Everything your team needs to move forward, and a report that keeps working long after launch.

Are you ready to make your annual report the hardest-working piece in your fundraising stack?
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Here’s what we know...

You've worked with designers who could make it look good but couldn't make it move supporters. Pretty doesn't translate to belief. Most of them didn't know the difference.

You've waited weeks for revisions. And you're pretty sure the senior team you hired handed the work off to a junior halfway through.

You spent months on a report that got used for one mailing, then sat on your website doing nothing. The data didn't make it into emails. The quotes didn't show up in the next case for support. A full year of mileage, used once.

You sent it out and heard back from... very few. No major donor saying "I didn't realize how much had changed." No foundation officer reaching out. No new partner showing up. Another year of people who almost believed.

There's a better way to do this.
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Design that turns belief into giving, growth, and partnership.

Helping nonprofit teams turn one annual report into a full year of donor-ready, stewardship materials that lead with narrative, not numbers alone.

Our narrative-first, supporter-centered approach to design has produced results like…

Used as a legislative hook

"I used the report as a major hook for four pieces of health-protective legislation in Congress."

Elevated the entire organization

"Acton Circle's work has earned us high praise and accolades for our materials."

Rave reviews from the board

"The end product was finished on time and received rave reviews from our team and Board leadership."

Pick your annual report package

Get a report that inspires confidence and helps your community grow, so you can raise more funds and serve more people. Each package comes with a strategy session and fully editable print and digital files.
Core Report
For teams who need a report that's finally done right.

$7,500

  • Up to 24 pages
  • Narrative-driven infographics and diagrams
  • Copy edits for grammar + flow
  • Report impact reel (30–60 sec)
Report & Repurpose
For teams who are tired of watching their report collect dust after launch.

$15,500

  • Up to 32 pages
  • Narrative-driven infographics and diagrams
  • Copy edits that sharpen your grammar, flow, and narrative
  • Report impact reel (30–60 sec)
  • Motion and embedded video/audio elements to give your report life
  • 8 evergreen assets repurposed for content all year
Visibility System
For teams who want one report to fuel their donor communications all year long.

$23,500

  • Up to 32 pages
  • Narrative-driven infographics and diagrams
  • Copy edits that sharpen your grammar, flow, and narrative
  • Report impact reel (30–60 sec)
  • Motion + video elements to give your report life
  • 15 evergreen assets repurposed for content all year
  • Landing page version of your report
  • Quarterly asset refreshes tied to your giving calendar

Your Annual Report Design Intensive timeline

A clear, collaborative process that gets your report from idea to done, built around your team's pace. Most projects are completed in 10-16 weeks.

01

Strategy Session

We step back and look at your report as a whole: what it needs to communicate this year, what’s already working, and what’s getting watered down.

You leave with aligned priorities and a shared direction before design begins.

This is the step most teams skip. It's also the reason most reports feel assembled instead of intentional.

02

Strategic Copy Refinement

We review your draft for readability, flow, and whether it makes sense.

You receive a redlined document with edits and recommendations that strengthen the throughline before visuals are applied.

This is where "all data, no story" gets fixed. Before a single design decision is made.

Screenshot of a Google Doc titled Annual Report Content Guide with writing prompts and cover layout placeholder

03

Design Creation

We translate strategy into visual direction and build early layouts (usually the cover + key spreads) to establish structure, pacing, and hierarchy.

Once approved, we move into full production.

You'll see the direction before we build everything. No surprises at the finish line.

Page layout of the University of Michigan School of Information ELO Annual Report 2023-2024, featuring overview stats, an introduction to ELO, engaged learning outcomes, funding details, and a thank you section for partners.

04

Refinement & Finalization

We complete the report, polish visuals, create your impact reel, and prepare final files for print and digital use.

Everything is delivered organized, editable, and ready to circulate.

Organized files. Labeled folders. Promise.

Two University of Michigan School of Information annual report covers side by side; the left one is mostly white with placeholder blocks and text for 2023-2024, the right one is blue with photos of people and buildings for 2022-2023.

