Design Your Story: Build Your Nonprofit Annual Report in Canva

Workshop Date(s) & Time(s): 

Wednesday, September 9, 2026, 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM ET

Lidia brings more than 25 years of experience helping nonprofits and mission-driven 
organizations turn their work and impact into clear, compelling stories.

This Workshop is Perfect for you if:

Your annual report should be more than a collection of updates, statistics and data. It should tell a clear, compelling story about your organization’s impact, helping donors, partners and community members understand why your work matters.

In this interactive workshop, we will start with a finished nonprofit annual report and deconstruct it page by page. You’ll see how the content, stories, statistics, imagery and design all work together—and then use that process to begin planning and designing your own report in Canva. No advanced Canva or graphic design experience is required.

During This Nonprofit Workshop, You Will Create:

You will create an annual report blueprint and starter layout in Canva that you can continue developing after the workshop.

Your blueprint will include the following:

• Clear purpose for your report
• Primary audience for the report
• Three most important impact stories
• Checklist of materials you will need, i.e. statistics, testimonials, photographs
• Page-by-page content outline
• Plan for showing your impact through stories and data
• Starter page or spread designed in Canva
• List of next steps for completing your report

The goal is not to complete an entire annual report during the workshop. You will leave with a framework for organizing content and a starting point that will make the full report easier to create in Canva.

During This Nonprofit Workshop, You Will Learn:

• How to Deconstruct a Nonprofit Annual Report: Identify the strategic, editorial, and design decisions behind it.
• How to Define Your Direction: Clarify your report’s purpose, audience and primary message before writing or designing.
• How to Choose Key Stories: Select the three most important stories instead of trying to include every program, activity and accomplishment.
• How to Gather Relevant Report Content: Collect the necessary statistics, financial information, testimonials, photographs, captions, names and calls to action.
• How to Build the Report Structure: Organize content into a clear flow that guides readers through your story.
• How to Show Your Impact: Combine human stories with meaningful data to create emotional connection.
• How to Apply Design Principles: Use key design principles to make your report clear and engaging.
• How to Build the Report in Canva: Create a professional, flexible report using the Brand Kit and repeatable page layouts.

During This Nonprofit Workshop You Will Be Responsible For:

• Participate in the guided exercises.
• Have access to a free or paid Canva account.
• Bring an existing annual report  or sample materials for reference.
• Identify at least one potential impact story to use during the workshop.
• Continue developing and refining the report after the workshop.

You’ll Get These BONUS Materials:

1. Annual Report Planning Workbook: A workbook for defining your purpose, audience,  message, statistics, impact stories, and goals.
2. Annual Report Design Checklist: A tool for reviewing the key design principles of color, typography, layout, and imagery.
3. The Workshop Slides
4. The Workshop Recording 

About Your Topic Expert:

Lidia is specifically qualified to teach this webinar because:

• She has 25+ years of experience helping nonprofits and other mission-driven organizations communicate their stories and impact.
• She has designed over 30 annual and impact reports for organizations across sectors.
• She is a Certified Brand Strategist and an experienced marketing designer specializing in nonprofit communications.
• Her approach combines strategy, storytelling, content organization, data visualization, and design.
• She teaches nonprofit professionals how to create clear, consistent, and engaging Canva visuals.
• She has presented workshops at events such as Bloomerang’s GiveCon, NTEN’s NTC, and Association Forum’s Holiday Showcase.
• She understands the realities of small nonprofit teams, including limited time and budgets, as well as staff members without formal design training who must create visual communications.

Lidia Varesco Racoma is a Certified Brand Strategist and the founder of Lidia Varesco Design, a Chicago-based, woman-owned branding and marketing design studio. Since 2000, she has helped nonprofits, associations, and other mission-focused organizations clarify their stories and translate them into strategic, engaging visual communications.

Lidia has designed over 30 annual and impact reports, combining program updates, organizational outcomes, financial information, and visuals into clear, compelling stories. Her report work includes clients such as the National Benevolent Association, Carole Robertson Center for Learning, Hope for Widows Foundation, and New Moms.

Lidia is also an experienced speaker and instructor who helps nonprofit professionals apply brand strategy and design principles to their communications. Her practical teaching style gives participants approachable tools, real examples and clear, actionable next steps. 

She is the founder of the Essential Nonprofit Branding Toolkit, a practical, self-guided resource that helps small teams clarify their brand strategy and create more consistent outreach.