MAKE-A-WISH EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA
ANNUAL REPORT
Make-A-Wish Eastern North Carolina (MAW Eastern NC) serves all medically eligible children who reside in the 49-county chapter area from the Triangle to the coast. Wishes are granted to children diagnosed with a critical illness because wishes have the power to bring life-changing hope and strength. MAW Eastern NC aims to reach every eligible child in their chapter area and grant their wish.
Angel Oak Creative worked with MAW Eastern NC to develop an annual report themed “Where the impossible becomes possible” – which later became a platinum winner of the 2022 Hermes Creative awards.
WHERE THE IMPOSSIBLE BECOMES POSSIBLE
Annual reports are critical transparency tools that build credibility, clearly showing donors and key stakeholders where their money is being utilized and why they should continue to invest in your work.
Because annual reports are typically data-driven, they can quickly become unengaging. The most successful reports are composed creatively, in a way that not only serves as a touchpoint for donors but also invites them on a future journey with you.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we had to determine the most effective strategies to highlight the work MAW Eastern NC was continuing to do despite new limitations, and bring a celebratory tone to the piece as the chapter granted its 4,000th wish and celebrated its 35th anniversary.
CHALLENGES
+ Explaining the negative impact of COVID-19 on MAW Eastern NC’s ability to grant wishes to the children they serve
+ Communicating MAW Eastern NC’s ongoing work despite the limitations of COVID-19 and declining annual report numbers
+ Highlighting their 4,000th wish granted and their 35th anniversary in the piece appropriately
+ Creating an engaging annual report
SOLUTION
+ Identifying a specific annual report theme
+ Developing key messaging
+ Storytelling: sharing the story as a whole while also highlighting individual impact stories
THE RESULTS
The annual report created by Angel Oak Creative became a platinum winner of the 2022 Hermes Creative Awards. Implementing a strategy to communicate data engagingly through branding, storytelling and key messaging provided new opportunities and exposure for MAW Eastern NC.