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Martha’s Table is a local nonprofit in Washington, D.C. For over 40 years, the organization has supported strong children, strong families, and strong communities by increasing access to quality education, health and wellness, and family resources.
For the past 4 years Sabra has designed and printed Martha’s Table’s Annual Report. Each year, it has evolved. First we created a hard-copy booklet. Last year we created a digital hybrid. So it didn’t come as a surprise when Martha’s Table decided to go completely digital this year. Our team was thrilled for the opportunity to show the benefits of going paperless!
Annual Reports are a crucial fundraising tool that nonprofits rely on each year to reach out to donors and raise much needed funds.
The downside of producing an annual report is the cost. Printing and shipping a 30 page report to hundreds or even thousands of donors is an expensive endeavor. With climate change on the rise, environmentally conscientious nonprofits like Martha’s Table are keen to seek out paperless solutions.
Over the past 10 years, our team has created a ton of annual reports for our clients. We’ve seen the pitfalls and struggles that come with writing such a large all-encompassing report. What we discovered during this project is that Digital Annual Reports are a better financial investment and provide unparalleled flexibility throughout the process.
The more money a nonprofit can save on operating costs, the more they will have to invest in their mission. Going completely digital not only saved Martha’s Table money this year, it will save them even more in the years to come.
The most obvious and immediate benefit is that Martha’s Table didn’t have to pay for printing and shipping. Printing and shipping can cost between $2,000 to $10,000 depending on the page count and number of copies you need printed.
Yes, developing a new webpage can cost more than print design, but once the framework is built it can be used for years to come. Next year, Martha’s Table will be able to reuse the Page Builder we custom-built for them this year. All they will need to do is copy and paste in their new copy, stats and photos. This requires little to no intervention from our designers and development team, resulting in more bandwidth to work on other projects.
As a Concierge Client, developing Martha’s Table’s digital annual report was included at no extra cost. Do you hate begging for more money in budget meetings? Are you tired of wasting time searching for designers and negotiating contracts? Our Concierge Clients work with us year-round for a set monthly fee. When one of our Concierge Clients gets an idea for a new project all they have to do is email us and we make it happen.
Our Concierge Plan benefits nonprofits like Martha’s Table who need to create lots of materials on a monthly basis. It also benefits nonprofits that have larger projects on the docket such as building a new website or developing a digital report. Last year, for example, we designed 52 materials for Martha’s Table including their annual report.
The beauty of a fully digital report is that it is never set in stone.
One of Martha’s Table’s favorite features is that they can share links to specific sections of their report. Now when the Martha’s Table team wants to reference a specific story from their annual report in one of their newsletters or blog articles, they can share a direct link that instantly takes the reader to the story in question, instead of making them scroll through the entire report searching for it.
Imagine–after months of planning, writing, editing, and designing your annual report; you print it only to realize you left out a major donor’s name. Once it’s printed there’s no going back, unless you have an extra few thousand dollars lying around for a reprint. Mistakes happen, but with a digital annual report you don’t have to live with them. With a couple of clicks in the backend, you can make edits to anything, anytime. without having to pay and wait for intervention from a design or development team.
In the past, if you wanted to see a nonprofit’s annual report you’d have to get on their donor mailing list or go through the process of finding and downloading a PDF. With a digital annual report, there is no barrier to entry. Anyone can go to your website, read it, and share it with others.
Our backend is completely customized to your brand guidelines. Not only will you be able to add in new sections yourself. Any new section you create will automatically adhere to your brand guidelines and fit aesthetically with the rest of your report.
One way nonprofits have tried to cut back on paper and design costs is to shorten their annual reports. The problem with this is that you have to cut out lots of important information. You end up losing out on all the imagery and heartfelt stories that make annual reports such great fundraising tools.
With a digital annual report the sky’s the limit! Stop worrying about page counts or the available space on a spread. Add whatever you want, in whatever medium you want, to your heart’s content.
Have a great video you’d like to share, go for it. Want to make it easier for people to find the sections they’re interested in without scrolling through the whole report? You can do that too. Want to add a donate button or a sign-up form? No problem.
The possibilities are endless, so let your imagination run wild!
Reach out to us today about creating your first digital annual report!
