What to Include in an End-of-Year Recap

As the year draws to a close, you and your team might be reflecting on what you accomplished over the last year and making plans for the next. It’s always a good idea to review what programs and services worked and where you need to make improvements in the months ahead. And it’s not just staff that values this information. Your followers and supporters are probably just as interested.

Whether you are a community agency or a large corporation, people like to read about what the organizations they support have been up to over the last year. In fact, recap articles and posts are some of the most-read marketing collaterals out there. Even lifestyle bloggers say some of their best-read posts are year-end roundup articles.

End-of-Year Recap: Why to Consider It and How to Share It
Why should you share a recap with the public? There are a few reasons to consider taking the time and incurring the expense:

• Providing these details builds confidence and reinforces your commitment to transparency. Both are vital for community-driven organizations.
• Doing so helps supporters feel connected to your agency and your mission.
• Sharing your goals for next year may help attract new volunteers and members who are looking for different opportunities.

How you distribute your end-of-year recap can vary according to your audience preferences. Some organizations find sending a year-end letter through the postal service yields positive results. Others utilize a blog post or e-newsletter to share this information. If you aren’t certain, you could even try a hybrid approach. 

Look through your contact list and see who has and hasn’t opened your digital collaterals. For those supporters who don’t seem to open and read your emails, it might be worth sending them a hard copy of the information you plan to share digitally. That can also be a good way to clean up your mailing list.

If you decide this is something you’d like to do before 2023 is over, here are a few tips you might find useful in developing an end-of-year recap.

The Last Year in Review

Much of what your supporters might like to read is information you and your team probably pull together at the end of the year already. A couple of suggestions on how to format it for easiest review include:

• In a month-by-month listicle, highlight what you accomplished and what events took place.
• Include any milestones you met, such as fundraising goals, meals served, activities held, or volunteer hours accumulated.
• Quantify progress and success whenever possible. It makes for a quicker read, which means supporters will be more likely to review it.
• Remember to say “thank you” to those who supported your work. This can be done as an introduction or a conclusion to your list of accomplishments.
• Don’t forget to use professional looking imagery. We have graphics available inside of WeCreate for just about any program or news you can dream up — ready to help make your end-of-the-year recap look amazing.

Look Forward and Share Goals
Finally, don’t forget to share a little insight into your plans for the next year. You’ll likely want to stick to a higher-level overview and avoid providing too many details, which might be overwhelming to read. Here are some suggestions on what to include:

• What do you hope to accomplish in 2024? Use bullet points to list a few of your goals.
• Do you have any major events or activities planned? Even if it’s no more than a reminder to save the date, it will help you start to promote 2024.
• Are there volunteer opportunities coming up? You might want to include them, as people may be looking to make some changes as the new year begins.
• Lastly, offer a little information on which areas each team member is responsible for. Encourage supporters to reach out to those individuals with any questions.
  
  

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