05

Digital Experience, Repurposing, & Delivery

Report & Repurpose and Visibility System packages

Your report gets delivered as an interactive digital experience, ready to link, share, and pull from all year.

Plus repurposed evergreen assets your team can use across email, social, and donor conversations long after launch.

06

Quarterly Asset Refresh

Visibility System packages

Three times a year, we reconnect to keep your report assets current and your content aligned with what's happening in your organization.

Each quarterly refresh includes:

+ Up to 2 asset updates or refinements from your original content kit

+ Minor copy or data updates as your story evolves

+ One light repurposing request pulled from your report

+ Refreshes are scheduled in advance and scoped to what we built together, not a catch-all for new design needs.

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See what’s possible

Big reports, small teams, tight deadlines. We've designed for all of it. And we know what's at stake when it doesn't connect.

Some agencies and freelancers make the work harder. We make it easier.

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Because we only design for social change organizations.

We speak nonprofit and design. We get the board, the stakeholders, the pressure to build trust. We get the four different audiences you're trying to reach with one document (yes, four—we've had that exact conversation more than once).

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Because you'll never wonder what's happening next.

Clear timelines. Proactive updates. Built-in reviews. You always know what's coming, why it matters, and how it ties to your goals.

We know you're covering for two people and running point on three other things. You shouldn't have to chase us too.

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Because we believe in depth over surface.

We're not here to make things just look clean and professional. We're here so supporters really feel your mission. Every font, image, and layout means something. Yes, it's that deep.

The content that's 90% there... we know how to find the missing 10% and make the whole thing click.

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Because you should know exactly what you're paying before you say yes.

No hourly rates. No surprise invoices. Fixed pricing, clear deliverables, zero scope creep. You know what you're investing and what you're getting. Period.

It's the first thing most people want to know. So we just tell you upfront.

Questions?
Get answers from seasoned annual report design experts.

How long does a project take?

Most projects wrap in 10–16 weeks. That said, the timeline is really driven by you, how quickly your team can get us content, feedback turnaround, that kind of thing. If you need it faster, let's talk. We've made tighter timelines work.

What do you need from us?

Your existing content like, program recaps, stats, stories, photos, and any copy you have. You don't need to have it all perfectly organized. We're used to working with messy folders and half-finished drafts. That's part of what we do.

Do you provide content writing?

We don't offer standalone copywriting, but every package includes some form of copyediting.

Our Report & Repurpose and Visibility System packages include deeper copy work that sharpens your grammar and narrative. If you need full copywriting from scratch, we can build that into your project scope, just let us know.

What's included in the landing page?

A dedicated, condensed digital version of your report built to share, link to, and send donors to instead of just attaching a PDF. It's clean, on-brand, and designed to keep people engaged longer than a downloaded file ever would.

We live in Squarespace and Webflow. And if you're on WordPress, we know our way around Elementor, too.

What happens when my project is over?

You walk away with fully editable files that belong to you. For Report & Repurpose clients, you've got 8 assets ready to use across email and social. For Visibility System clients, we stay connected through quarterly refreshes tied to your giving calendar. Nobody gets handed a ZIP file and ghosted

What do the repurposed evergreen assets include?

Things like donor emails written around a key story from your report, social graphics pulled from your impact stats, a one-pager for board meetings or funder conversations, or a short email sequence leading into your year-end campaign.

Every asset is built from content that already lives in your report, so we aren't starting from scratch; we're just putting it to work.

Why not hire a freelancer or general creative agency?

Freelancers are great until the report hits a strategic snag and they're not sure how to navigate it. Agencies are great until you realize you're working with a junior designer and the senior person you hired disappeared after the kickoff call.

We're a boutique studio that ONLY does this work, for organizations exactly like yours. You get senior-level thinking and execution every single time.

Do you provide content writing?

Most teams come to us with a draft. We review and refine your content for readibility, cohesion, and narrative strength before moving into design.

While we don’t typically write reports from scratch, we can provide expanded writing support when needed.

Can you design my case for support, strategic plan, toolkit, or research report instead?

Yes. Annual reports are our specialty, but cases for support, strategic plans, and research reports are in our wheelhouse too. Same approach, same care.