Way to Grow 2019 Annual Report.

My fifth annual report for Way to Grow proved to be a challenge. Published six months later than anticipated due to COVID, it needed to incorporate not only 2019 and the 30th Anniversary, but also an update on all the changes and impacts of 2020 on programming, families, and the organization.

As part of the communications team, I was creative lead on both the design as well as the content, walking the department through ideation and storyboarding, copywriting large sections of the report, and designing the entire piece. Balancing the traditional elements of an annual report with special content from 2019 and 2020, I worked to marry two very different yet equally impactful years.

Way to Grow went through substantial changes in 2019 with the organization’s 30th anniversary, a new office, new curriculum, an expanded service area, and the integration of multiple data systems. 2020 proved to challenge the organization to even further growth with distance learning, virtual home visits, and families in desperate need of assistance during the pandemic. In addition, Minneapolis was the center of an international uprising for racial justice this past summer—something that deeply impacted our community, and in particular the families served by Way to Grow. As a result, this design breaks from our brand a little more than usual, tempering its playfulness as we put a pandemic, extreme need, social justice, and continued community service into perspective.

I guided the team toward storytelling as a way to share the 2020 experiences of families, staff, and the organization as a whole. Profiles highlight areas of growth, need, and change, humanizing the work rather than highlighting accomplishments or metrics. This was a continuation of our successful 2020 COVID campaign from earlier in the year. Additionally, I advised the team to bring in a thought leader (Doug Baker of Ecolab) to share the context of racial justice, adding weight to the topic, connecting it to the work of the organization, and also speaking to the donor audience that will ultimately read it.

The following are a selection of spreads from the report, but the entire piece can be viewed here.