10 free annual report templates
Annual reports are a great opportunity to give an in-depth account of your achievements from the previous year. But they're time-consuming to produce, so you need to make the most of them.
by Corinna Keefe
by Corinna Keefe
If you’re looking for an annual report template you can use online — rather than another static PDF — the 10 free annual report templates below are built for the web and fully editable in Shorthand.
Unfortunately, most annual reports are published as PDFs, which radically limits their potential impact.
PDFs are hard to discover, and they don’t perform well on social media. They’re also difficult to read on phones, and not accessible to your entire audience.
The free report templates below can all be quickly customised in Shorthand by anyone on your team, with no coding or web design skills needed. You won’t need Adobe InDesign or Microsoft PowerPoint to make your report; and your audience won’t need a printer to read it.
We’ve also included a quick annual report building guide listing key elements to your annual report layout, plus some annual report template FAQs in case you're unsure.
Scroll down, or select your template from the menu below.
Tech company annual report
Tech company annual report
Charity organisation annual report
Charity organisation annual report
Small business annual report
Small business annual report
Higher education annual report
Higher education annual report
Community organisation annual report
Community organisation annual report
Not-for-profit annual report
Not-for-profit annual report
Climate organisation annual report
Climate organisation annual report
Space tech company annual report
Space tech company annual report
Government comms annual report
Government comms annual report
Donor impact report
Donor impact report
Table of contents
- 9 things to include in your annual report
- 10 free annual report templates:
- A tech company annual report template
- Charity annual report template
- Small business annual report template
- Higher education annual report template
- Community organisation annual report template
- Non-profit annual report template
- Climate non-profit annual report template
- Space tech annual report template
- An IGO annual report template
- Donor impact report template
- Annual report template FAQs
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It's the fastest way to publish beautifully engaging annual reports, internal comms, digital magazines, and more.
9 elements to help you build the perfect online report
1. Visual brand identity
First and foremost, you need to make sure your modern annual report looks like it comes from your organisation. Work with your graphic designer to ensure consistent use of logos, brand colours, fonts, and other design elements. With tools like Shorthand, you can set a theme to automate this across all your brand’s content, including your annual report.
2. Introduction from the CEO
In the past, your annual report cover page would be the first thing — but we’re living in a digital age, and you don’t need to be constrained by print techniques anymore. Most annual reports start with an opening message from the CEO to set the tone for the report. It's an opportunity to share the company's vision and highlight key achievements from the past year.
3. Financial reports
These often come towards the end of the annual report, but they need to be considered early on in the piece. Clearly present your organisation's financial information, including balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements. This transparency is crucial for building trust with stakeholders.
4. Data visualisations and infographics
Most organisations produce some data on their impact. You’ll want to pull out key metrics and present them using interactive pie charts, graphs, and infographics. These will help tell a story and engage readers with your report. Check out our list of data storytelling examples.
5. Company profile and FAQs
Use this section to provide an overview of your organisation's mission, values, and goals. This section helps readers understand what your company stands for and its purpose.
6. Milestones
This is where narrative becomes most important. Celebrate your organisation's successes by highlighting key milestones from the past year. Showcase project completions, awards, or significant growth to demonstrate progress.
7. Summary of the past year
If not already covered, make sure you offer a comprehensive review of last year's activities, challenges, and accomplishments. This section should provide a clear picture of the company's performance and direction.
8. Fundraising update
This is where you can share fundraising progress and goals for the upcoming year. This section is especially important for non-profits and can help inspire confidence in your organisation's financial stability.
9. Testimonials and case studies
Include testimonials from clients, partners, or employees to showcase the impact of your organisation's work. Case studies can also provide real-world examples of your company's successes.
Want more inspiration for your annual report? Check out our roundup of annual report examples.
10 free annual report templates
A tech company annual report template
This template is perfect for:
- tech companies
- startups
- scale-ups
Got a business that will change the world? Use this tech company annual report template to demonstrate your impact, highlight key figures, and speak directly to investors, shareholders, and partners!
This template includes:
- pull quotes
- imagery
- key statistics and data, and
- Scrollytelling with animations and information.
Charity annual report
This template is recommended for:
- charities
- not-for-profits
- food, retail, and other consumer brands
This data-rich annual report template captures your yearly performance in an animated and striking way. Apply your own brand colours and imagery in a way that’ll inspire action, involvement, and donations.
This template includes:
- navigation bar
- animated pie, doughnut, and bar graphs made with the Charts tool
- immersive, moving elements
- Infographics built with the Grid tool, and
- a human impact story with impactful photography.
