We take your program data, community stories, and organizational milestones and turn them into a digital-first annual report experience that builds trust and keeps donors engaged year-round.
Our Annual Report Design Intensive spots fill up fast—don’t wait!
“Olivia was wonderful to work with and we were very pleased with the end-product. Highly recommend!”
Senior Associate Director of Student Engagement
University
Today, that connection often happens online first. We design annual reports as digital experiences—with intentional narrative flow, visual pacing, and moments that invite donors to linger, explore, and truly understand the depth of your work.
Sometimes that lives as an interactive microsite. Sometimes as a beautifully animated PDF. Either way, the thinking starts digital.
But between deadlines, data, and design, it’s easy for the story to get lost.
Sure, you could hire a freelancer or a full-service agency. But most don’t specialize in how donors actually move through annual reports—skimming, scrolling, returning to key moments, and sharing what resonates. You need a partner who understands not just what to show, but how it’s experienced.
That’s where we come in. At Acton Circle, we’re unapologetically obsessed with design that builds belief and trust. We help community-focused nonprofits show up like the organization they’re becoming—not the one they’ve outgrown.
Watch this super quick video to learn what we do, who it’s for, and how we help nonprofit teams turn one report into a year’s worth of visibility.
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“A beautiful job bringing our foundation’s report to life. The visualized data and narrative were enhanced by the very professional graphic design services provided by Acton Circle.”
CEO & President
Chiron Community Giving Foundation
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Dedicated 45-minute strategy session to align your goals, identify key impact stories, and set a cohesive visual approach tailored to your needs and brand.
Up to 32 pages of beautiful, accessible design that reflects your mission, voice, and brand guidelines with consistent, high-quality layouts.
Custom infographics, data visualization, and photo layouts for a polished, professional, and visually engaging report.
Copyediting + proofing support to create a report free from technical errors, consistent with your brand, and ready to share with your board and community.
Every file type you need—print-ready PDF, web-optimized digital version, and editable source files.
Stress-free workflow and tested process to get your report from "barely started" to shareable in no time.
~4–12 weeks (varies with stakeholder availability + review rounds)
5 small-to-medium repurposed, evergreen assets from your report—social, print, or web—to keep your content working long after launch.
~6–12 weeks (varies with stakeholder availability + review rounds)
5 small-to-medium repurposed, evergreen assets from your report (social, print, or web) to keep your content working long after launch.
Digital experience build—a dedicated landing page or interactive PDF designed to bring your report to life through motion, clickable layers, and intentional pacing.
A clear, collaborative process that moves your annual report from concept to completion through focused design weeks, structured in phases that align with your team’s pace and readiness.
Annual Report Planning Session
(Focus & Direction)
This session is where we step back and look at your annual report as a whole and understand what this report needs to do this year.
Together, we’ll review what you already have, talk through what’s working and what’s getting diluted, and figure out the the role this report should play for your donors, board, and broader community.
The outcome is clear priorities, shared understanding, and a sense of next steps—whether that means design support, templates, or moving forward in-house.
Design Creation
(if we move forward together)
With clear direction in place, we translate the Planning Session into a focused creative brief and initial design direction.
We create an early set of layouts—usually the cover and a few key spreads—to establish the visual approach and overall structure before moving into full production.
Refinement & Finalization
Once the design direction is approved, we refine the full report and prepare final files for print, digital use, and any planned repurposing.
Everything you need is delivered ready to use, share, and circulate.
Digital Experience & Delivery (Annual Report + Digital Experience Only)
For teams choosing a digital experience, we translate the finalized report into an interactive format, such as a dedicated landing page or interactive PDF.
This step focuses on how the report lives and is shared once it’s released. We prepare the necessary files and formats so your work is ready to publish, circulate, and reference throughout the year.
Not every project includes this step.
Optional: Annual Report Coverage
For teams who want continued support after launch, we offer light, report-related coverage to help steward the work over time.
This may include:
+ Light, report-related design needs
+ Minor updates or refinements
+ Keeping details aligned over time
Offered selectively and scoped based on need.
We collaborate to set realistic review windows that keep your annual report moving. When your team is ready to engage, we bring focus and efficiency to avoid drawn-out timelines.
If stakeholder availability requires more flexibility, we build that into the schedule so progress stays steady without feeling rushed.
Yes. All annual report work begins with an Annual Report Planning Session. It’s how we get clear on direction and decide what kind of support actually makes sense, whether that’s full design, a lighter approach, or something else.
Not necessarily. Some organizations start with a digital-first PDF, others with a microsite. We’ll help you choose the format that fits your goals, audience, and internal capacity without compromising the experience donors have when they engage with your work.
Share your content (text, photos, data), brand materials, and any design inspiration you love.
Whether you have detailed brand guidelines or are starting fresh, we’ll guide you through the process during our strategic kickoff call.
Because nonprofit teams operate on different rhythms (board windows, director review cycles, and major events), we plan your project in phases around your team’s pace—usually 6–12 weeks from kickoff to final delivery—with accelerated options available for teams ready to move quickly.
We can accommodate accelerated schedules when your team has content and approvals ready. We just ask that expectations are clear up front so pacing works for everyone.
This is a true creative partnership. You’ll have strategic input throughout the process, with clear review points to refine and perfect the work.
We balance your expertise with our design direction to ensure every piece authentically represents your brand and goals.
Things like postcards, flyers, one-pagers, single-page brochures, booklets, or email/social graphics, created by repurposing your report content.
The landing page is a short, scrollable page (in Webflow or Squarespace) that matches your current site’s design, built from your report content.
The animated PDF (built in Adobe InDesign uses your report layout with added animations, transitions, and clickable navigation for easy sharing.
We work best when you bring the message, even if it’s just a rough draft. While we don’t write from scratch, we can shape your content into design that truly honors your impact.
And if you need extra help refining your words, we’ve got trusted writers and strategists we can loop in to support your goals.
If the collaboration flowed and your materials finally felt right, there’s no need to stop there.
We have ways to keep the creativity going (and your materials looking this good all year).
Our Annual Report Design Intensive spots fill up fast—don’t wait!
Acton Circle is a design studio specializing in digital-first annual reports and impact storytelling. We help nonprofits and foundations strengthening communities turn complex work into donor-ready materials that build belief, drive engagement, and work year-round.
