In the Spotlight

To Publish or Not Publish Its Annual Report, Lumina Foundation Doesn't Guess What Readers Want, It Asks What They Think

At the 2008 Fall Communications Network Annual conference, one of the most spirited discussions focused on the question about whether foundation annual reports are a thing of the past. While arguments were made on both sides for continuing or getting rid of them, another point of view was that foundations should ask people they’re trying to reach what they think about the annual report before making a decision. 

According to a poll conducted as part of the Philanthropy Awareness Initiative, only three in 20 foundations with $500 million or more in assets have actually surveyed their annual reports’ readers. 

One of those three organizations, Lumina Foundation for Education, is using the results of its readership survey to help shape the content and format of future annual reports. 

According to Dave Powell, Lumina’s director of publications, 80 percent of those who responded to the foundation’s most recent survey indicated they read all or part of the foundation’s 2007 report. In addition, two-thirds of respondents said they want to keep receiving a printed version of the report.  Some 44 percent also said they would be happy with an electronic – or PDF – version. 

"These results were instructive, even a little surprising,” Powell said.  “We certainly feel they can inform our decisions about what to do in coming years."  

For instance, Powell noted that readers’ responses seem to belie the common perception that printed reports are no longer valued.  He pointed out that less than five percent of respondents said they threw away the report unread or said they didn't want to receive it.

Some also said they appreciated having the report sent to them directly. Still some respondents commented that because of the cost, effort and environmental impact of producing and mailing a print version of an annual report they would prefer an electronic version.   

Lumina's survey -- a postage-paid postcard mailed to 6,935 recipients in May 2008 (two weeks after they had received the foundation’s printed report for 2007) -- is part of Lumina’s ongoing efforts to evaluate its communications tools and strategies, Powell said. 

The foundation received 391 responses – an admittedly small response rate of about 6 percent, but one that represented a cross-section of Lumina’s mailing lists and was therefore deemed an instructive and useful sample. 

Lumina distributes its printed annual report to a range of individuals, including state and federal policy-makers, current and past grantees, peers in philanthropy and the chief officers of two- and four-year colleges and universities. Lumina also provides the report as a PDF download at its Web site. 

In addition to communicating information about the year's past grants and activities, the annual report aims to make a "basic emotional appeal" and to showcase the importance of Lumina's mission, which the foundation describes as “helping people achieve their potential by expanding access to and success in education beyond high school.” 

"As a fairly young organization (Lumina was founded in 2000), we’ve used the annual report to help establish our reputation and get out our main message of increasing college access and success," Powell says.  

Rather than featuring a copy-heavy journalistic review of a key program or a lengthy introductory message, Lumina's 2007 annual report leads with a day-in-the-life photo essay, with minimal text, about a first-generation community college student in Chicago -- just the type of student that many of Lumina's programs seek to help. 

Powell's lesson for other communicators? "Just do the survey work. Don't assume you know what your audience wants. If you want to be responsive and give readers what's helpful, ask them what they want. That way at least you can balance what they want with what you can provide." 

The results of the survey will shape Lumina's plans for future annual reports, Powell said, adding that a printed version will be produced and mailed again this year while the foundation continues to explore other options. In coming years – again, depending on readers’ feedback – Lumina may offer a free, "on-demand" printed copies or may produce fewer printed versions while directing more people to the Web site, where the report can be viewed or downloaded.

--Emily Culbertson