Small business annual report template
This template is perfect for:
- small- and medium-sized businesses
- larger organisations
Speak directly to your stakeholders and shareholders — this small business annual report template is ideal for making a strong business case and showing your success to the world.
This template includes:
- two-column design, so dense information is made compelling with a matching image
- personal message from a founder or CEO
- space for key statistics and supporting imagery, and
- easy-to-read tables.
Higher education annual report template
This template is perfect for:
- university marketing and communications teams
- colleges and higher education institutions
- alumni associations
- schools and training organisations
Make an impression on donors, investors, alumni, and research partners with this higher education annual report template. It's designed to show your institution at its best.
This template includes:
- inspiring campus banner photos
- opening mission statement
- key facts and statistics
- financial summary, and
- call to action link for readers to access further information.
Community organisation annual report template
This template is perfect for:
- artistic and cultural institutions
- community organisations
Showcase artwork, creativity, and community in this community group annual report template! It's perfect for demonstrating your impact in a way that's accessible to donors, funding sources, partners, and community members alike.
This template includes:
- an eye-catching colour scheme
- slots for beautiful imagery or quotes, and
- space for your facts and figures.
Non-profit annual report template
This template is perfect for:
- non-profit organisations
- charitable organisations
The non-profit annual report template is designed to share a lot of information, easily, with plenty of space for impactful images. It features a simple, two-colour palette to reflect your brand without becoming a distraction. You can draw out key statistics in dedicated banner slots.
This annual report template includes:
- detailed tables for financial statements and performance data, and
- a farewell paragraph with a call to action button.
Climate non-profit annual report template
This template is perfect for:
- non-profits
- climate organisations
- mission-driven companies
Get donors' attention with plenty of slots for big, eye-catching images. Sum up the situation for your shareholders with short blocks of text, then draw out key quotes and statistics with attention-grabbing text sections that fill the screen.
This template includes:
- mission statement or personal message to supporters, and
- call to action to convert inspiration into action.
Space tech annual report template
This template is recommended for:
- banks and financial institutions
- tech companies and startups
- businesses working in STEM
Get readers' attention! This report will help you share and explain large volumes of numerical data.
This template includes:
- GIF or video background to show your brand is on the move
- message from the CEO
- clear, readable tables for your data, and
- a strong call to action.
An IGO annual report template
This template is perfect for:
- inter-governmental organisations
- major institutions
Ideal for showcasing your expertise and impact on the ground, this intergovernmental organisation annual report template intersperses long text columns with powerful imagery to capture your reader's attention.
This template includes:
- image filters ready for your brand colours
- a link gallery for highlighting key achievements
- financial summary, and
- a strong call to action button.
Donor impact report template
This template is recommended for:
- higher education organisations
- non-profit companies
- community organisations
- startups and STEM companies
This modern donor impact report template has the perfect cohesive design theme running from start to finish — and it's ready to be customised with your branding and colouring. Beyond annual reports, the template has the potential for use as a newsletter, corporate report, magazine feature, or interactive blog article.
This template includes:
- clear colour scheme for a branded feel, and
- corner shaping for design cohesion in the Media Gallery section.
FAQs
What is an annual report template?
An annual report template is a pre-designed layout you can use to present your organisation’s results, impact, and financial performance. These Shorthand templates are free, web-based annual report templates that your stakeholders can read on any device.
Can I use these annual report templates for free?
Yes — you can use and create in these templates at no cost. Add your own copy, imagery, colours, branding, and media.
You only pay when you’re ready to publish.
Why use an online annual report template instead of a PDF, PowerPoint, or Word?
Most annual report templates are designed for print or static PDFs. They’re hard to read on mobile and difficult to share on social media. By contrast, each Shorthand annual report template is a responsive, web-native layout — designed for scrolling, interactivity, and accessibility on any device.
How do I choose the right annual report template?
Our templates have been designed and optimised for specific verticals, industries, and organisations.
For example, the climate non-profit annual report template, local arts organisation template, charity organisation template, and donor impact report template are perfect for nonprofits and charities. The higher education annual report template is ideal for universities and schools. The NGO annual report template is designed for non-government organisations, institutions, and non-profits. And the small business annual report, tech company annual report, and space tech annual report templates are all designed with businesses in mind.
That said, all of them are fully editable, so you can apply your branding, content, results, and media to whichever one you choose.
Are there example annual reports I can take a look at?
Absolutely. At The Craft, we’ve compiled and explained a list of our favourite annual report examples. For a longer list of inspiring reports, check out Shorthand’s Reports page, which is continually updated.
Do you have any other templates?
Absolutely. You can find the one you need in our template gallery.
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