How nonprofit newsrooms can use shareholder reports to show their impact

“The impact of nonprofit news is like any good story — if no one reads it or hears about it … your job is only halfway done,” the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism’s Lauren Fuhrmann and Mara Jezior write. To that end, the center publishes an annual report every November, which allows the communities it serves to independently evaluate the impact of their work and lets donors see how their money is being used. Fuhrmann and Jezior explain how nonprofits that may not have produced an annual report can get started, with tips on subjects such as what information to include, when to put the report out, and how to make the report visually appealing. The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism’s annual report is also available online.