width photos and before-and-after images. Each section, from home repairs in the U.S. to disaster recovery, centers on a specific family, donor or community with quotes in their own words. The numbers, audited finances and donor thank-yous come at the end.

Borrow this: organize your report around people, not departments. One person per program is enough.

2. Girls Who Code: big numbers, short labels and a look ahead

The Girls Who Code 2024 annual report is a scrolling web report with a downloadable PDF. Large stat callouts with icons make the results easy to scan, student videos and project showcases add the human side and a closing section lays out the organization's plan for the next five years.

Borrow this: end with where you're going. A report that only looks back misses the chance to invite the donor into next year.

3. Child Mind Institute: a voice for every program

The Child Mind Institute's 2025 annual report pairs each program with a short testimonial from a parent, patient or staff member. Results appear in oversized numerals with brief labels, and a few family stories carry most of the emotional weight.

Borrow this: for every number you report, find one person who can say what it meant to them.

4. Save the Children: open with one child

Save the Children's 2024 annual report opens with headline figures, then quickly turns to the story of one 12-year-old boy who returned to school. The letter from the CEO and board chair is candid about a hard year, including the effect of foreign aid cuts.

Borrow this: be honest about challenges. Donors trust a report that admits a difficult year more than one that pretends everything went perfectly.

5. Feeding America: say a lot in 12 pages

Feeding America's fiscal year 2025 annual report covers a national network of more than 250 food banks in just 12 pages. Full-bleed photos and short profiles of named neighbors, each with their own quote, alternate with pages of headline numbers and clean financial tables.

Borrow this: keep it short. If an organization that size can tell its year in 12 pages, you can tell yours in four to eight.

6. charity: water: make trust part of the report

On its financials page, charity: water posts each year's annual report alongside its audit, Form 990 and a separate audit of its 100 percent model, which promises that public donations go directly to water projects. Its fiscal year 2025 report and audit sit side by side with every year back to 2020.

Borrow this: make your financials easy to find. Put your audit and 990 next to your annual report, and explain in one plain sentence how gifts are used.

7. Gates Foundation: explain the money in plain words

The Gates Foundation presents its 2024 annual report as a web page that opens with a letter from its chief financial officer explaining the foundation's plans. Spending appears as simple cards for each area of work, followed by plain tables, with a PDF for anyone who wants the full report.

Borrow this: pair your financial summary with a short, plain-language explanation from a real person.

8. Girls Inc.: tell the story of your history

The Girls Inc. 2024 annual report marked the organization's 160th anniversary with a decade-by-decade timeline, first-person stories from alumnae and longtime staff and pull quotes throughout.

Borrow this: if you have a milestone year, use it. A timeline or a "where are they now" story can show donors that their gift is part of something lasting.

What the best reports have in common

• They open with a person or a thank-you, not with the organization.
• They report outcomes, not activities.
• They keep the financials simple and easy to find.
• They use real photos and real voices.
• They point the reader toward what's next.

Ready to start your own? Use the nonprofit annual report template to outline it section by section, and see the tools to create a digital annual report if you want an online version.