The Story of Your Endowment: The Annual Report

I love a good annual report.

So, what constitutes a "good" one?

STORIES: In the good ones the authors seem to view the report more as an opportunity - and less as a routine reporting burden. It is a rare opportunity to tell the story and even reminisce about the past year in the life of your endowment and the quantity of people that the endowment has impacted. Current members join with deceased members who continue to witness and serve in very powerful and very visible ways through the endowment. Unfortunately without knowledge of the positive impact of your endowment, your typical congregation member may view the endowment as a hollow faceless beast of money. Don't allow that to happen. Give your endowment many faces - of both the donors and the recipients of the congregation's generosity.

NUMBERS: Don't yet kick the lawyers and bankers off the committee (disclosure: I am a recovering banker). While the financials are not everyone's favorite part of the report, it is proper to report on funds, balances, investment performance, analysis, distributions, etc. This information engenders the trust that the congregation needs to know that these funds are responsibly managed and used. There is a great risk of losing the trust of the congregation without this reporting, and your congregation's pipeline of future gifts will inevitably come to a grinding halt. The wonderful stories of your endowment may start to plateau or even dry up.

What is an example of a "good" annual report? On our home page, we have shared a very good annual report that does a very sound job of telling the story and reporting the numbers. This is a medium-sized suburban church with incredible participation due to a strong committee, incredibly supportive pastors and an enthusiastic congregation. This annual report tells a great story of a year in the life of...