Case Study: Easing the burden of producing an annual report
Meet the Client
Nellie’s is a violence against women shelter in Toronto’s east-end. For almost 50 years, they have been supporting women and their children as they take the brave steps towards accomplishing the next chapter in their lives. So much more than a bed, Nellie’s stands alongside the women and their children who need them, providing counselling, children’s programming, safety planning, outreach services, violence against women workshops, and more, both in the shelter building itself and through their Community Support and Outreach office.
We first began working with Nellie’s in 2018 when we were hired to write a single impact story about their children’s program as part of a report to the program’s funder. The client was thrilled with that article as it helped them secure additional funding. From there, we began taking on further donor communications pieces, including the writing of their annual report, impact reports, and eventually regular monthly blogs. (See Case Study: Creating continual donor-centric content for more.)
The Client’s Challenge
Not so much a challenge as a change in their organizational need and the recent addition of production and graphic design to our services, Nellie’s asked us to take on a larger role in producing their 2021 annual report. We had written parts of their annual report in 2018. In 2019 and 2020, we wrote all of the articles for it, including the letter from the executive director. But for those three reports, we handed off the final approved copy to be designed by their in-house expertise.
In 2021 however, staff changes and shifting organizational priorities made in-house design problematic and the idea of sourcing and managing a freelance vendor difficult. Nellie’s turned to us for an end-to-end solution to produce their annual report in time for their AGM.
Our Solution
Similar to our end-to-end solution for CultureLink’s annual report in 2020, we started by working with Nellie’s to develop a theme for the annual report—one that would inform donors while inspiring them to continue supporting the organization. We brainstormed ideas and landed on Growing Together, which celebrated their efforts in completing the renovations of the historic building that would soon be their new shelter while at the same time honoured their dedication to their mission in a year peppered with lockdowns and other pandemic-related challenges, including two outbreaks.
With a theme in place, we set about to tell their story. We interviewed the executive director, board co-chairs, and program director in order to share their perspectives of the past year and aspirations for the future. We also revised and updated an article we had previously written featuring a survivor of domestic violence, virtually walked readers through the new shelter and outlined how different life had been at Nellie’s during the pandemic.
Once the copy was final, we briefed our design partner, Rachel Ott of Varga Girl Design, to powerfully communicate the theme through visuals. And, we ensured our client was on track to gather the remaining necessary report content (financials, donor thank you list, community partners list, and stats).
Throughout the production process, we managed the timeline, reviewed design proofs and proofread carefully on Nellie’s behalf, all to ease the extensive project management burden of producing an annual report. By taking over a great deal of the workload, Nellie’s staff could focus their energy and efforts on higher priority organizational needs and goals. Their only need to get involved was to review and provide final sign-off.
Testimonial
“As a small organization, it’s crucial to have partnerships with talented professionals that truly understand your vision and values. With this annual report, Luminate Communications eased our burden from start to finish with the utmost concern for quality. Their storytelling, eye for detail, project organization and stunning design translated into a final report that we couldn’t love more. Deborah and her team are a pleasure to work with and they make the process a breeze.”
Ingrid Graham
Director of Development