PUKAR, a Mumbai-based organisation working with adolescents in informal settlements, described its partnership with EMpower in simple terms: the support helped the organisation grow, deepen its work, and reach more young people.
That shift comes through clearly in one of the quotes featured in their latest annual report: “EMpower’s support allowed us to reach more young people and strengthen work that communities now actively seek out. It pushed our programme forward in ways that truly mattered.” This shows how meaningful social impact collaboration can be.
EMpower’s support allowed us to reach more young people and strengthen work that communities now actively seek out. It pushed our programme forward in ways that truly mattered.
EMpower’s work is built through long-term partnerships, local organisations, and the steady strengthening of youth-focused programmes across regions. However, if that work is reduced to dates, numbers, and standard updates, the real value of it can get lost. The report, therefore, needed to show not only what EMpower had done over 25 years, but also how that work had grown through people, partnerships and trust. That was the task we took on while developing EMpower’s 25th anniversary annual report.
Building a Structure from Many Different Inputs
The report did not begin with a page-by-page brief. Instead, EMpower shared material in parts: milestone booklets, links to key events, previous annual reports, partner quotes and visual assets. From there, we developed the structure of the report, deciding what sections were needed, what each section had to communicate and which material best supported that.
We developed the structure of the report, deciding what sections were needed, what each section had to communicate and which material best supported that.
Because the theme was 25 years, the report needed a framework that could hold history, current work, and future direction together. We shaped a “25 Years: Our Journey” section to trace how EMpower began and where it has reached. In addition, we selected 25 events from the materials shared and built that anniversary thread into the report. We also included leadership letters around the transition from Cynthia Steele to Nisha Dhawan, grantee partner voices drawn from a much larger bank of quotes, and Youth PhotoVoices that brought in perspectives from young people themselves.
This meant a lot of editorial judgement. We were not simply placing existing material into pages. Rather, we were reading across sources. We selected what best represented EMpower’s work and writing sections that could hold all of it together clearly.
Also read: Beyond the PDF: How NGOs Can Make Impact Reporting a Two-Way Conversation
Designing Around the 25-Year Theme
The design carried the anniversary idea throughout the report. Since the annual report marked 25 years of EMpower’s work, the number 25 became a recurring design device across pages. In some places, it appeared prominently in typography. In others, it sat more quietly in the background. As a result, the anniversary theme remained present throughout the report without needing to be restated in words each time.
The number 25 became a recurring design device across pages. In some places, it appeared prominently in typography. In others, it sat more quietly in the background.
On pages such as “Our Impact,” the design also had to hold a lot of information without becoming heavy. Illustrations, icons and graphic elements helped organise the page. For example, small icons made key metrics easier to scan, while human figures helped keep people visible within data-led sections. Moreover, a puzzle-based illustration system was used to present EMpower’s values and strategic approach as connected parts.
Also read: How Can Non-Profits Write Impactful Proposals?
Photography was handled with the same level of care. Event pages and photo essays used images that directly matched the text, so each visual corresponded to the specific moment or programme being discussed. At the same time, the report as a whole combined illustrations, photographs and graphic elements within a consistent colour palette, including brand-colour applications in elements such as the global reach map.
A Detailed and Collaborative Process
The report required close coordination at every stage. Alongside the main narrative sections, there were many details that needed careful handling, including leadership and team lists, region-wise presentation, and structured reference material. Although these were small elements in the overall report, they mattered because they shaped how readable and accurate the final document felt.
EMpower’s annual report reflected a 25-year journey through history, partnerships, youth voices, data and design, while keeping the focus on the organisations and communities at the centre of the work.
What emerged from the process was an annual report that brought together many kinds of material into one clear narrative. It reflected EMpower’s 25-year journey through history, partnerships, youth voices, data, and design, while keeping the focus where it belonged: on the organisations and communities at the centre of the work.
Is your organisation working across partners, programmes, and geographies? Then your annual report needs to do more than present information. It needs to bring everything together clearly and coherently. If you’re looking to shape your next report with that level of care, we’d be glad to help.
